Did you know?
*A study at the University of California showed that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers showed a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. Rauscher, Shaw, Levine, Ky, and Wright
*Students who participate in school band or orchestra have the lowest levels of current and lifelong use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among any group in our society. United States Senate June 2000
*Music majors are the most likely group of college grad to be admitted to medical school. Also, a study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors, including English, Biology, Chemistry, and Math. “The Comparative Academic Abilities of Students in Education and in Other Areas of a Multi-focus University,” Peter H. Wood ,The Case for Music in the Schools,” Phi Delta Kappan
*Middle school students and high school students who participated in instrumental music scored significantly higher than their non-band peers in standardized tests. University of Sarasota study, Jeffrey Lynn Kluball
Read on to find out about how a passion for music impacted V.I.P. Zhalisa Clarke's development & kept her out of trouble:
"I started playing violin when I was five. My mom had always wanted to play an instrument, but her mom could never afford it, and back then music scholarships didn't really exist, especially for those that had never played before. So we went to the DC Youth Orchestra, a music program a few blocks from my house, and my mom signed me up for violin. I really wanted to play flute, but they told me my arms were too short. So violin it was. I started with once a week group classes, but that quickly expanded over the years to include private lessons, orchestra rehearsal, music theory classes, composition, improvisation, and a whole lot more. After school everyday, I went to music school. I basically went to 2 schools a day, and had an entirely separate musical life. While my friends in the neighborhood had tons of free time to get into all sorts of trouble, my schedule was back to back with activities that I barely had time to get caught up in nonsense. As I think back to some friends from my neighborhood, one of them was pregnant at 15. Another was in and out of juvie for selling drugs. Between school, rehearsals, and all the extra stuff like homework and practicing, I was too focused to get on those paths. Don't get me wrong, I still had a lot of fun, and played on the playground at recess, etc, but the violin played a crucial role in my life, and I continue to play today."
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