The BirdHouse Thing II

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Nashville-area artists, celebrities and musicians decorate birdhouses which the W.O. Smith School auctions the birdhouses to raise funding for the school. The birdhouses I'm showing you today were all decorated and donated by Country Music stars. Some of the birdhouses will be on the Country Music Television Auction website from March 7-21. Kenny Chesney's birdhouse has a pirate theme going, while Rascal Flatts (right) is a little more into Las Vegas with the card/dice decorations. One of the other artists told me that Wynona (left) and her two children decorate a birdhouse every year.

William Oscar Smith, from whom the school gets its name, graduated from NYU in the early 40s, but continued his education at University of Texas and University of Iowa, where he received his PhD. After serving as a band director in the US Army during WWII, he was a back-up musician to Max Roach and Dizzy Gillespie and played at the Cotton Club and Savoy Room. However, once his children were born, he moved his family to Nashville so that he could teach at Tennessee State University. In addition to his work at TSU, Smith was also the second African-American to play with the Nashville Symphony, playing viola and bass. During his 30 years at the university, Smith saw the need for music education for children who couldn't afford it, and two years after his retirement from the university, the W.O. Smith School opened. Smith passed away in 1991.

Tomorrow, I'll show you a couple more celebrity birdhouses and tell you a little more about the school.

The BirdHouse Thing

Since 1984, the W. O. Smith School has offered music education to students who could not afford lessons or instruments. The school offers classes in all band and orchestra instruments, guitar, piano and voice, as well as composition, theory, technology and recording. The faculty includes over 100 area musicians who donate from one to four hours weekly to instruct the more than 350 children who attend classes.

The school receives funding from art councils and foundations, gifts and grants from corporations and individuals. And, for the past seven years, the school has raised funds through The BirdHouse Thing (Click for more information.) Every year, interested area artists, musicians, officials and individuals decorate birdhouses that are then placed on display and finally auctioned. The event organizers provide the birdhouses (which differ in size and shape each year), and each artist decorates his/her birdhouse however he/she wishes. No two are ever alike.

I decorated the doghouse/birdhouse at the top of this post. Included with my birdhouse are a number of dog-related snacks and items as well as a handmade scrapbook for the "TOP DOG" in the buyer's life. The roof (lid) comes off to reveal a place to hide dog treats.

Tomorrow I'll show you a few of the birdhouses donated by some people whose names you might recognize and tell you a little more about W. O. Smith.