I Love Birds

 

 

In second grade, I drew a cardinal.  It was my first bird drawing, and I was so proud of it because I hadn’t traced it.  When looking through old pictures and past drawings, I notice many of my images are birds.  So, I think it is safe to say, I love birds.

 

In 2019, I started drawing them in earnest, simply because I wanted to get better at drawing.  Birds are a great subject, and I found a really wonderful bird artist on-line, John Muir Laws, who has a fantastic blog with all kinds of helpful information to improve bird drawing.  His tips are practical and easy to follow, and I noticed that my drawings get better every day that I practice.

 

During the first few months of the C-19 shutdowns, I was alone in my house in Rochester, and it was the birds who kept me company, so I drew them.  All kinds of birds came to my yard—a wood thrush, a dark-eyed junco, a hermit thrush, a rose-breasted grosbeak, even a woodcock and a wild turkey! 

 

All About Birds and the National Audubon Society were great resources that helped me identify the birds, and with the information in hand, I felt a deep connection to the bird I was drawing.  As the winter changed to the early spring, I observed that no matter what the weather, a bird is always energetic, alert and in the moment.   Every posture expresses something, and a bird changes and adapts to every condition and in every moment.

 

Sages tell us that our past is only a trail we leave behind, and that life is generated through the energy of our present moments.  If this is true, then birds are a good example of how to live.  

 

A bird doesn’t seem care if I see it; it flies away if I get too close.  A bird doesn’t have to have an audience, or have a need be admired when it sings, dances in the leaves, or flies. Instead, birds live their lives.  They simply do what they do: fly, look for food, feed, build their nests, have their babies, and teach their babies how to fly and sing.  It is through the process of living in present moments that they bring beauty to the world and with it, a simple by-product called joy.  

 

I wish the artist in me could be more like that … showing up and living in every moment of creation without expectation … and just like my drawings, maybe that takes practice too.  Until then, I will keep admiring these little creatures, keep being reminded, and keep saying: I love birds!

  

 

 

I Love My Violin!

When I say “I love my violin!”, I am not only saying that I love the physical instrument, or only one violin.   I have several—one in my house in New York, one at my sister’s and two in Washington State.   While each came to me in various and odd ways, the convenience of having them gives me no excuse.  The violins are there wherever I go, and I must practice. 

 

My violin study has been a mish-mash of teachers over the years.  In 2002, I was introduced to violin playing when I did my post-baccalaureate music teacher certification at Nazareth College.  Nancy Hunt, who plays with the Rochester Philharmonic, was my teacher, and she was wonderful.  In her class, it amazed me how comfortable I felt with the violin.   I loved the power and openness of the violinist’s stance. I even liked the way the hard wood of the violin felt under my chin.  At times, I dreamed of continuing to play, and it was my father’s generosity that allowed me to buy a very nice instrument, an 1870 Silvestre, which I love very much.  

 

But … life got in the way, and I didn’t pick up the instrument until much later … in 2016, when I was inspired by Betsy Turner Sprague’s playing of my score of AUSTEN’S PRIDE.  What an amazing player and teacher!  Unfortunately, with my travel schedule, life again got in the way.

 

In 2019, I met another wonderful player and teacher in Washington State, Lynn Thompson.  She also played my score of AUSTEN’S PRIDE at the Seattle 5^th Avenue Theater.   (It’s amazing how you get to know someone’s musicality and ability by the way they play your music.)  I love her too(!), and studied with her as my travel schedule allowed—enough to reclaim my knowledge of the instrument and begin shifting.  That is, until C-19 interrupted.   

 

For over a year, I have been without an in-person lesson, relying on myself, my musical training, and everything I can read about the violin and learn from my own practice.   For many reasons, I do not want to do a Skype or Zoom lesson during the shut-downs.  I don't know why exactly--I suppose it boils down to the fact that I am old-school--but! what this decision did was to make me really dig into my life as an artist in completely different ways.  

