In Thursday’s (12/17) Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), Lawrence Toppman writes about Northwest School of the Arts sixth-graders Justice Crawford and Nathaniel Nitkin, “the first young musicians to move to that public magnet school out of a long-running experiment sponsored by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra at Winterfield Elementary,” in East Charlotte, where a majority of students come from low-income homes. “The symphony will crunch data to learn whether this training also does the nonmusical things it’s meant to do: cut down on absences and behavioral infractions and improve study habits and grades.” Phoebe Lustig, who is gathering data about the program, says, “We look at the musical component, but it’s also about the community component. It’s about getting parents who may never have come to the school before to participate in the process…. The goal for elementary kids is getting them involved in music for however long they have.” Justice and Nathaniel will get “extensive coaching at NWSA. CSO director of education Chris Stonnell says that, in addition to the school’s own resources, the symphony provides 220 hours of coaching each year there in orchestral, band and chamber music classes.”
Posted December 22, 2015
