West Music Staff Blogs
Our Mission: To enrich people's lives through the participation in music!
Tag >> Advocacy
 Ellis Kell, Terry Hanson, and six other local musicians performed at the River Music Experience in Davenport to benefit Rock Island's Thurgood Marshall school, raising funds to bring musicians and artists to students who lack creative outlets. Thurgood Marshall has students who have had family, behavioral, or truancy issues.
Teacher Linda Golden said exposing students to local artists does wonders for the students, many of whom have had a rocky start but are committed to turning their lives around. "That is an incredibly good way to fight truancy," she said. "Anything that helps students graduate helps our community." (Nicole Lauer, QC Dispatch-Argus, Nov 7)
 Come one, come all to The Mill in Iowa City for the Weekend Warrior concert THIS Sunday, October 18th at 7:00PM!!
Weekend Warrior concerts have grown so large over the last few years we can expect 100-200 in the audience. It has become a major event and is ridiculously fun! Come out and support live music and West Music! The food at The Mill is great, the bands have a great variety of music. Here’s a rundown of the groups you will see Sunday night:
 Never!
Most 91-year-olds are quietly spending their time at a peaceful retirement home. Not Californian Jerrie Thill, who spends her days beating the drums and recording new offbeat tracks while lugging around an oxygen tank. Jerrie Thill is a spunky percussionist from the Jazz Age who still performs regularly.
The following is a summary of research by Susan Hallam, Institute of Education, University of London. Recent advances in the study of the brain have enhanced our understanding of the way that active engagement with music may influence other activities. - Eight year old children with just 8 weeks of musical training showed improvement in perceptual cognition compared with controls.
- Eight year old children with musical training outperformed controls on tests of music and language.
- Musically trained participants remembered 17% more verbal information that those without musical training.
- Children experiencing difficulties with reading comprehension have benefitted from training in rhythmical performance.
 When learning to play a stringed instrument parents and students have the option of taking traditional lessons or Suzuki lessons. Most people understand what traditional lessons are, but what exactly are Suzuki lessons?
The Suzuki method was developed by Shinichi Suzuki after World War II. Mr. Suzuki desired to create beauty in the world again after the devastations of the war and knew that children would be the best place to start.
Think you can't rock if you work at a desk?? WRONG! The FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands is a partnership between NAMM (the trade association of the international music products industry), FORTUNE Magazine, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
I received a phone call about 4 months ago from Aypryl, a youth librarian at the Cedar Falls Public Library. She explained to me that in order to keep children connected to books and reading during the summer months, the Cedar Falls Public Library would host a 6-week summer program. This summer's theme was MUSIC!
The staff provided weekly contests, crafts, and creative activities for children entering grades 1 - 6. Participants had the opportunity to earn free books by making weekly visits to the library. In addition to these events, free live music performances were held on Thursday evenings. Many local acts were asked to perform, they included Ed East (Latin/Afro-Cuban percussion), Checker and the Bluetones (Classic rock + more), and New Horizons Band (community band for retirees). Other acts included The Ruins of Ooah (didgeridoo group from Oregon), and yes, even a bagpiper!
 The Broadway Center is a safe place for teens to go in Iowa City.
James Mims, the director of the Broadway Center, is truly interested in the welfare and future of at-risk kids. Among other activities, he has put together a music lesson program free of charge to those who wish to participate. The program is growing, and local top-notch musicians are donating their time and talents to teach lessons there. The instruments are donated and students can use them during lessons and come there to practice their instrument on a daily basis. To raise awareness and reinforce the statement that music saves lives, West Music in Coralville will be hosting the Music on Broadway Gala on August 13th from 6-8PM. Well-known musicians who teach lessons at the Broadway Center will perform at West Music in Coralville and the students of the Broadway Center will assist in ushering and collecting donated instruments. The public is encouraged to bring instruments to donate.
Weekend Warriors is a program that was originated in Sacramento, California in 1993 by Skips Music, and was then adapted by NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants). It's a program designed with Baby Boomer age musicians in mind who used to be in bands in high school and college and want to form a band again and perform in front of an audience. Since that time, the program has evolved into quite a large event with people of all ages--from preteens to senior citizens--coming together to form bands and perform at local venues.
|
