Dr. John Bass, associate professor of music and director of the Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes, has been invited to be a performer and clinician at the Festival Internacional de Guitarra to be held in Cartagena, Colombia, Oct. 11-15.

Billboard magazine recently named Rhodes College one of the Top Music Business Schools in the U.S. -- even though the school does not have a music business major. But, it does have a music institute that celebrates Memphis’ role in the “Tennessee Music Miracle.”

The latest collaboration between Bobby Rush and Rhodes College is an original blues version of “America the Beautiful.” Over the past semester, Rush and a veritable who’s who of local musicians worked alongside dozens of Rhodes students to record their uniquely Memphis take on the patriotic standard.

New Arboretum Records, as the imprint has been dubbed, will launch with a full-length compilation of songs recorded by recent students. Along with that album, the label is releasing a double-sided digital single performed as a collaboration between Curb students, members of the Memphis music community and fifth-graders at Grahamwood Elementary.

Rhodes College has no music business major. But dozens of students each year receive world-class preparation for the music industry, according to Billboard Magazine. The music business publication will acknowledge Rhodes on Saturday in its 2020 list of “Top Music Business Schools.” It’s a rarity for a small liberal arts college, and a first for any school that has no majors related to the music industry.

Grahamwood Elementary students had the chance to visit Royal Studios and record music with some of the leading voices in the industry.

When you share your passions with our students, it opens doors for them that were before closed. Come hear how Rhodes College music professor and Grahamwood PTO parent, Dr. John Bass, shares his love for Memphis blues with the Grahamwood Elementary Orff club.eal.