It has been extraordinary, and I often think about early settlers alone in their cabins who played violins: how did they learn to play?   I suspect, they picked up the instrument and kept practicing until they liked what they heard.  They had to experiment with their bowing and intonation and vibrato … so that means that much of playing an instrument is simply putting in the hours, learning to listen, observe, and try again.   Teachers get you there much faster, for sure.  They know many tricks of the trade, but ultimately the journey is the same, and it is a personal one.  

 

So, when I say “I love my violin!”, it is the sheer pleasure of learning to play another instrument—of being a beginner and growing into an intermediate player, and recognizing this accomplishment.  It makes me so grateful for my teachers; it helps me appreciate myself for being highly skilled as a pianist, composer and orchestrator.  My daily practice makes me less cynical, understanding of others, and vulnerable to the process, and in return, I receive the inexpressible joy of making music.   

Group Creativity

Over the past several years, I have been working on my PhD in Educational Psychology.   My work has concentrated on the Arts in Human Development because I believe that the Arts hold their greatest value beyond the aesthetics they teach.  My PhD work has only confirmed this.   For example, group creativity is one aspect of this 'greater value' I am talking about, and what Education today aspires to teach.

Group creativity requires a community; Musical Theater is a community of learning.   It requires a group of people (with multiple areas and levels of expertise) to come together in order for it to be created, and Musical Theater teaches so much more through the creating of the show.   It is why in completing my coursework and comprehensive exams, I chose to write my dissertation: THE PROCESS OF LEARNING IN MUSICAL THEATER PRODUCTION, A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY.

Today, in preparation for writing Chapter 2 of the dissertation (Literature Review), I read a peer-reviewed article called "Group creativity: musical performance and collaboration" by R. Keith Sawyer.   Through his research on Jazz improvisation and theatrical improvisation, he identifies three characteristics of group creativity: Improvisation, Collaboration, and Emergence.   Sawyer also mentions how group flow is at work, and that this emerges through the process of creation.

These observations are similar to much of what I have observed in the creation of a musical theater production.   The creative team, the actors, the stage management--everyone involved--is open and listening, while simultaneously performing their designated job.   Every person in the group is important, engaged and necessary to the overall outcome.  Through interaction and communication each person is inspired to bring their creativity to the creation.

Throughout his paper, Sawyer illustrates how group creativity aids the teaching of interactional skills--listening and how to respond appropriately, as well as how collaboration requires communication in social contexts--necessary life skill.  Sawyer vicariously demonstrates how VALUABLE the Arts are beyond the aesthetics they are teaching thus arguing for and supporting the need for the Arts in our education today.

Below is the reference.  It's a great article--well worth the read.

Reference

Sawyer, R. K. (2006). Group creativity: Musical performance and collaboration. Psychology of Music, 34(2), 148-165.

 

In absentia … SIMON'S ROCK CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Last Thursday, The Simon's Rock Chamber Orchestra premiered "Nestis"  one of my pieces from The Four Elements of Empedocles.  This is a two-year project where I explore Fire (Zeus), Air (Hera), Water (Nestis) and Earth (Aidoneus) --one each semester.

The challenges of writing for this awesome little orchestra are that the members are at varying ability and their participation is largely volunteer.  … and yet in composing for this ensemble, it created a lot of joy for everyone involved.

My daughter is the flute player and had one of her friends send me a YouTube video of it (below) so I could hear it as soon as possible.  (The school  is sending me an archive copy).  It was truly satisfying to hear it … to hear the ensemble's success at realizing a piece written especially for them …

And now … Onward!  Fire, Air & Water await!

Revisiting the Work

Last Wednesday, my friend Steven Daigle gave me three CD copies of MAYTIME by Sigmund Romberg.  The CD's mean a great deal to me because they contain the orchestrations that I created and re-constructed from a piano/vocal score for the Ohio Light Opera's 2005 Festival Season.  It was a cathartic experience to listen to the recording because I had not heard them since the opening performance in 2005.

As I listened, I was overwhelmed by what I actually accomplished eight years ago.  The way I remember it ... in 2005, Steve called and asked me if I could re-construct/create orchestrations from a piano/vocal score ... that it was an emergency.   He told me that the original Romberg scores no longer existed--that they had literally crumbled and the show was set to go into performances within about three weeks.  I told him I could try ... and spent the next two weeks reconstructing a score of a much larger show than I anticipated.

