Art For Life’s Sake, a non-profit organization, provides access and exposure to the arts for young people ages 4 to 14 years old through after-school and weekend activities. Our programs are accessible to young people in the Memphis area regardless of their family’s income, the neighborhood they live in, disabilities, religious traditions, gender, race or ethnic background.

Art for Life’s Sake programs provide learning, entertainment and enjoyment to students who may be at risk of making choices that are counterproductive to a happy and healthy future.

Beliefs

Art for Life’s Sake believes that every child is creative and talented and should be nurtured in an environment that promotes the arts, talent development and expression for an enriched childhood and productive future.

Mission

Many urban children, especially those of color, have limited access and exposure to the arts. The mission of Art for Life’s Sake is to create opportunities for under-served and under-represented children to have access to the arts.

Goals

Art for Life’s Sake seeks to:

• Help students strengthen self-esteem and build friendships through on-going individual, partner and group activities;

• Enrich each participant’s personal, social and career skills;

• Enable students to develop musical knowledge and skills for entry into local string orchestras and symphonies;

• Strengthen personal and cross-cultural understandings by studying multicultural literature and art forms, engaging in creative writing, and creating art projects;

• Create a platform for community gatherings through recitals, concerts, productions and other arts-based presentations in the community.

Staff Biographies

Dr. Hattie Isen
CEO of Art for Life’s Sake
Violin and Dramatic Literature instructor

Hattie Isen, the founding director and CEO of Art for Life’s Sake, has been engaging children in after-school and weekend activities through the Art for Life’s Sake program since 1990.

After graduating from Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, she earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling at Tennessee State and a Ph.D. in educational administration and supervision at the University of Iowa. Her educational training includes study in child development, teaching, counseling, psychology and administration.

Dr. Isen has been advocating the Suzuki approach to musical education for more than 30 years. She studied the beginning levels of Suzuki pedagogy and nurtured her son, Ani Isen, in the Suzuki method from age three. He is an alumnus of the Memphis Youth Symphony.

Dr. Isen views music as an enriching complement to core academic subjects and as an entitlement that every child should experience.

“Getting to know more than 400 children and young people through Art for Life’s Sake has been quite satisfying,” she said. “Arts and musical studies build unique skills that have life-long benefits and contribute to development in other areas. Many participants who have had access to the arts through Art for Life have joined secondary schools’ orchestras and one of the Memphis Youth Symphony programs. Some are pursuing college careers or have secured good jobs. It’s wonderful to know that training in the arts have contributed to the success these students are enjoying.”

In addition to her work with Art for Life’s Sake, she is the elementary counseling supervisor for Memphis City Schools.

Ann Spurbeck
Violin and Piano instructor

Ms. Spurbeck has been a member of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra since 1968. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami (Florida) and a Master of Music Education from Indiana University.

She taught orchestra and strings at Lausanne School in Memphis from 1973 to 1983. Since 1983, she has been on the staff of the music department at Rhodes College.

Ms. Spurbeck has guided Art for Life students as a strings instructor and piano accompanist since the summer of 2003.

Carol T. Keith
Cello and Sight Reading instructor

Ms. Keith holds a master’s degree in cello from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She earned additional credits beyond her master’s degree at the University of Miami, Yale Summer Music School, and Westminster Choir College.

Ms. Keith completed Suzuki training at Mid-Southeast Suzuki Institute in Bristol, Virginia, and the University of Memphis. She taught vocal and instrumental music in the Westfield, New Jersey, public schools for 25 years. She has also taught cello at Integrated Arts Academy in Covington, Tennessee, and in private lessons.

Ms. Keith currently performs with the Germantown Symphony Orchestra and Dyersburg Community College Orchestra. She is a member of Etude Music Club in Memphis.

Ms. Keith has been teaching with Art for Life’s Sake since October 2004.

Xavier Patterson
Violin Instructor

A music and computer science major at LeMoyne-Owen College, Xavier has spoken and performed before audiences since childhood.

As a junior high student, he won awards in two national oration competitions and earned praise in two Art for Life’s Sake seasons with speeches on the topics of “Choose Violins, Not Violence” and “Music for Helping to Heal” following 9/11. In high school, he was a member of the Memphis Youth Symphony’s Sinfonia and String Ensemble orchestras.

Xavier has worked as a string tutoring mentor and a violin accompanist for Art for Life’s Sake for the past five years. He continues his musical education in private string lessons.