Education News

Music is Good for You at Any Age

Source: Michael Ricci
March 2, 2010

It may be easier to learn young, but it may be more fun to learn later. “Music is sort of the perfect activity that people can engage in from young to older years," neurologist Gottfried Schlaug says. Let's face it: Many of us looking to sharpen our intellectual edges have already passed the age when becoming a prodigy is an option. We missed the opportunity to start clarinet lessons at 5. We lacked the discipline to practice for hours on ...

Continue Reading...

School Wants to Ban iPods

Source: HypeBot
March 2, 2010

One U.S. school official may have inadvertently found the solution to the sales slump in record music.

Torrington, CT school superintendent Christopher G. Leone wants to stamp out digital music players  at the local high school.  Leone recently told the school board he believes iPods likely outnumber the students. “I just don't see the need," Leone wold the Republican American newspaper. “If we had a technology program that was using mp3 players, which we're nowhere near, that would make sense". ...

Continue Reading...

Effect of Music on Cognitive Function

Source: Michael Ricci
March 1, 2010

Playing an instrument seems to make learning math and foreign languages easier, but researchers arent sure why.

Taylor Bredberg is an ardent fan of the indie band Grizzly Bear and the TV series “Lost," is an amateur filmmaker and a doodler of figures that bring to mind Tim Burton's kinetic grostesques. But if those interests make him a pretty normal teenager, Bredberg's eight-year relationship with the piano may have made him a little more unusual: He is a kid with ...

Continue Reading...

Jazz St. Louis Sets Audition Dates for All-Stars, JazzU

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 1, 2010

Jazz St. Louis has set the dates for student musicians to audition for next season's JazzU program and for the Jazz St. Louis All-Stars. Auditions for both programs will be held Monday, June 7 and Monday, June 14 at Jazz at the Bistro.To be eligible to audition, applicants must be in middle or high school (grades 6-12) during the 2010-2011 school year. Acceptance into both programs is based on a live audition; students will be assigned an audition ...

Continue Reading...

New Berkleemusic Jazz Voice Course Online April 5

Source: Shore Fire Media
February 26, 2010

Berkleemusic, the online continuing education arm of Berklee College of Music has just announced Jazz Voice, a new online course for the April 5 term. It'll be taught by Jan Shapiro, the chair of the Voice department at Berklee College of Music. She has presented vocal clinics around the country and toured extensively, performing in jazz clubs, hotels, and supper clubs nationally. Her latest CD, Back to Basics, features jazz standards with her own unique arrangements. Shapiro has also performed ...

Continue Reading...

Student Bands to Perform at Jazz at the Bistro, Black Cat Theatre

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
February 25, 2010

Upcoming events at Jazz at the Bistro and the Black Cat Theatre will give St. Louis area jazz fans some opportunities to catch some of our town's up-and-coming student musicians:* The Meramec Jazz Lab Band from St. Louis Community College - Meramec, directed by Bob Boedges, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10 and Wednesday, April 28 at the Black Cat Theatre. Tickets for each concert will be available at the door for $10 general admission, ...

Continue Reading...

Musical Dust Collectors: 20,000,000 Unplayed Pianos!

Source: Michael Ricci
February 18, 2010

"Why are there so many unplayed pianos in the United States?" Thats the question composer and professional piano instructor Edward Weiss is asking. And its not just pianos that are taking up living room space the number of unused electronic keyboards is just as staggering. Edward Weiss has been teaching people the joy of playing piano for well over 15 years, and hes come up with his own reasons why vast numbers of these musical instruments are just gathering dust. ...

Continue Reading...

Le Moyne College Unveils Eric Dolphy Statue and Events

Source: Michael Ricci
February 15, 2010

LE MOYNE COLLEGE PLANS SERIES OF EVENTS AROUND UNVEILING OF ERIC DOLPHY STATUE

SYRACUSE, NY -- To mark the 40th anniversary of the first celebration of Dolphy Day at Le Moyne, the College has launched “The Eric Dolphy Project," an effort encompassing the commission of a bronze sculpture of legendary jazz musician Eric Dolphy and a series of events around the statue's unveiling on the campus on Wednesday, April 7.

Dolphy Day is traditionally celebrated on the first warm day ...

Continue Reading...