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Allegheny Mountain Radio Interview Transcript
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The idea to expose young people to this music came out of the reading volunteer program, which is a project of the Pocahontas county free libraries. Lucinda Tyler, a Hillsboro resident and volunteer through Vista, who has worked to expand the reading program to all 3 elementary schools, applied for and received a $1000 grant from Wal-Mart to pay for keyboards and classes. |
| Lucinda Tyler: ... And it was actually in getting in touch with Michelle Jeffers, who is at the curriculum area of the Board of Ed. It was she who suggested we do a pilot program. So that's what I'm using the $1000 for, to buy these electronic rollup keyboards that Vlad had suggested. The program was presented to the board, and it was accepted with great zeal. |
| Vladimir Malechar, who lives just outside Cass, was a recording engineer with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra for 20 years. He was also a music teacher and hopes he can contribute his expertise to local children's education. |
| Vladimir Malechar: ...But the idea of music and having children grow up with it is pretty phenomenal. People talk about football teaching this and that, teaching you to think. Well, a musician really has to think, especially when you're with a group. You become very conscious, very conscious of the people around you, what they are doing, and you suddenly realize that you've got to fit in; you've got to contribute. So you're constantly listening, you're constantly evaluating yourself and the people around you, and watching the conductor, for instance. So it teaches much more than melodies, it teaches discipline, it teaches math in that you have to know about notes subdividing them into quarters, into eighths, into sixteenths, so forth and so on. So math and music are very, very close. And it's simply another way, when introduced to children, of teaching. |
| Allen Johnson, director of Pocahontas County Libraries, and a big supporter of the effort to bring more music into the schools, strongly agreed with Malechar's assessment. |
| Allen Johnson: ... So it develops both an appreciation of one's own ability to play and perform, but also to listen to others, and appreciate others. It's a type of language, music is, it's very deeply connected that way, all human cultures, and all people. It also develops, study after study shows that students who get involved with music, there's a correlation with their academic progress in reading and mathematics, and school achievement. So we know that if they get involved with this program, and do well with it, that it will help their academics. It's not time lost, or taken away or stolen from academics. |
| A second local musician who's looking forward to teaching the Hillsboro students is Lois Airgood, who is trained as a pianist. She'll be teaching the class in Hillsboro. |
| Lois Airgood: I also grew up with music as Lucinda did, between school classes, church programs, private lessons, always had music, and I can't imagine growing up and not being able to at least make music, and be able to share it with other people. I agree with Lucinda, the schools are awfully quiet, without any music classes going on. When she approached me about helping out with this program, I thought it was a great, great opportunity. |
| What is your background as a musician? |
| Lois Airgood: I studied classical piano, private lessons when I was growing up, for eight years, and played all different kinds of instruments. It's great. I dropped it out for a few years, but now I'm back, and taking lessons in the county. There's a lot of musicians around here, I was surprised to find out. |
| Initially the classical music training will be a pilot program for 3rd graders at Hillsboro Elementary, which has had no music classes in recent years. But Johnson and Tyler hope that it will eventually spread throughout the schools. Tyler is now applying for other grants to support the effort, and is looking for other musicians in the area who would like to lend their talent. |
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