What AMAZED ME in my listening is that the orchestrations are very, very good.  AND  how much I LOVE TO ORCHESTRATE.

I realized too, how wonderful Time can be.  For in the reflection, I can see that I am a skilled orchestrator ... and an even more skilled composer today than I was then ...  I can acknowledge --without bragging --that have great skill because these CD's are evidence.  Time shows me that  I can look back with greater knowledge and acknowledge (and in this case applaud) something that I did ...

Encountering “Unexpected” Genius

Last night, I was supposed to meet a friend in Tacoma, Washington at The Grand Cinema to see the movie “42”.  However, plans changed unexpectedly as traffic was unkind and we were delayed.  Instead of being upset about missing the movie, and not waiting for the next showtime, we opted for the very next movie “whatever it was”.  At the time, we didn’t realize that the movie we were going to see would be “Caesar Must Die” (Cesare deve morire), that it was part of a film festival with only one showing at The Grand, and that it was an Italian film about a theater program where prisoners learned and performed Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. 

It was awesome!   … and I truly mean AWESOME.  Not only did we see the genius of Shakespeare’s play of Julius Caesar and his murder (in Italian and with English subtitles), but throughout the film, we witnessed the miracle of what theater does in our lives, whether through observation as audience or participation in the production process.  Based on a true story, it was clear that the men who portrayed Shakespeare’s iconic characters saw their lives reflected in the art.  They “got it”, and lives changed.

Theater has the power to bring us into community, into harmony and to understand ourselves.  This was never more evident in the story telling of this film … and I was never more uplifted than through this unexpected encounter with genius.  Serendipitous too, it was Shakespeare’s birthday!

Here is a review from the New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/caesar_must_die_taviani

If you have a chance, see it!!

Encouragement and Appreciation

Last week, I had the pleasure of returning to my alma mater, Wesleyan College, as a guest composer/playwright.  In celebration of a centennial year, the college collaborated with the Morning Music Club of Macon, Georgia to present a musical review of our show, "Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, A Musical".

One of my responsibilities during the week was to give a speech before the opening performance.  I was delighted that after the show, I was asked to submit my speech to the Morning Music Club for their archives.  I called the speech,  "Encouragement and Appreciation" and share it with you now.

*****
It is a great pleasure to be with you tonight, and to celebrate with you the centennial year of the Morning Music Club.  It is an honor to be here.

Throughout an artist’s life, there are several things an artist must be given.  Two of the most important things are encouragement and appreciation.

About thirty years ago, the Morning Music Club encouraged me by presenting me with a scholarship … and tonight I am encouraged even more by the fact that you have included my work in this celebration.  The very act of producing my work, validates my artistic life and I feel appreciation.

It is amazing to me to think how I performed on this stage for the first time in 1983 for my Junior Recital.  Throughout my artistic life, I have always held great reverence for the stage and what a stage represents. 

Some of you who knew me when I was 18 know that my earliest dream was to be performing artist, a pianist, and … in the years that followed, my life as that performing artist dramatically transformed into who I am today, a composer, a playwright, and an artist educator.  I now have the joy of working professionally within three artistic disciplines: music, theater and the visual arts.

I marvel at how all the artistic disciplines are connected, how they inform each other, and what they teach me.

The visual artist uses tools and materials— paintbrushes, pencils, a blank canvas, clay, paint, etc.  Through her work, the artist transforms those materials into a work of art, and when she is finished with a piece, the work becomes tangible--something lasting.  The cycle of her creative process is complete when her work is displayed within a frame on a gallery wall or placed upon a pedestal. 

The act of displaying the work is remarkable because an audience viewing the work can visit and revisit the work again and again, judge it, criticize it, admire it, and decide whether or not to develop a relationship with that work of art through purchasing it or displaying it.

Within the other three artistic disciplines, this isn’t possible.  The work of the dance, music and theater remain within the minds and memories of its creator, the performer and within the mind of the audience.  The dancer dances, the musician plays an instrument, the thespian tells a story before our eyes.  For the creative artist, it is the live performance that completes the artistic process as a composer, a playwright and a choreographer..  While recordings and videotapes are possible, they are mere shadows of their work.

