Mr. Holland Opus Foundation and Movie
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@MusicRising #Music #Rising, which puts instruments in schools after disasters, whose donations are distributed by the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, which Felice runs.
MUSIC IN SCHOOL COUNTS Prince played trumpet in the junior high school band
The Mr. Holland's Opus
Foundation has launched a web site at for jeopardized music programs and underprivileged students seeking
assistance, according to Entertainment Wire. Inspired by the acclaimed motion picture "Mr.
Holland's Opus," the foundation that supports school music programs and students was
founded by actor Richard Dreyfuss, film-score composer Michael Kamen and
director Stephen Herek.The site was donated to the foundation by the New York-based Web design firm
radical.media.
After breakfast at Mother's, Marty, Felice and myself took a cab deep into the French Quarter to the
McDonogh School, where the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation was
presenting the music program with a slew of instruments. That's what the Mr. Holland's
Opus
Foundation does, grant instruments to school music programs. It was started by Michael Kamen,
who composed the music for the movie. He wanted students to have the same opportunity he had, to learn an
instrument in school, to be fulfilled, to be enriched. Felice runs the Foundation.
I'd been hearing about all the great work the Foundation had been doing in New Orleans for two years.
And on a site visit a couple of months back, Tricia had encountered Kelvin Harrison and his program. She
believed they were worthy, they deserved the instruments. The program had started after Katrina with no
instruments. Mr. Harrison had taught his students on recorders when the ordered instruments hadn't
arrived. But now he was up and running, he needed more. And that's why we were there.
The environment in the building was completely different from my educational experience. Instead of
sterility, I found vibrancy. Silhouettes graced the cafeteria, with explanations of each. One student
said
his creation was as big as the 24" rims on his older brother's car. That cracked me up. But I
loved the banner on the far side of the room: "Climb the mountain to college." There were
aphorisms all over the place. Informing the students to pay attention now, to apply themselves now, to
prepare, for otherwise, in the future, they'd be left out.
And after reading the display about Black History Month, learning
exactly who Booker T. Washington was, we ascended the stairs to the third floor, where Mr. Harrison was
warming up the band. Brass members were playing notes. I prepared myself. This was going to be awful.
An
endurance test. You know what it's like being in the vicinity of someone learning an instrument. You
want to support them, but the sound is grating, you can't read, you can't watch television, you
just
want the noise to stop.
After quieting everybody down, Mr. Harrison looked at the assembled multitude and said the band was going
to
play a couple of numbers. They were going to start with "Oye Como Va". Oh, I know it wasn't
a
Santana original. But that's where I heard it. Coming out of John "Muddy" Waters' room
in the dorm all of freshman year. I've come to love "Abraxas". I bought it on vinyl. And
have a gold CD. I've got all the MP3s. I love "Oye Como Va". I was trepidatiously
excited.
Then the two players on keys rolled out the intro, the drummers started hitting the accents, the horn
players lifted their instruments to their lips and the band started to swing!
I couldn't believe it! Fifth graders? My high school's band wasn't this good. This was good
enough for college! The flutes are wailing. I notice the drummer is a girl. And yes, that tiny figure
behind the keyboard, she's hitting every note. Trombone players got up and soloed. Tears started
coming to my eyes. This was education! If I could play in a band like this, I'd want to come to
school! And when they finished, there was raucous applause. And then they lit into Herbie Hancock's
"Watermelon Man". These little kids, they had soul!
Then we went back to the cafeteria. Where the curtain was parted and the students saw the sousaphone, the
tympani, the other instruments the Foundation was granting. The excitement, the whooping, it was not
something learned on MTV, it was not the fakery of the peanut gallery standing in front of the stage at a
televised awards show, it was genuine. They were excited for the school, for themselves.
Then Felice said they weren't done. That our mission wasn't complete. We had another item on our
agenda. To honor Mr. Harrison's greatness, he was being awarded a Mr. Holland's Opus
Foundation Teacher Award. Which granted him $10,000 to spend as he pleased. And that the check would
be delivered in a ceremony, in April, on the stage of Carnegie Hall.
Kelvin Harrison was in shock. You should have heard the shriek when the dollar figure was announced. To
little kids ten grand is a million! Kelvin kept rubbing his nose, trying to keep his composure. But he
couldn't. Tears were welling in his eyes.
As they were in mine. A veritable waterworks. Who knew such great work was being done, especially in an
area almost totaled by a hurricane. And sure, Mr. Harrison wanted to get paid, but it wasn't about
the
money. The sense of accomplishment, the glow on his students' faces was enough.
Eventually, the kids went back to class. School business resumed. I wandered the halls. I had an urge
to
stay. The work being done here was so important. Not only were children being educated, they were being
given hope. Because people cared.
National Children's Folksong Repository Watch the Video
Includes Standing in the Shadows of Motown Producer Alan Slutsky and Lead Vocalist Carla Benson. Learn why you should participate.
Music Makes Your Smarter
Benefits of Music Education
93% of Gallup Survey respondents agreed music is a part of a well-rounded education.
1994 Gallup Survey
Educators and psychologists have documented that music education is an influential tool for cognitive development as well as an indispensable element for a complete education. The following facts validate the important role of music/arts education:
1) There is a direct correlation between improved SAT scores and the length of time spent studying the arts. Those who studied the arts four or more years scored 59 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math portions of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.
2) Music lessons have been shown to improve a child's performance in school. After eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers tested showed a 46% boost in their spatial IQ, which is crucial for higher brain functions such as complex mathematics.
3) My musical life experiences were just as important to me, in terms of forming my development, as my political experiences or my academic life.
Bugg Elementary in North Carolina is one of 27 schools in North Carolina experimenting with ways of using the arts to improve basic skills. School officials say there is already plenty of evidence that integrating music and poetry into the curriculum stimulates kids' interest in other subjects. "Attendance is up and behavior problems are down," says Jim Fatata, principal of the Bugg School."
1994 Gallup Survey on American's attitudes towards music revealed the following:
- 93% of Gallup Survey respondents agreed music is part of awell-rounded education
- 86% felt all schools should offer instrumental music as part of a regular curriculum
- 88% believe music helps a child's overall intellectual development
- 70% believe school music program participation corresponds to better grades & test scores
Newsweek, April 14, 1997
- Fine motor skills improved dramatically when children studied instrumental music.
- A recent study of 78 preschoolers in California found that individual piano lessons did a better job of improving abstract reasoning skills than computer instruction.
- The US Department of Labor issued a report in 1991 urging schools to teach for the future workplace. The skills they recommend (working in teams, communication, self-esteem, creative thinking, imagination and invention) are exactly those learned in school music education programs.
Music, copyright laws, references, resources.
There is a difference between Art and Commerce. The difference between an artist and pop culture figure.
How
to make a Sexy Rock Star.