Roots of Rhythm is a one-of-a-kind experience that elevates cultural awareness about music from around the globe through energetic performances and engaging audience participation activities. It is an interdisciplinary voyage that encompasses world history and geography through the lens of music, coinciding with the National Standards for Arts Education.
Our program explores music of the African Diaspora – music that has originated in or is related to Africa. Audiences can see, hear, and experience
By focusing on the cultures of Africa, Brazil, the United States, and the Caribbean, students and audience members observe how different societies have interacted through music. This immersive arts integration program encourages audiences to gather information through listening, participating, observing, and visualizing. Through the UT Martin Percussion Ensemble's Roots of Rhythm presentation, the possibility for community and student enrichment is limitless!
Roots of Rhythm is now in partnership with the Tennessee Arts Commission, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help fund arts activities in Tennessee. Please click the Funding Information tab above to find out more information about funding through the Tennessee Arts Commission.
Funding is available through the Tennessee Arts Commission!
Roots of Rhythm is now a proud partner with the Tennessee Arts Commission, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to help fund arts activities in Tennessee. The UTM Percussion Ensemble is on the certified artist roster list for the TN Arts Commission's Ticket Subsidies Program.
Please note that funding applications should only be submitted by programs who have received confirmation of a booking date/time from us – Contact us here.
For more information about the Student Ticket Subsidy program, review the Application Guidelines on the STS webpage. Please contact Dr. Brady Spitz for more information on fees and availability. Should you choose to bus your students to UTM, please add your bus fees to the requested grant total so that you are awarded enough to cover your expenses and our fee.
Once you receive confirmation from the TN Arts Commission, please forward that to us.
Click a heading below to expand/collapse information.
Please click the following link to download an example of a completed grant application: Grant Model - Tennessee Arts Commission
You should apply for the Student Ticket Subsidies Program. Roots of Rhythm is listed in the Teaching Artist Roster as UT Martin Percussion Ensemble – Roots of Rhythm Presentation. This should be listed as the Artist/Event Title and Name of Artist/Group in the grant application. Please see above for an example of a grant application.
In our experience, applicants have had the most success when they submitted the grant application as early as possible, even as early as the same day the grant becomes available. Grants must be submitted a minimum of 30 days before the event to be funded. Grants applications should only be submitted by programs who have received confirmation of a booking date/time from UT Martin Percussion. Click the following URL for more information about when the grants will become available.
Please contact Dr. Brady Spitz to inquire about fees. Pricing plans exist for us to come to your school, for you to visit us at UTM, and for virtual presentation options. All booking should be confirmed with us before submitting the application.
You should hear back about whether or not you received the grant within 30 days of the application being submitted. Once you receive confirmation from the TN Arts Commission, please forward those emails to us.
Once all appropriate steps are completed, the Tennessee Arts Commission will pay the school, and the school will pay the artist.
In the event that either you do not wish to fill out the grant, and/or the grant is rejected, please let us know so that we may discuss an appropriate fee for the presentation. Our program involves lots of equipment, trucks, vans, and time, so it is very costly. We must cover expenses, and raise money for repairs, instrument tuning, and guest artists to continue educating our students and growing our program.
A DUNS number is a unique 9 digit number assigned to businesses. this number can be looked up or requested at the following URLhttps://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/index.jsp.
We have approximately 25 performers in the UT Martin Percussion Ensemble.
We will provide this to you when we have confirmed that we will be visiting your school.
For all schools/venues hosting Roots of Rhythm:
Please don’t feel obliged to buy bottled water for us, but if some cups of tap water could be made available, it would be wonderful. The students (and their teachers) work very hard on these tours and it’s important to keep up the spirits (and hydration) of the troops! Sometimes hosts provide snacks or a meal even depending on the time/day/venue. In most cases, this is discussed with each host in advance if needed. There are 25 of us.
This is certainly not expected, but with all of our teachers and students performing, we rarely get good documentation of our performances. If you have someone on staff who would be qualified and have the opportunity to take some photos and/or videos, please share those with us.
Please contact Dr. Brady Spitz to inquire about booking.
Roots of Rhythm Tour – End of September each year.
We offer Roots of Rhythm performances on campus at UTM throughout the year by request. These shows are eligible for the TN Arts Commission Grant as well. Please note that Tennessee Arts Commission Grants are only available for programs during school hours. They will cover transportation and admission costs.
The UT Martin Percussion Society invites you to visit our campus and view the Roots of Rhythm program during the annual Civil Rights Conference. We offer one evening show and one early afternoon show. Please check the Civil Rights Conference page to get more information about tickets and pricing
We offer Roots of Rhythm in a number of virtual configurations. Please send us an email so that we might tailor a program to your school’s virtual needs.