The Farmington Daily Times: Heartbeat Music Project lands $500k grant to continue music education program on Navajo Nation

By Mike Easterling

FARMINGTON — There is no question that Sharon Nelson, the executive director of the Heartbeat Music Project based at Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, would be thrilled if one of the students her nonprofit organization serves went on to get a music degree in college and launched a career performing in a symphony orchestra somewhere.

But Nelson, who is also an assistant professor of Diné culture at NTU, refuses to fall into the trap of gauging the success of the Heartbeat Music Project by those kinds of outcomes.