Studies show music lessons improve academics
By Katie Roper, Special to The Town Crier
 Jack Barbeau plays his trombone during a Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) private lesson. |
It’s a fact - music makes you smarter. Evy Schiffman, director of marketing and communication for the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center in Mountain View, pointed to study after study showing children who take music lessons are four times more likely to win an academic award and eight times more likely to win a community service award, have demonstrably better reading and math performance and exhibit better social interaction than their nonmusical peers.
Parents in the Silicon Valley will do anything to give their children an edge, so it’s not surprising that the Bay Area bucks the statewide trend of decreasing the ratio of music teachers to children. In private lessons, small-group settings and large symphony orchestras, Los Altos children can take advantage of various styles of music education.
CSMA
The largest provider of music lessons in the area is CSMA, which serves 40,000 children a year. With the motto “Arts for All,” CSMA provides “a complete music education, including private lessons, group theory and performance classes, and access to concerts and recitals,” said Evy Schiffman, director of marketing and communication at CSMA.
Every week, 900 children learn to play everything from piccolo to bass viol at the group’s facility off San Antonio Road. Additionally, CSMA offers music and movement classes for preschoolers, digital music workshops for teens and special weeklong camps every summer. A robust fundraising effort ensures that children can participate regardless of the family’s financial situation, Schiffman said.
CSMA’s spring semester began Feb. 5, and they are registering students for the summer semester. Auditions are required for private lessons to match students with the appropriate teachers. Information is available on the school’s Web site, www.arts4all.org.
Youth orchestras
Numerous youth orchestras rehearse and perform throughout the Peninsula. The granddaddy of local orchestras is the California Youth Symphony (CYS), founded in 1952, which currently offers eight different music programs for beginner through advanced players of all symphony instruments, according to Jim Hogan, executive director. Children typically start lessons at 8 or 9. Hogan said, and progress to the associate orchestra at the age of 12 or 13. Players in the main orchestra are usually high school juniors or seniors, due to the highly competitive audition process.
“We cater to high-achieving kids who are very interested in music,” said Hogan. “Kids mostly get involved because their parents think it is a good idea.”
Hogan said CYS is modeled on a professional orchestra in repertoire performed, player attitudes and the concert experience. Between 600 and 700 children audition each year for approximately 100 openings. The orchestra serves more than 500 musicians, but many continue from year to year. All study privately, according to Hogan, and most participate in their school music programs as well as CYS.
Local concerts are performed at Smithwick Theatre at Foothill College and the Flint Center at De Anza College. Occasionally the group travels to other venues. Last year, for instance, the group went to China, Hogan said.
Applications for CYS are due April 1 for next year’s orchestra. They can be downloaded at the group’s Web site, www.cys.org.
Other youth orchestras performing in the area include the El Camino Youth Symphony and the Peninsula Youth Orchestra.
“It seems this area has to be one of the most productive for young musicians,” Hogan said.
City programs
Even children too young to read music, or even to hold a violin bow, can participate. The Los Altos Recreation Department sponsors toddler-oriented music classes among its most popular offerings, according to Peggy Ford, recreation supervisor for the city of Los Altos. The Music Around the World classes available through the city include language instruction as part of the music for Spanish, French and Mandarin immersion.
“Children pick up everything auditorily, so we introduce languages through the universal language - music,” said Julie Wong, program director. Wong, who earned a master’s degree in music and language, created the program because she was fed up with language classes that focused on translation and grammar. “That’s the wrong way to teach at this age,” she said.
Music Around the World is available for the youngest Los Altans. A class for babies under 12 months meets Monday mornings at the Hillview Community Center. Information is available on the city Web site, www.ci.los-altos.ca.us, or at the Hillview office of the recreation department. You do not have to be a Los Altos resident to participate.
Local churches
Several area churches offer children’s music programs. Los Altos Lutheran Church has a small but growing music school that “provides individual attention and emphasizes high-quality instruction in a nurturing environment,” said Beverly Dekker-Davidson, the music director for The Los Altos Music School.
The school offers year-round programs for preschool children that combine singing, dancing and storytelling for a joyful introduction to music. The school has scheduled a choral camp in June for elementary schoolchildren, and offers periodic workshops with renowned artists such as tenor David Gordon. Information on the program is available by calling 948-3012.
Dr. Ron Swedlund, organist for Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos, offers music lessons on piano and on the church’s pipe organ. The church is starting a children’s choir. Information is available by calling 948-2151.
Private lessons
Private lessons are available throughout the area. Local music stores, such as West Valley Music on Grant Road in Mountain View, can recommend teachers. Many teachers fill their schedules via word-of-mouth referrals.
“People in this area understand the value music brings to kids, so I don’t have to put much effort into marketing,” said Nikki Bostwick, who teaches piano, violin and viola. “Most of the time, parents don’t even ask questions about my credentials or experience; they hear from one of their friends that I’m a good teacher and take their word for it.”
Bostwick, who has taught all over the world, praises Los Altos-area parents for their high level of involvement in their children’s music education. “It makes a tremendous difference to have so much parent participation.”
Parent-funded school programs
The cornerstone of music education in the community is the excellent music programs offered from elementary through high school by school districts. Funded by parent contributions to the various educational foundations and PTAs, and other community donations, these programs ensure that vocal and instrumental music are part of every child’s education despite budget cuts at the state level.
“Los Altos parents value music education so highly that they fund it out of their own pockets so that all children in the community can participate,” said Mike Maciag, president of the Los Altos Educational Foundation. The no-profit raises more than $350,000 annually to fund instrumental and vocal music programs in the elementary and middle schools in the Los Altos School District.
