MOUNT VERNON — After 16 years as a singer and songwriter in the country music industry, Yvonne Sanson feels called to return home and share what she has learned.
“I’ve learned things the hard way,” Sanson said in a recent telephone interview from her home in Muscle Shoals, Ala. “What to do, what not to do, who to trust, who not to trust. I want to help young people there to be professional, to be prepared.”
The Highland High School graduate has had considerable success in Nashville, Tenn., and Muscle Shoals, Ala., two important music industry centers in the United States. She has worked with such acclaimed figures as Randy Travis, who recorded Sanson’s song “America Will Always Stand,” and Ricky Skaggs, with whom she has co-written. But in the last few years, she has discovered a profound love for teaching music to young people. The 30 students she has had so far down south have thrived and have started to find success.
As the students began flourishing, Sanson felt like God was telling her something.
“Yvonne, don’t you think you should be paying attention to what’s going on?” was the message that came through to Sanson as she realized that her gift was helping these kids flourish musically. It was then she felt like she had unfinished business back home in Ohio, where there were now children, teenagers and young adults who could use her help to find themselves and finally bloom.
“In school now, it’s so sports-oriented, the people that are eclectic and artsy get left out” Sanson said. “They kind of wonder where their place is. They think that because they’re different, there’s something wrong.”
She wants to help such youths find that not only is there a place for them, but also that their creativity can make them leaders.
“I want to help those people who were like me, wondering where their place is,” Sanson said.
Sanson will be joining her father, Darell, who has been a well-known guitar teacher near Fredericktown for a number of years. He gives lessons to about 120 students from his home on North Liberty Road in the mornings, evenings and on his days off. Starting Feb. 25, Yvonne will begin offering lessons in a separate studio room in the same house for people interested in pursuing careers in pop, country, bluegrass or gospel music.
Initially, Sanson’s Southbound Music Productions, will offer voice lessons and guitar, but she also looks forward to holding song-writing clinics, where nascent writers can work on song structure and crafting lyrics. She also hopes to work with individual students on artist development, coaching them on stage presence and performance preparation. She hopes that she will be able to use her connections in the business to help others get started on the road to Nashville.
Students interested in studying with Sanson can contact her at (256) 627-8656.
