Josh Turner establishes scholarship

"Growing up in rural South Carolina, I attended a 1-A school and there were only 75 people in my graduating class," said Turner. "In other words, it was a small school and that translated into 'not a lot of opportunities' when it came to music. We had academic and sports programs, but we never had a consistent music program. We would have a band one year, and a chorus one year, but nothing ever lasted."

Reflecting on when Turner first moved to Nashville and became a student at Belmont University he said, "When I got to Belmont, I felt so lost in my music classes because I'd never been taught a lot of music theory. I'd never heard of ear training. It was like learning a whole new language. I was talking to my producer, Frank Rogers, one day and he and I were discussing our music experiences from high school. He attended a 5-A school and was in a band and a chorus and took trips all over the country playing and singing. We never had any of that."

"That discussion combined with my wife Jennifer's passion to expose young people to music inspired my idea to start a scholarship fund that would jump-start high school students into a future in the music business. The interesting and beneficial aspect of this fund is that you don't have to be a singer or performer to qualify for this scholarship. You can pursue basically any job that is directly associated with the music industry. The possibilities are endless. I chose my high school alma mater to be the first recipient of the scholarship because it is close to my heart and I know the extent of the needs there. I'm looking forward to seeing our passion to promote art and music in schools become a reality in 2009."

The fund, administered by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, will initially be awarded to a graduating senior from the 2009 class of Hannah-Pamplico High School in Hannah, S.C. The scholarship recipient will attend a post-secondary school with a substantial arts curriculum. Information regarding the scholarship program can be found by going to Turner's official website: www.joshturner.com and clicking on the "scholarship information" link. In addition, Turner has been selling "JT Fund For The Arts" bracelets at all of his shows to raise money for the fund.