| Saratoga Mystique Pianos Young Artist Scholorship Program * "Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and, by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective." - Bill Clinton, former President, United States of America Last year it was an honor to be a part of a scholarship program with Albany Talent & The Travel Shoppe granting 3 local young artists scholarships. It was a pleasure to have one of our young performers perform on stage at “A Celebration of The Arts” 2009 with accomplished concert pianists and other artist from around the region and beyond. This year’s Young Artist scholarship program will begin in January “2010” with a program in July “2010”. -Participants must be between the ages of 6-19. - All participants must be in school or college. - Must pledge to remain alcohol and drug free. Proceeds from the Piano café on Victorian walk night and other events will go to benefit the Young Artist Program. A portion of the proceeds of all New Mason and Hamlin & Shimmel Piano purchases will also benefit this program. Thank you to our clients and those in our community that are apart of encouraging these young artists to stay alcohol and drug free and to pursue their artistic gifts that will benefit their futures. More information to follow & Good luck to all of our participants! To nominate or audition please inquire with-in or at our Wilton Mall location. For more information email us at saratogamystique@yahoo.com. Pursuing my doctorate in Psychology with a focus in music theraphy I know first hand the wonderful lifelong benefits of music from an art, as well as a science perspective. My expierence working with young children, elderly, veterans, and the terminally ill it is a pleasure to be apart of these young individual lives in pursuing their gifts that will benefit not only themselves, but our communities as a whole. From early childhood with academics, social and behavioral benefits to when they become Middle age with using music as a coping technique whether suffering from Depression, Stress, Anxiety, to their elderly years whether facing Alzheimer's, a stroke or other ailments, music is scientifically proven to have many benefits. It is my hope to encourage our young people to continue with their gifts that will undoutably aid in obtaining a healthy future. Some facts to share; Studies reflect that young individuals that pursue music benefit academically, socially and behaviorally. *There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). *Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. *Recent studies show that students who study the arts are more successful on standardized tests such as the SAT. - They also achieve higher grades in high school. *Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work. *Music study enhances teamwork skills and discipline. *Music provides children with a means of self-expression. *Music study develops skills that are necessary in the workplace. It focuses on "doing," as opposed to observing, and teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world. *Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. Source: The College Board, Profile of College- Bound Seniors National Report for 2001. * Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills. National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, 1990 *A study of 237 second grade children used piano keyboard training and newly designed math software to demonstrate improvement in math skills. The group scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children that used only the math software. Graziano, Amy, Matthew Peterson, and Gordon Shaw, "Enhanced learning of proportional math through music training and spatial-temporal training." Neurological Research 21 (March 1999). A research team exploring the link between music and intelligence reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and Newcomb, "Music training causes long-term enhancement of preschool children's spatial-temporal reasoning," Neurological Research, Vol. 19, February 1997 * Researchers in Leipzig found that brain scans of musicians showed larger planum temporale (a brain region related to some reading skills) than those of non-musicians. They also found that the musicians had a thicker corpus callosum (the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two halves of the brain) than those of non-musicians, especially for those who had begun their training before the age of seven. Schlaug, G., Jancke, L., Huang, Y., and Steinmetz, H. (1994). In vivo morphometry of interhem ispheric assymetry and connectivity in musicians. In I. Deliege (Ed.), Proceedings of the 3d international conference for music perception and cognition (pp. 417-418). Liege, Belgium. * A University of California (Irvine) study showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky and Wright, "Music and Spatial Task Performance: A Causal Relationship," University of California, Irvine, 1994 Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades. NELS:88 First Follow-up, 1990, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington DC * Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted. As reported in "The Case for Music in the Schools," Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994 Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation. College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers. Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001. Perhaps the basic reason that every child must have an education in music is that music is a part of the fabric of our society. The intrinsic value of music for each individual is widely recognized in the many cultures that make up American life &emdash; indeed, every human culture uses music to carry forward its ideas and ideals. The importance of music to our economy is without doubt. And the value of music in shaping individual abilities and character are attested in a number of places: * Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998 * "Music is a magical gift we must nourish and cultivate in our children, especially now as scientific evidence proves that an education in the arts makes better math and science students, enhances spatial intelligence in newborns, and let's not forget that the arts are a compelling solution to teen violence, certainly not the cause of it!" Michael Greene, Recording Academy President and CEO at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, February 2000. * The U.S. Department of Education lists the arts as subjects that college-bound middle and junior high school students should take, stating "Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students' understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It is also well known and widely recognized that the arts contribute significantly to children's intellectual development." In addition, one year of Visual and Performing Arts is recommended for college-bound high school students. Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years, U.S. Department of Education, 1997 * The College Board identifies the arts as one of the six basic academic subject areas students should study in order to succeed in college. Academic Preparation for College: What Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do, 1983 [still in use], The College Board, New York * The arts create jobs, increase the local tax base, boost tourism, spur growth in related businesses (hotels, restaurants, printing, etc.) and improve the overall quality of life for our cities and towns. On a national level, nonprofit arts institutions and organizations generate an estimated $37 billion in economic activity and return $3.4 billion in federal income taxes to the U.S. Treasury each year. American Arts Alliance Fact Sheet, October 1996 * The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians. Grant Venerable, "The Paradox of the Silicon Savior," as reported in "The Case for Sequential Music Education in the Core Curriculum of the Public Schools," The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, "Music making makes the elderly healthier.... There were significant decreases in anxiety, depression, and loneliness following keyboard lessons. These are factors that are critical in coping with stress, stimulating the immune system, and in improved health. Results also show significant increases in human growth hormones following the same group keyboard lessons. (Human growth hormone is implicated in aches and pains.)" Dr. Frederick Tims, reported in AMC Music News, June 2, 1999 For More information and reading Enjoyment; -Music Physician for Times to Come An anthology compiled by Don Cambell, best -selling author of "The Mozart Effect". -The Mozart Effect Author: Don Campbell The Mozart Effect for Children Author: Don Campbell -Self-Transformation Through Music Author: Joanne Crandall -The Healing Energies of Music Author: Hal A. Lingerman -Music and the Mind Author: Jophn Logan -A Well-Tempered Mind Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn Author: Peter Perret & Janet Fox -Psychology of Music Author: Carl E. Seashore -The Healing Forces of Music Author: Randall McCellan Ph. D. -Sound and Music For the Pleasure of The Brain Author Jack Orbach -The Inner Game of Music Author;Barry Green The World in Six Songs Author; Daniel J. Levitin Keeping Mozart in Mind Author: Gordon L. Shaw, Ph.D. Music, Though, and Feeling Understanding the Psychology of Music Author; William Forde Thompson Music as a way of Knowing Author; Nick Page Music theraphy for Non-Musicicans Author; Ted Andrews Sound and Music (For the Pleasure of the Brain) Author; Jack Orback Good luck to all of our participants! More details about our program to follow |
