We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tatia Rose a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tatia , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.
When I first started teaching, I had a young Autistic student as one of my first students. I had very little experience with Autism so I started doing some research in addition to getting involved with local organizations that supported those communities. It became clear that they were vastly underserved in terms of understanding and inclusion. This was in 2006 and things have come a long way, thankfully. It was different back then though. Most did not understand the vast spectrum of ability and disability that came along with the diagnosis. The frustration of non-verbal children especially was misunderstood. Music became a way for us to communicate, and now I’m very pleased to see those opportunities opening up for Autistic individuals and expanding into more music therapy providers.
Tatia , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I hold a BA in Music from WVU. After graduating from college I moved to Nashville to pursue a music career as a pianist and songwriter. After recording and touring for a couple of years, I decided that I wanted to be on the business side of the industry and began RMG LLC, a booking and talent management firm. While I’m still active in that sector, my passion for teaching emerged in 2008 when added a music education department to my company. Many years later, that department became it’s own company – Nashville Music Academy. The desire to help children in underserved areas and their communities via music led me to found Sangtuary in 2021. Sangtuary is a non-denominational church where providing music programs is the mission. NMA administrates the programs at Sangtuary, so it’s been a great marriage of two things I care a lot about. I’m also a West Virginia girl at heart, and still maintain a 154 acre goat farm in Moundsville WV (Lacie Lee Farms).
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Putting up results. When your customers are happy they will tell others about your service. When it comes to education specifically, consistency is key.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In 2008 when the market crashed, I had just had a baby and expanded my music school to include a few employees. It was the lowest point of revenue for my business and everyone was scared. I took it one day at time. Had a few cold sweats when calculating grocery and utility bills, but eventually things get better and luck sometimes fills empty sails.
Contact Info:
- Website:http://lacieleefarms.com, nashvillemusicacademy.org, sangtuary.org
- Instagram: @tatiajrose
- Linkedin: Tatia Rose
- Twitter: @RoseMusicGroup