Country Music Hall Of Fame and Museum Promotes Ali Tonn

CMHOF Leadership headshots and group shots on June 22, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Donn Jones Photography

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has promoted Ali Tonn to Senior Director of Education & Public Programs.

Tonn directs educational programming at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, including all content developed and provided in the Museum’s Taylor Swift Education Center. Tonn began work at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in the fall of 2005. Since then, the education division has seen a 350 percent increase in participation with current engagement reaching over 100,000 individuals each year. The opening of the Taylor Swift Education Center in 2013 enabled the creation of new programs and services for students, teachers, and family audiences. A videoconference lab in the center allows for long-distance support to schools and community organizations far from Nashville, with partnerships for schools in New York City and Los Angeles.

Locally, Tonn helped develop the partnership with Nashville Public Library’s Wishing Chair Productions with the joint-creation of String City: Nashville’s Tradition of Music and Puppetry, showcasing Nashville’s traditions of country music and puppetry arts. She played a key role in the creation and launch of the 2017 Community Counts: Museum Admission Program for Locals enabling wider museum access for area residents. Tonn’s work has been recognized through awards from the American Alliance of Museums, Tennessee Association of Museums, and the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society of Key Women Educators.

Tonn holds a B. A. in Music and Music History from the University of Kansas and a M. A. in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to joining the museum, she worked with the Madison Civic Center in Wisconsin where she directed children’s programs; the Manhattan School of Music where she supported the Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance and administered the Conservatory’s Community Outreach efforts; and the W.O. Smith Community Music School in Nashville where she taught flute, piano, and music theory, created instructional materials, managed volunteers music teachers and assisted with various other operational needs.