About the Music Preservation Society
The Music Preservation Society (MPS), a non-profit organization, was established in 1982 to “preserve, present, and promote the musical heritage of northwest Alabama” and does so with a myriad of projects.
The non-profit organization is led by a board of directors and is maintained primarily through the efforts of community volunteers. Funding for the Music Preservation Society comes from a variety of sources including grants, corporate contributions, event sponsorships, donations from Friends of the Festival, and the sale of Festival memorabilia and concessions.
MPS often works with projects with which there is shared interest. For example, it was MPS who worked with the Music Shoals National Heritage Area to create the study which was submitted to the National Park Service for approval. MPS also supported the Singing River Sculpture project (with two of the initial four statues already erected and more to come). MPS supports recording studios, and encourages the use of live instruments. MPS has worked with local government to plan and present events held in Florence, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, Russellville, Leighton, Rogersville, Killen, Red Bay, and St. Florian.
The Music Preservation Society provides both permanent positions and temporary jobs that offer positive activities during the weeks surrounding the Handy Festival. Team members and volunteers are given an opportunity to develop work skills (accounting, sales, marketing, event planning) and social skills (public relations). Those who work with the Handy Festival serve as ambassadors for the Shoals.
MPS has a strong educational mission, which is why educational programs are always included among the activities held during its annual W.C. Handy Festival. Those activities have long included “ABC’s of Jazz, Blues, and Beyond”, “Kidz Jamm”, master classes, songwriter showcases, music history and presentations, lectures, plays, and even workshops to promote recycling by making musical instruments from repurposed materials. Other educational events include design and poetry competitions and research projects. In addition, educational programs relating to music are sometimes presented during the school year.
MPS hosts an annual music camp for students, jointly sponsored by the Department of Music at the University of North Alabama. During the W.C. Handy Music Camp, MPS provides scholarships for students to learn from music masters. MPS sponsors industry professionals who provide unmatched musical expertise to those who would otherwise have no access to that level of teaching. Other MPS and Handy Festival related educational and outreach programs include church and nursing home performances.
To further its goal of preserving, presenting, and promoting the Shoals’ musical heritage, MPS has over time worked with other like-minded entities. MPS has partnered with the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Florence Lauderdale Tourism, Colbert County Tourism, the Muscle Shoals Music Association, Alabama Folklife, the University of North Alabama, Northwest Shoals Community College, and many other organizations. As a member of the Shoals art community, MPS has often workers with the W.C. Handy Home and Museum, Tennessee Valley Art Center, Bellemont Mansion, the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, and other local art galleries and museums.
MPS Sponsored Activity
While the Music Preservation Society, Inc. is active all year long, it is most widely for the highly popular ten day long W.C. Handy Music Festival. The Handy Music Festival, which honors internationally known William Christopher (W.C.) Handy, is the largest and most attended annual tourism attraction held in northwest Alabama. Handy, recognized as the “Father of the Blues”, was born in Florence, Alabama in 1873 and, until his death in 1958, was a composer, publisher, musician, and publishing pioneer whose musical legacy is still performed, revered, and appreciated around the world.