Like the visual artist, each of these three disciplines requires a platform or a place to display.  And, that platform is a stage.  This is why a stage is so important.  This is why the stage in Porter Auditorium means so much to me.

Tonight, you will have a window into my life as a composer/playwright through a musical review of  “Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, A Musical” , which is a work I share in collaboration with Lindsay Warren Baker.

When Lindsay and I began writing the show in 2000, we wanted to create a show that we wanted to see.  Throughout its development, the show has seen several incarnations … productions, workshops, and staged readings.  We have researched, written and rewritten, cut songs, added songs, rewritten songs.  And today, we are under commercial option with producers in London who are working toward a West End production.

Throughout our process, Lindsay and I have generated and amassed lots of material.  In celebrating the centennial of the Morning Music Club, we prepared and created a production especially for  Wesleyan College and its Music Department.   (As a side note) We thought it serendipitous too that 2013 marks the 200^th’ anniversary of the publication of Austen’s novel … Pride and Prejudice.  So … The show you will see tonight is a musical review of our work.  It draws, from both current and earlier work—work that helped create the commercial show we have today. 

Many many thanks to Nadine and Ellen—all of the young women involved, and everyone who made tonight possible.

IMPACT of LEGISLATION and POLICIES on ARTS EDUCATION

            Ever since the "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB) was signed into law, education became a hotbed of debate (ED.gov., n.d.).  This can be attested by the general outpouring of articles that defend NCLB, the public protests against the act’s weakness, the measuring of the effects the act has had on academic achievement, and/or the criticism of its inability to meet the educational needs of this nation. This has led to additional educational reform that keeps reform in the forefront of educational debate. 

It is ironic that in the process of the debate, the original good intention of the educational law is lost.   As attention is placed on the law’s inadequacy and the need for educational reform, the education of children and adolescents is diminished.  Ironically, children are left behind; the educational excellence that is held in esteem eludes the nation as policy makers and educators fight about how best to educate the child.  Nowhere is this more felt than in arts education.

            The way the laws are written, there is room for the arts to remain lost in the shuffle as states and their schools districts fight for educational funding and recognition for academic excellence in meeting standards.  When considering the structure and disbursement of Federal funding to arts education, Federal laws do not require states to include arts education, it only supports arts education by providing some funding.  Next, the states that voluntarily include arts education the school curriculum most often make their school districts responsible for implementing their arts programming. 

This leads to educational inconsistencies in arts instruction because everyone does not agree that arts education is essential, even though Federal law claims it supports the arts.  People are people, and when the people who make decisions for a school district are biased in their opinions about the worth of the arts, funding is not provided and/or programming is cut.  When school districts are ignorant to the overwhelming benefits of arts education, children and adolescents do not have arts education experiences. 

Organizations like the Arts Education Partnership (2012) provide a gateway to reliable and accurate information about the benefits of arts education.  ArtsEd Search (2012) acts as a clearinghouse of peer-reviewed articles, dissertations and other supporting reports that support arts education.  This site is free and easily accessed; it is a tremendous aid for arts advocates because findings from valid research can be amassed to support the need for arts education in schools. Yet even so, the inconsistencies remain because every school district has a different idea of what children should know and what students should learn, and decisions are made accordingly.  Bias plays a huge role in determining what is important and who will hear what arts advocates have to say.

What is ironic is that while research consistently provides evidence that arts education improves education and positively addresses almost every educational problem, school districts are either ignorant of this evidence or they ignore the overwhelming benefits.  When decisions are made to remove or reduce arts education to improve test scores, research shows that the decisions makers are going in the opposite direction of their educational goals.  With so much evidence showing that arts education help schools and students attain their educational goals, why isn’t there an increase in arts education?  When placed in this light, decision makers who remove arts education to make way for more math and more science appear a bit ridiculous because they become less effective in providing the highest quality of education to children and irresponsible with the taxpayer’s money.

