Mission Statement
The
Jerry Jeff Walker Tried & True Foundation exists to support
education in popular music. The Foundation seeks opportunities to help
young people gain the valuable skills and training needed for a
successful career in the professional music industry. This is achieved
through scholarships to schools such as the Liverpool Institute for
Performing Arts in the U.K., and through an initiative to support
a local, comparable program in the United States.
Become a Tried and True
Warrior
Donations for teh
Foundation's live music initiative can be sent directly to the
Jerry Jeff Walker Tried & True Foundation. Please be assured that the
monies sent for the school fund will be 100% earmarked for that
use. Tried & True Foundation is deemed a 501 (c) (3) entity for tax
deductible purposes. The TAX ID # for the Foundation is: 74-2910625
Please send your
check or money order to:
Tried & True Foundation
P.O. Box 39
Austin, TX 78767
(512) 477-0036
Music School
Initiative
For over five years we have been working on a plan to build a school for
popular music here in Austin, Texas. The idea was formulated when our
son, Django, attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts founded
by Sir Paul McCartney and a brilliant educator by the name of Mark
Featherstone-Witty.
After Django's second year at LIPA we felt strongly that there was a
need for a similar school here in the U.S. Mark Featherstone-Witty
agreed, and we began working on a sister-school relationship with LIPA.
Our thanks go out to those of you who have supported our efforts to
create such a school through the Tried & True Foundation. We hope to
further this initiative in the coming year.
Our
vision is modeled after
The Liverpool Institute
for the Performing Arts (LIPA), which was created in 1996 by
educator/visionary and LIPA director, Mark Featherstone-Witty.
Mark Featherstone-Witty, Founding Principal and CEO of The
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts:
"We were touched and excited that Susan wanted to start a LIPA
program in Austin. For some years, she's been investigating
possibilities. It now seems that in partnership between Susan and
ourselves...there is a real possibility of
a foundation program starting in the foreseeable future. We remain
excited."
LIPA
has programs in theatre, dance, and music. The facilities include
stages, practice rooms, studios, classrooms, community rooms, library,
and a campus pub. The environs are a critical part of the culture at
LIPA. Students have secured, 24-hour access to the building, and it is
an encouraging, supportive environment filled with creative talent.
Witty
now believes that the school’s focus should have been exclusively popular
music, business and technology. He thinks that it would have helped
enhance creative flow and cross-pollination for musicians to distinguish
themselves in one area. Nevertheless, the school has developed a
distinguished record of cultivating individual talents and placing its
students.
Finally, it is important to note that the creation of LIPA’s popular
music program was based upon the experiences of veteran musicians. One
contributor was Pete Townshend who provided sage advice that serves as
the foundation for LIPA. He encouraged the school to seek the “divine
balance” for achieving the greatest benefit for students. The balance
included:
-
A
fundamental emphasis on performance;
-
Teachers with “as few musical phobias and preferences as possible’;
-
Encouraging students to listen to music
-
Recognition
of the terrible truth that, in this modern world, a composition may be
conceived, performed, recorded, and broadcast to millions of people all
over the world within a month.
