We are dedicating this Father’s Day to honoring men who are scientists, medical doctors, engineers, mathematicians, teachers, artists, writers and musicians. These eminent individuals have integrated music into their thinking process. Music is a powerful tool for motivating, inspiring, educating and soothing pain. Remember no one is immune to the power of music! Parents remember to have classical music on your family’s iPod. June is graduation month for high schools, colleges and universities throughout the United States. Our amazing 2012 high school seniors and college seniors are scholars, athletes, and musicians. We have included an article on the two Heisman winners in Pennsylvania, Alexander Porter and Sarah Polinski. They are top athletes, scholars and musicians. Our Radio Show celebrates Father’s Day by remembering Thomas Gainsborough. He was the Father of two daughters, a portrait and landscape painter, a fine musician and a husband. Also our article for June shares the stories of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Dr. Robert J. Frank. Both were fathers and grandfathers and happily married.
If anyone has an experience they would like to share with our readers on the benefits of classical music please send it and it will be included in the July 2012 newsletter!
June article of the month: For Father’s Day we have included the article on Dr. Robert J. Frank and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “Have You Ever Given Up When It Became Too Dificult For You?” by Dr. Madeline Frank. Both men were Fathers and Grandfathers, problem solvers, and heroes.
http://madeline-firstimpressions.blogspot.com/2010/01/have-you-ever-given-up-when-it-became.html
For other articles by Dr. Madeline Frank click on the following link:
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Madeline_Frank
Dr. Madeline Frank’s new book “Leadership on a Shoestring Budget” is now available through amazon.com. Click on the following Amazon.com link to order your copy of “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget”
Madeline’s Musical One Minute Radio Show for June 2012:
How did Classical music play a part of Thomas Gainsborough’s life as an artist and musician and what musical instruments did he play?
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/madelines-one-minute-radio-show/
Question of the Month: Who was Thomas Gainsborough?
Thomas Gainsborough was an English master portrait and landscape painter, a fine musician, husband and father of two daughters. He was born in Sudbury, Suffolk, England on May 14, 1727 to Mr. John Gainsborough and Mrs. Burroughs Gainsborough. Thomas was the youngest of 9 children. Thomas’s father, John was a weaver and made woolen goods and his mother had a “well cultivated mind and excelled in flower-painting.” Thomas’s mother encouraged her son’s “aptitude for drawing.”
http://www.abcgallery.com/G/gainsborough/gainsboroughbio.html
By the age of ten Thomas “had sketched every fine tree and picturesque cottage near Sudbury” and at fourteen, having filled his task books with caricatures of his schoolmaster, and sketched the portrait of a man whom he had detected on the watch for robbing his father’s orchard.”
http://www.nndb.com/people/607/000030517/
For three years Thomas’s family sent him to London to study etching with Gravelot, painting with Hayman and to attend “the academy in St. Martin’s Lane.” He then went to the country to paint where he met his wife Margaret Burr. Thomas was painting in the country side. He was 19 years old and quite handsome. Margaret, a 19 year old beautiful young women, observed Thomas painting. It was said for the first time she was “speechless” on seeing the young man painting in the country side. When Thomas saw her he said, “Hold that position, please–stand just as you are!” They married soon afterwards.
http://www.nndb.com/people/607/000030517/
http://www.online-literature.com/elbert-hubbard/journeys-vol-six/5/
Thomas Gainsborough played the violin, the viola de gamba, the lute and the flute very well and “there were times when music seemed to be his employment, and painting his diversion, wrote William Jackson, composer and organist. “Gainsborough was a connoisseur of fine instruments”( Boyd, 2008, p.358). He painted many pictures of his musician friends Johann Christian Bach, Johann Christian Fischer, oboist and composer, who became his son-in-law, Carl Friedrich Abel, Felice Giardini, Elizabeth , Ann, and Mary Linley.
Thomas Gainsborough died on August 2, 1788.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gainsborough
http://www.earlymusicworld.com/id1.html
“Amateur String Players: Pleasure Seekers” (Dec. 2008) by Martin Boyd from The Strad Magazine. Painter, Thomas Gainsborough.
“Jennifer Gersten : Track Captain Strikes Academic Chord With Ease” (April 27, 2012) by Jon Weinstein from NY1. “ From the violin to the track, the latest Health Plus/NY1 Scholar Athlete is always pushing to make herself better at everything she undertakes.”
“Maranacook Community High School Announces Top Scholars For 2012” (May 7, 2012) from the Kennebec Journal Staff. Four out of the eleven top academic students are also musicians.