For example, in a recent study in Switzerland about the impact of musical training on school performance (Wetter, Koerner, & Schwaninger, 2009), researchers found that elementary students who had continuous musical training from grades 3 to 6 had greater academic achievement than those who did not, even when considering socio-economic status of the participants.  In a quasi-experimental design with three groups, the musical training was tested against every subject, except physical education.  Across the four-year span of their investigations, they found evidence that children who maintain a steady diet of musical instruction experience higher achievement in every subject.

The arts are a powerful tool; evidence repeatedly shows that arts instruction helps children and adolescents achieve and often surpass the academic goals policymakers set.  When this power is ignored, the education system is using a metaphorical rowboat instead of a motorboat.  Right now, educators seem to be more concerned with reforming laws instead of providing an education.  If they are really serious about providing high quality education for every child, arts education should be embraced, expanded and explored.  Until this happens, the laws are only lip service.  

 What is the solution to making arts education important? Arts advocates either need to become part of the decision making body and make the changes themselves, or they must educate as many people as possible, unite with them, and make changes as a movement.  Otherwise, the arts will remain a core subject in name only.  If the artistic disciplines are to be true core subjects, their power must be unequivocally acknowledged and taken seriously.   

References 

Americans for the Arts. (2005).  No Subject Left Behind.  Retrieved from http://www.americansforthearts.org/pdf/no_subject_left_behind.pdf

Arts Education Partnership.  (2012).  Retrieved from http://www.aep-arts.org/research-policy/state-policy-database/

ArtsEd Search.   (2012).  Retrieved from http://www.artsedsearch.org/

ED.gov.  (n.d.)  Elementary & secondary education: Subpart 15 –arts in education.  Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg80.html

ED.gov. (n.d.)  H.R. 1804 GOALS 2000: Educate america act.  Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/legislation/GOALS2000/TheAct/index.html

Wetter, O., Koerner, F., & Schwaninger, A. (2009). Does Musical Training Improve School Performance?. Instructional Science: An International Journal Of The Learning Sciences, 37(4), 365-374

 

Improving School Performance through Musical Training

 Does Musical Training Improve School Performance?  This was a research question posed by Wetter, Koerner & Schwaninger, and they published a report of their findings in Instructional Science: An International Journal Of The Learning Sciences (2009).  Yet, as a composer/playwright, and prior to my PhD coursework in Psychology, I had always thought the answer to this question was a resounding “YES!” because from what I have observed in the last thirty years of my life as an artist, it just seems like people who study the arts “know” more, or “think” more.  Yet, until scientific evidence is collected, The Arts in education have very little to stand on, and, in general, I find that education systems neither respect nor believe the voice of the artist.

During the last two years of my PhD coursework, I have focused my discussion posts around The Arts and how necessary and beneficial they are to human development.  For my most recent discussion post, I could not find an article with the right research methodology (multiple regression) that could contribute to a potential dissertation topic about lullabies, so I typed in multiple regression (the topic of the discussion) and music into the database search engine, and up popped a very interesting article that drew correlations between musical training and school performance (Wetter, Koerner  & Schwaninger, 2009). 

In a retrospective study, Wetter, Koerner & Schwaninger (2009) compared three groups of students (Grades 3 through 6): those who practiced music and those who did not, and those who participated in learning handicrafts.  They were careful to test all subjects (except sports) and took great care to consider socio-economic status (SES).  Using a multiple regression analysis, they found a positive correlation between continuous musical training and school performance, and that continuous musical training appears to help a student achieve and maintain high levels over time. 

Since the researchers were interested in the duration of musical training, they concentrated their study to participants from third through sixth grade.  They hypothesized that students who have studied longer would show greater strength than students who recently begin musical practice.  They present several sound options for the interpretation of their results by first offering the explanation that “there are no significant pre-existing or initial neural, cognitive, motor, or musical differences” (p. 371) between children before they choose to learn an instrument.  Secondly, they explain how more affluent parents can afford extra-curricular musical activities that enhance a child’s academic success, and third, they offer evidence that music activates cerebral regions of the brain involved in the processing of language.  By considering and addressing these elements in the design, the researchers were able to argue their points effectively.  The average scores reflected the advancement of student academic performance when paired with music instruction.

