Years later Dave Petrelli Working in Nashville's music business, he experienced a moment in the city's Shelby Park that eclipsed all the expectations he had for his career.

Petrelli, a former creative assistant at peermusic and events director for the Nashville Songwriters Association International, made a conscious move into music education, and one step along the way was teaching general education to fourth-graders. He used his innate skills and often rewrote existing songs to teach to students, and when a total solar eclipse occurred in the city in 2017, Petrelli prepared his lessons by using the Bonnie Tyler/Celine Dion Hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” as “Total Eclipse of the Sun.”

When the big day came, Petrelli and his wife, the songwriter Victoria Banks (“Come On Over,” “Saints & Angels”) joined thousands in the park to watch the afternoon sky darken. About a dozen children saw “Mr. Petrelli” and ran to him to sing “Total Eclipse of the Sun.”

“I didn’t even expect it to be a moment,” he says now, “and it was a moment.”

Petrelli is one of 30 teachers from eight states who will experience another personal moment tonight (Sept. 17) when the Country Music Association honors them as CMA Music Teachers of Excellence at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The CMA has made music education a mission and invests proceeds from the annual CMA Fest in programs vital to the development of future generations.

The program is so appreciated that the Teachers’ Awards ceremony will feature as many artists as teachers, including Walker Hayes, Jordan Davis, Riley Green, Terri Clark And Gretchen Wilson.

The teaching positions may not be as glamorous as these artists' touring appearances, but they are “far more important,” says the CMA's senior vice president of industry relations. Tiffany Kerns says. “We have the best gigs in the world, don't get me wrong. But what they do is far more impressive. And I think you can talk about a profound impact on the community.”

These effects are far-reaching. Music promotes collaboration, learning an instrument promotes discipline, and studying music changes the brain, strengthening connections between different cerebral cortices and opening up new pathways for thought. Schools that offer music classes have lower absenteeism rates, according to Kerns. And because music teachers tend to spend more time with individual students while they learn their instruments, they are often the teachers with whom students feel most comfortable discussing hunger or mental health issues.

In Petrelli's case, students may also be able to identify with him because he is one of them in spirit. He grew up in Connecticut, his mother – who taught Spanish – died when he was 10, and he had to fend for himself earlier than his peers.

“I grew up too quickly and that’s why there’s still a lot of child in me,” he says.

Petrelli showed an early interest in music, and after graduating from Boston College, he taught music for a year at a private Catholic elementary school. He then earned a songwriting degree from Berklee College of Music, then moved to Nashville and worked his way into the music scene. After they married, he and Banks decided that at least one of them should have a more secure job, and he moved into the education field.

The “Total Eclipse” moment grew out of his approach to blending music with other parts of the school curriculum. A few years ago, when Lockeland Elementary was under the school-wide theme “Lockeland is not of this world,” he had the classes explore the details in songs with galactic lyrics—such as David Bowie“Space Oddity” by Europe“The Final Countdown” or Elton-John“Rocket Man” – to better understand space and enrich the school experience.

“I've found that it really, really, really gets the kids interested in what they're going to learn today,” says Petrelli. “That's the starting point for my teaching.”

In other subjects, such as mathematics or science, the material is rather simple – two plus two always equals four – and Kerns believes that these subjects seem more “black and white” to students.

“When you walk into the music room, I really believe Dave's students immediately feel and see color,” she says. “There's something so vibrant about his personality and the way he teaches, and that's a gift.”

The CMA does not limit its Outstanding Teacher Awards to teachers who use country music in their classes. Pop, jazz, R&B and mariachi have been used extensively by various award winners, although Petrelli does indeed incorporate country into his work, with songs by Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings And Shania Twain among the materials he uses.

“The storytelling aspect is huge,” he says.

While music lessons may not be as glamorous as the careers of the artists Petrelli supported in his classes, they still satisfy his own artistic urges.

“I teach six classes a day and it's six one-hour shows,” he says. “It's an hour-long song and dance show, six times in a row. I've done physically demanding jobs, mentally demanding jobs. I've never been more exhausted at the end of a day than when I come home after a particularly hard day of teaching.”

It's usually a thankless job, but at the Teachers of Excellence event, a little appreciation is expressed. And students give feedback, whether they know it or not, in moments like the 2017 solar eclipse. In moments like these, Petrelli is reminded that the job really is an opportunity to inspire the next generation, even if it looks a little different than he originally imagined.

“I always dreamed of girls screaming my name,” says Petrelli. “I never imagined they would be 9 years old and waving in their car and yelling 'Mr. Petrelli!'”

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