Lyndsay Canwell, of Mount Vernon is a Scholar, dancer and a musician. “She is a member of the National Honor Society, a member of the speech and debate team, representing Maine in three national tournaments. She has participated in the Student Senate all four years of high school and is co-chairperson of the School Spirit Committee, organizing events such as homecoming, winter carnival and school elections.” Lyndsay has played the piano “for 10 years and has been a member of Studio One for Dancers since the age of 3. Beginning in the fourth grade, she participated in theater productions at the school and in workshops at the Waterville Opera House. Roles she has played include Annie in “Annie,” the Wiz in “The Wiz” and Lucy in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” She plans to attend a liberal arts college in the fall to study biology or chemistry.”
Jared Diou-Cass, of Manchester, is a Scholar, athlete, and musician. “He is president of the school’s National Honor Society group, works with the Interact Club and is a volunteer for the United Way of Kennebec Valley Allocations Committee. He has been an honor or high honors student throughout high school and won various certificates of achievement, including the Kiwanis Distinguished Youth Award, the President’s Award for Educational Excellence in recognition of Outstanding Academic Excellence for two years in a row and the St. Michael’s College Book Award for Academic Achievement and Social Conscience.” Jared is a member of the “Student Senate and is the senior class’s caucus representative and co-head of the Sustainability Committee, which he has used to promote change and improve the school. He has also done Model United Nations and Boys State, helped found the school’s Civil Rights Team and is involved in community service.” As an athlete Jared has participated in track and field, Nordic skiing, and soccer. In the fifth grade he began to play the trumpet and “has been in the jazz band and the concert band since middle school and throughout high school.” Also “he is in the show chorus and theater and was the lead in the spring musical production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Diou-Cass plans to attend Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.”
Abby Mace, of Mount Vernon is a Scholar, athlete, and a musician playing the piano. She “is a member of the National Honor Society and the Student Senate. In the Senate, she was an active member of the School Spirit Committee before being named co-chairperson of the committee her senior year. She volunteers with elementary and middle school students as a writing tutor and mentor.” As an athlete Abby “has participated in varsity cross country running, cross country skiing, and track for four years, winning a total of 11 conference championships and 12 state championships. She has competed at the New England level and has achieved three top 10 finishes in cross country running. In track, she is the school record holder in the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters. She will attend the University of Connecticut with plans to major in journalism and communications and to compete in cross country and track.”
Isabel Smith, of Manchester is a Scholar, athlete, and a musician, playing the piano. She is a member of the National Honor Society, the school’s Health Center Student Advisory Committee, has participated in varsity tennis, varsity soccer, and varsity Nordic skiing. “She spends her summers volunteering at Maine General Medical Center. During her junior year, she participated in a study-abroad program in France, staying with a host family on the outskirts of Paris. She plans to attend a liberal arts college and pursue a career in science.”
“Two Sayre Students Named State High School Heisman Finalists” (May 4, 2012) the Daily Review.com in Pennsylvania. Alexander Porter and Sarah Polinski are the Heisman winners, top Scholars, athletes and musicians.
Alexander Porter is Sayre’s male Heisman winner. He “is a two-year member of the SHS Chapter of theNational Honor Society, where this year he is the Treasurer. He has been on the Principal’s Honor Roll every marking period since his freshman year and has been the Treasurer of his graduating class since the freshman year. Alexander’s varsity athletics include cross country and swimming, where he has been team captain for the past two years. He was a member of the 2011 All-Star Cross Country Team and a 2012 member of the all-star swimming team. He is also a member of the Redskin track & field team and was named the SHS Winter Sports “Athlete of the Year.” As a sophomore, he earned the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. In music, Alexander was a freshman member of the Jazz Band and a member of the SHS Concert Band in all four high school years. Alexander’s achievements include being the recipient of the “DAR Good Citizenship Award” and the Bradford County “Discovering Tomorrow’s Leaders Award.” He was also named a 2010 Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Ambassador. Alexander has been a 4-H Club member for nine years, specializing in market lambs and vegetable gardening. He won the 2010 Troy Fair’s 4-H Grand champion Market Lamb competition. He works with the Athens United Methodist Church “Kids for Christ” Choir and is involved in many community service projects with the church Youth Group. Alexander plans to attend Allegheny College to major in Biochemistry.”
Sarah Polinski. is Sayre’s female Heisman Award winner. She “is a member of the National Society of High School Scholars, a member of the SHS Chapter of the National Honor Society, where she is currently serving as the Chapter Vice President. She has been on the SHS Principal’s Honor Roll every marking period since her freshman year. She is a six year Student Council Member, and has been President for three years. Sarah has been a member of the concert, jazz, and marching bands for six years, and has led the Marching Redskins as drum major for three years. She has been a vocalist in the SHS Concert Choir and the Crimson Blues Acappella Group, and has been involved in five SHS musical productions.”