The article offers evidence to support reasons why we must keep and increase a child’s exposure to The Arts and encourage arts-based instruction in our classrooms.  If music and/or arts education is not provided to children, and especially to those in lower SES, where and when will these children have an opportunity to learn?   Won’t they be left behind? 

Based on this study, if musical instruction boosts academic performance as Wetter, Koerner & Schwaninger  (2009) suggest, then why is music the first to go when budgets are tight?  Wouldn’t tax dollars be better spent on arts instruction?  It certainly would seem be a more efficient (and responsible) approach.  So I challenge policy makers, parents and education administrators--everyone--with this question:  What would happen if our education systems made The Arts central in the design of its curriculum?  After all, isn’t one of the primary goals of education to increase academic achievement?  Without The Arts, it seems education will only be working ‘hard instead of smart’.

References

Wetter, O., Koerner, F., & Schwaninger, A. (2009). Does Musical Training Improve School Performance?. Instructional Science: An International Journal Of The Learning Sciences, 37(4), 365-374.

Why Music Should Remain in Schools: A Sixth Grader's Perspective

Tonight as I was rummaging through old papers, I ran across interesting samples of my daughter's school work.  In particular, I found a short essay she wrote in sixth grade that responded to the prompt: "Music should remain part of the school curriculum because ..." I remember the night she wrote that essay because she entered it into an on-line essay contest and she had to struggle to keep the number of words under 250.  I also remember thinking  that it was good.  Tonight, I was even more intrigued by what she had to say because she made very important points.  Here is what she wrote:

"Music should remain part of the school curriculum because it taps into a different part of the soul that academics cannot reach.  Sure, a person can be good at math, or have amazing vocabulary skills, but music is another language.  It is different from everything else taught, and learning music is not something easily tapped into as an adult.

Part of why it is important to keep music in the curriculum is that most people are not in an environment where they are encouraged to take part in musical activities.  In school, a person has a chance to explore it.

Learning to play an instrument is a "life skill" that may help them later on because it increases their knowledge about the world.  In addition, it gives them something  interesting to talk about.  Knowing how to play an instrument creates activities where someone can meet others who share the same passion, even creating life-long friends.

Music is a powerful tool that people use to get their thoughts and feelings across.  It is an important part of our lives. Without it, forms of communication, venting emotions, and spiritual awareness could not be accessed.

As a society, how can we neglect something that makes us feel better after doing it?  How could we ever hope to achieve high levels of music making without proper education?  Music must remain part of our curriculum if we want to be an educated and happy society."  --Elibba Dean

An Interview ...

Taking online classes is an intense experience.  For every student in this non-traditional setting, whatever or however much they put into it, that is what they will *get* ...

Below is a link to an interview that I took part in this past summer.  Even with a six months distance from that conversation, it holds true:

http://www.onlinephdprograms.com/doctoral-student-profile-amanda-jacobs-2/

Returning to the Classroom

Often I am asked why I am in pursuit of a PhD in Psychology.  I suppose it does look very strange since my background is the Arts and I  have expertise in Music and Theater.  However, the driving factor is that I have always wanted a terminal degree; it was always in my plan, even when I was a little girl. As my life shifted and changed, however, it became apparent for me to step outside of music, education and theater and encapsulate my knowledge into something educationally meaningful and in a degree that could include all of my interests-- thus Educational Psychology with an emphasis in the Arts.

The Arts seem to embody the best of our humanity.  They document and express our creativity, and through their process help everyone lead happier and more fulfilled lives. The place of music, art, dance and theater in our education has been so diminished over the years that most people do not recognize the power they have to make our world a better place.  Yet within the Arts rests the potential to help our educational woes because the Arts develop cognitive abilities and promote emotional well-being.

With a PhD, coupled with my expertise in music, theater and education, I will  have a powerful voice to advocate for the Arts. With a PhD, I will be speaking with authority from a scientifically supported understanding as well as from my heart.

This morning I work on coursework for Advanced Inferential Statistics ... not the picture you have of a person who composes music and/or writes plays ... or even a teacher in a classroom ...  Yet, this is a necessary tool for my future research and I return to my classroom with a vengeance!