Today at noon at the River Market, the Art Porter Music Education “Minors in Music” will perform a free concert. This is part of the annual “A Work of Art” Jazz Week.

Minors in Music is a music education program that benefits musically gifted Arkansas students. The name is a spin-off from The Minor Key, a television show produced by Art Porter Sr. on AETN that showcased talented Arkansans. Minors in Music continues that legacy by providing the same opportunities for aspiring music students.

Under the direction of Dr. Danny Fletcher, the program combines workshops, musical and educational relationships with professional musicians and educators with a community service component to create a customized training program. The program emphasizes that the key to using music as a community-building tool is to ignite an early appreciation for community engagement within young musicians and give them the tools they need to become leaders and innovators. Music is transformative because it benefits students educationally and socially and connects a total population universally!  Minors in Music educates, encourages and empowers young people!

APME has a unique opportunity and responsibility to inspire the next generation of musicians, whether as educators, performers or producers, to explore non-traditional opportunities, and create interactive ways to inspire communities and future generations. It’s been said that true talent is often like a treasured family heirloom. As it’s passed down, each recipient polishes it, refinishes it, and makes it his own. Minors in Music are APME’s treasured family heirlooms. Their skills will be polished and refinished into their particular style and passed on to the next talented generation.