“In varsity athletics, Sarah is a three sport letterer, most recently leading as captain and co-captain of the soccer and track & field teams. In soccer she has been named an NTL first team All-Valley All-Star, and first team All-Region All-Star in both her junior and senior years. She has been the recipient of the Presidential Physical Fitness Award since seventh grade. During her freshman and sophomore years, Sarah was aDistrict Qualifier on the Redskin Swim Team, and currently holds 2 school records.”
Also Sarah is “the National Champion of the VFW Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest, a three time national qualifier and a semi-finalist in Dramatic Interpretation at the National Forensics League Tournament, and was the 2nd place finisher in the 2012 PA State Forensics Competition.” Other awards include “the National Marching Band Award and a three year Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Ambassador. She has been a member of the Pennsylvania All-State Chorus for two years, Region 4 Chorus for three years, District 8 Chorus for three years, and District 8 Jazz Chorus for two years. This year Sarah was awarded the District 8 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Choral Award. Sarah’s community service includes freshman through senior year participation in the Salvation Army “Red Kettle” Bell Ringing, VFW Buddy Poppy Drive, and the “Rusty Rail” Food Drive. Sarah will be attending Susquehanna University in the fall of 2012 to major in Music Education.”
“Music Makes The Morning Better” (May 17, 2012) by Peter Dorbrin from the Philly.com Morning commuter train in Copenhagen has live beautiful music by Grieg to change the morning mood of the passengers. Watch this video and improve your mood.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/artswatch/151728895.html
“Dance Program Brings Joy To Participants With Parkinson’s” (April 19, 2012) by Pat Farmer from theExploreHoward.Com. “In collaboration with the Brooklyn Parkinson Group, the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., developed Dance for PD in 2001. It is based on the premise that professionally trained dancers are experts in movement; stretching and strengthening muscles; balance; rhythm; and how dance concentrates mind, body and emotion on movement. Since 2005, the two partners have expanded the dance program into more than 75 communities around the world.”
“Singing Is A Tonic For Group Patients” (April 27, 2012) from the Oxford Mail. “Singing is the best medicine for Parkinson’s disease sufferers in Oxford who have set up a new music group to help alleviate their symptoms. Research shows that singing can have beneficial effects on the condition because it produces the chemical dopamine, which Parkinson’s disease sufferers lack.”
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/9673955.Singing_is_a_tonic_for_group_patients/
Evidence & Articles supporting the benefits of classical music in your daily life, in the Public School Classrooms, and while doing homework after school:
Mrs. S teaches 7th grade Math at Davis Middle School in Hampton, VA.: “Students perform better on tests and quizzes while listening to Mozart Symphonies in the background.”
Mrs. C’s high school math class in Colorado: “The students asked for music in class. I told them I would play only Mozart. At first they objected but soon decided they liked the music, because it made them feel better and able to focus more on their lessons. Consequently, not only did the grades get better, so did the discipline. Then the students began requesting Mozart.”
Mrs. G had her fifth grade students listening to classical music, played softly, while the children did creative writing assignments and when they did problem solving in math. It created a calm atmosphere conducive to problem solving and creative thinking as well as an appreciation of music that they might not have experienced. The results were so good that she incorporated this into her teaching for the last five years of her teaching career.
Mrs. JC had her fourth grade reading class of 22 students, listening to Mozart and other classical music during class for the entire school year .The children have consistently made 100’s on tests and work. These are just average students not exceptional.
Mrs. J has 4 children, ages 19, 16, 12 and 8 who have been listening to Mozart and other classical music while doing their homework after school since March 05. She has seen them become more focused and relaxed, finishing homework quicker, with more accuracy which has led to higher grades.
Northside Middle School in Norfolk, Virginia is using classical music in halls and class rooms with very good success. “Classical Music Plays at Norfolk School”
For more scientific evidence, medical evidence, test results, and true stories of the world’s scientists, medical doctors, and mathematicians who have studied and played musical instruments since they were children read “The Secret of Teaching Science & Math Through Music” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D. Click on the link:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/the-secret-of-teaching-science-and-math-through-music/
“Musical Notes On Math” by Dr. Madeline Frank teaches your child fractions and decimals, the fun way, through the rhythm of music, Winner of the Parent To Parent Adding Wisdom Award. For more information click on the following link:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/musical-notes-on-math/
For Tips on how to use “Musical Notes On Math” click on the following link:
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/pg47.pdf