Copyright © 2013 by MusicAlliance Inc. All rights reserved.
MUSICALLIANCE RECEIVES GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS THROUGH THEIR “Arts Education in American Communities” PROGRAM TO ENHANCE OUR 2013 HONOR BAND PROGRAMS
The $10,000 grant award will be used to bring in a group of professional jazz musicians to serve as clinicians for our 2013 Jazz Honor Band program and to commission noted band composer Robert Sheldon to write two musical compositions for our 2013 Summer Honor Band program. Mr. Sheldon will be composing a musical selection for both Honor Band 1 and Honor Band 2 and will rehearse the music with the bands during this coming summer’s June Honor Band camp. To cap things off, he will conduct the world-premiers of these new musical compositions at the Summer Honor Band concert. MusicAlliance is very excited about bringing these guest artists in to work with our honor band participants and thanks the National Endowment for the Arts for making it possible for us to further enrich the wonderful experiences that our honor band programs provide.
A record 180 students representing 52 schools participated in the 2012 Summer Honor Band program - our week-long honor band day camp that rehearsed from June 11th-16th, and which culminated in a performance in Cleveland State University’s Waetjen Auditorium on June 17th. The concert featured two groups: Honor Band 1 and Honor Band 2 and performing a wide variety of musical selections including a Grand Finale song “Jai Ho” (performed by Honor Band 1) which featured one of the band members in authentic Indian garb performing a traditional Indian dance to the music while some members of Honor Band 2 performed a beautiful ribbon twirling routine in the balconies above the stage.
June 2012
MusicAlliance is a non-profit 501c3 music education & performing arts organization founded in 2004 and based in Mentor, Ohio which provides school band programs for 30 schools throughout the Cleveland metropolitan area with a staff of 12 teachers and also which operates honor band programs which include both non-public and public school students and a new band program for homeschooled students.
We believe that studying a musical instrument has many far reaching benefits which play an essential role in the creative, social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. Participation in band helps to cultivate a greater love, appreciation, and understanding of music - one of humanity's oldest art forms and means of expression. Learning to make music in a school band program fosters a sense of belonging and accomplishment while also promoting self-esteem, self-confidence, self-expression, self-discipline, teamwork, and organizational skills.
Scientific research into the effects of studying music continue to produce new data about music's relationship to brainpower and academic success. University research studies have shown that students who participate in instrumental music score significantly higher than their non-band peers in standardized tests (such as the S.A.T.). Furthermore, significant correlations have been found between the number of years of instrumental music instruction and academic achievement in math, science, and language arts.1
When you consider the positive force that music education can be in the lives of both children and adults, we think you will agree that Music is Instrumental to a Sound Education!
1 Source: University of Sarasota Study, Jeffrey Lynn Kluball; East Texas State University Study, Daryl Erick Trent
Special Announcement:
The 2013 Summer Honor Band Program will be held June 10 - 15 in Wickliffe. Rehearsals are held each morning (Monday - Saturday), with an afternoon concert performance on Saturday, June 15th in Rocky River.