Grand Vision has successfully completed another year of our Meet the Music (MTM) education program in LAUSD elementary schools! This academic year, 2,000 students in 13 schools throughout Los Angeles participated in MTM’s weekly music education courses.
Recorder students at Harry Bridges Span School.
This school year, our funders and donors like you helped to directly support programming at seven participating schools in our local LA Harbor area!
MTM courses include Roots of Music Program (RoMP), Recorders in Schools, Strings in Schools, Keys of Inspiration and the Percussion Program. Each week, students learn music concepts, new songs and performance skills with trained Grand Vision teaching artists. This spring, participating schools held culminating recitals to demonstrate the students’ new musical skills.
At in-school recitals, students play music from the MTM curriculum and work with teaching artists to create original arrangements. Recorder and percussion students from Barton Hill Elementary demonstrated their ability to read music by performing the “Super Mario” theme song, led by teaching artist Nick Miller. First-grade violin students (pictured) at White Point Elementary performed three violin bowing techniques — pizzicato, detaché and spiccato — in a Reggae Open String Cycle piece led by teaching artist Marie Medina Trindade.
First-grade violin students at White Point Elementary.
Teaching artist Hiezer Montes led Park Western Elementary’s entire fifth-grade class in a percussion rendition of Santana’s “Oye Como Va.” At 7th Street Elementary School, RoMP and recorder students performed together, led by teaching artist ManMan Mui. Their excellent finale featured the fourth-grade RoMP students singing the West African song “Fanga Alafia” in the Yoruba language while the fifth graders accompanied them on their recorders.
Grand Vision staff Nick Miller, Sukari Reid Glenn, Man Man Mui and Meet the Music students celebrate after a successful performance.
In addition to performing at their schools, students had the opportunity to volunteer to perform at special events outside of school. On April 3, 12 advanced fifth-grade recorder and percussion students (pictured) from 7th Street, Barton Hill, Harry Bridges and Wilmington Park schools performed in a public recital at San Pedro’s First Thursday ArtWalk. Musical selections included “We Will Rock You,” “Star Spangled Banner,” “Amazing Grace” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” On April 12, eight advanced fifth-grade students also performed to a crowd of 300 arts supporters at Grand Vision’s Gathering for the Grand gala.
Because of MTM, students like fifth-grader Natalia Galvan-Marin have gained self-confidence. Before music, her mother Lorena would suggest activities to encourage her, but it was not until Recorders in Schools that Natalia came out of her shell. “She wants to perform in front of an audience,” says Lorena. “I hope the school continues to provide such a program for her to be a part of.”
We are delighted with the growth in skills and confidence among our MTM students this year, and we hope their newfound knowledge of music helps them succeed in middle school and beyond. Thank you to our MTM staff, teaching artists, classroom teachers, school administrators and Grand Vision supporters who have worked together to make yet another year of MTM a success!
Grand Vision Foundation’s Meet the Music program is supported, in part, by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture, the California Arts Council, City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn representing the Fourth District, LAUSD, Thelma Pearl Howard Foundation, Crail-Johnson Foundation, Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, Rose Hills Foundation, U.S. Bank Foundation, Norris Foundation, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts and APM Terminals.
