- OTA Music Lab Teaching Intern & Choir Director Anthony Kaneaster is on his way to an International Choir Competition in Korea with his UC Irvine based choir group Men in Blacque. The group took home 3 gold medals at the 2010 world games. Good luck Mr. Anthony! Listen to sample from their repertoire: Shenandoah.
- In the OTA Piano Lab students in Grades K-8 learn to read music, play piano, and train the ear using Solfege (Do-Re-Mi).
- OTA orchestra builds on the ear training and music reading work that students do in Piano Lab. Watch and Listen to some selections from the OTA Orchestra repertoire.
Why 9 Years of Music Education at Old Town Academy?
OTA Student Simone’s brain-on-music at the “Mainly Mozart and the Mind” festival!
At the “Mainly Mozart and the Mind” concert last month we learned from Northwestern university professor Nina Krauss that 6-12 years of music education (playing an instrument) not only makes you smarter, it actually prevents the brain from aging!
More confirmation that we are on the right track at OTA with our focus on early learning advantage courses in the Kiwanis Club of San Diego Piano Lab and our schoolwide focus on Music, Math, & Science.
ST Math program (the innovative visual learning software that we will implement this September — Thank You to all OTA Parents and Friends of OTA who contributed to fund ST Math!), began life as a Math + Music program. Their research shows that early music education combined with the visual math software leads to a large boost in students’ math aptitude.
The Future of Music Education at OTA
- This summer we are working with Piano Professor Kenny Ard to take our music students to the next level (after two years of piano lessons using solfege, they will now be moving into the traditional notation: quarter notes, half notes, etc.)
- Next year we are looking at incorporating a One Quarter Intro to Orchestra for students in all the upper grades. The benefits of orchestra (discipline, increased attention span, and the Music Boost) all help kids develop the virtues discussed in Paul Tough’s book, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character.
- Thank you to Kiwanis Club of San Diego for their support of the OTA Music Lab.
Related Topics:
- See Also: Why OTA Teaches Programming: How America Can Get More Startup Talent” OTA Math & Science Olympics ! Robotics-Based Programming, Problem-Solving, Applied Mathematics
- See Also “Why OTA Teaches Hands-on Lab Science”: What You Should Know About Hands-on Science