We want to wish all of our readers a Happy Passover and a Happy Easter! Remember to start your day right by listening to Classical music which has the power to improve your mood, make you smarter, help you work faster with more accuracy, improves health and healing, grows healthier plants in fewer days, increases sales in stores, soothes your mind and prevents crime. If school cafeterias and school buses played Classical Music, the students would be calmer and more focused without violent tendencies. This April issue pays tribute to “Bermuda’s 400th Anniversary Concert Celebration, (1609-2009), Concerti Through the Ages on Feb 24, 2009 at 8pm at St. Paul’s Church in Paget, Bermuda. Stories and reviews of the concert are included.
Bermuda’s 400th Anniversary Concert Celebration, (1609-2009), Concerti Through the Ages on Feb 24, 2009 at 8pm at St. Paul’s Church, built in 1623 during the Baroque Period in Paget, Bermuda played to a sold out audience. American Conductor, Dr. Madeline Frank tall and elegantly dressed led the Bermudian Festival Chamber Orchestra and 4 Bermudian soloists through 4 Centuries of music. She spoke eloquently, before each Century of music, about the composer and period in history. Gaynor Gallant performed the Marcello Oboe Concerto in D Minor, (Baroque Period: 1600-1749); Kent Hayward performed the Mozart Horn Concerto in E flat Major, K495, (Classical Period: 1750-1820); Nancy Smith performed the Reinecke Flute Concerto, (Romantic Period: 1820-1910); and Adrian Ridgeway performed the Poulenc Organ Concerto, (20th Century: 1910-2000).
For pictures of the soloist click: http://www.bermudafestival.org/2009/concerti.asp
Reviews of the Concert:
- The concert was fabulous.” L. Smith
- “I was thrilled with .. Concerti Through the Ages. It is gratifying to know that … soloists and an orchestra .. could reach that standard of playing.” Karen Pollard, Artistic Director, Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts
- “Thank you, thank you, thank you…!!!!!!! BRAVO to you …!!!!! “You did pull a white rabbit out of your hat!!!Adrian Ridgeway soloist of the Poulenc Organ Concerto
Four gifted American musician colleagues joined Dr.Madeline Frank for this remarkable event: From Virginia, Anna Fontaine, cellist, Diane Hossinger, violinist, Heather Howard, violist, and from New York City, Mathew Donello, timpanist. The three American musicians from Virginia are all former students of Madeline Frank and Mathew Donello is a graduate student of Jonathan Haas’s at New York University. Jonathan Haas and Madeline Frank were classmates at the Juilliard School in New York City.
“A Flair for Passion and Spirit” (Feb. 24, 2009) by Nancy Acton from The Royal Gazette in Bermuda. The article included biographies of the soloists and the following information on the orchestra and conductor: “On this occasion, the 48-strong Orchestra, including overseas musicians, has the unprecedented opportunity to perform four concerti under the baton of renowned visiting conductor and musician Dr. Madeline Frank. …..Directing ‘Concerti through the Ages’ is internationally acclaimed conductor Dr. Madeline Frank, who has performed in concert and conducted master classes throughout the world……..Dr. Frank has been described as a “brilliant violist who conveys vigor, passion and spirit”.
http://www.theroyalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp
?articleId=7d92c373003002a§ionId=80
Bermuda is a wonderful summer destination for you and your family with its beautiful beaches and lovely pink sand.
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 include it in the May 2009 newsletter
Question of the Month: Name the American physicist, neurobiologist, and accomplished violist who won the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physics for his “invention of the bubble chamber”?
Donald Arthur Glaser in 1953 “created a small bubble chamber filled with superheated ether that was successful in capturing the trail of bubbles left by nuclear particles as they passed through the liquid.” He was born on Sep. 21, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio to Lena and William Glaser, former immigrants from Russia. In Cleveland his father was a businessman and Glaser attended the public schools there. “As a child he was given violin and viola lessons” and has continued to play throughout his life.
In 1946 he received his B.S. degree in mathematics and physics from Cleveland’s Case Institute of Technology which is now called Case Western Reserve University .In 1950 he received his Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology. “In 1949 Glaser accepted a position as instructor at the University of Michigan, where he began his bubble chamber experiment.” At the age of 31 in 1957 Glaser became a full professor at the University of Michigan and remained until 1959 when he accepted a position at the University of California, Berkeley as professor of physics. After receiving his Nobel Prize in 1960 he “extended his knowledge of physics to the field of molecular biology.” In 1961 at the University of Copenhagen “he studied microbiology” returning to Berkeley to do “research on bacterial evolution, regulation of cell growth, and the causes of cancer and genetic mutation. Using photo-analyzing equipment developed for the bubble chamber, Glaser was able to identify bacterial species through computer scanning.” In 1964 at Berkeley “he was made professor of physics and molecular biology.”
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/donald-glaser-wop/
http://www.answers.com/topic/donald-a-glaserhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761583193/glaser_donald_arthur.html
http://www.bookrags.com/Donald_A._GlaserMadeline’s Musical One Minute Radio Show for April 2009.
How does Classical Music play a part of Donald Glaser’s life as a Physicist and Neurobiologist?Click the link for Madeline’s One Minute Radio Show
https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/madelines-one-minute-radio-show/
“A ‘Welcome Home’ for Geneva Cellist” ( March 12, 2009) by L. David Wheeler, staff writer for the Daily Messenger, Geneva, N.Y. “When cellist Hannah Collins set off on her undergraduate days at Yale University, she was not a music major: She earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, while playing both solo and in ensembles whenever she could. That was nothing new for Collins, who carried the same dual interests through her youth in Geneva .” This weekend she is returning to perform at the Geneva Community Projects Inc.’s “Welcome Home Project” concerts, set for Friday, March 13 in St. John’s Chapel on the Hobart and William Smith Colleges campus.” Collins says, “All through my high school years, I was always playing a lot of cello, but always was interested in science and physics and engineering. When I went off to college, I tried to keep doing the same thing.” Collins mother is a pianist and will perform on the concert with her. Her sister played the violin. She says, “Music surrounded her from her earliest memories.”
http://www.mpnnow.com/entertainment/x1676800109/A-Welcome-Home-for-Geneva-cellist
“Youth Citizen of the Year: Student’s Life a Symphony of Service” (March 13, 2009) by Rob Cullivan from The Gresham Outlook. Klondy Canales has just turned 18, is a high school senior at Reynolds High School with a 4.0 average and is a violinist serving as concertmistress of her school’s orchestra and plays for the Sunnyside Community Orchestra. She wants to become a doctor. Her activities include the following: “She co-chairs the Multnomah Youth Commission, mentors a little girl through the Big Brother/Big Sister program, is a peer leader and drama troupe member – performing in both Spanish and English – with Northwest Family Services, and serves as student representative on the Reynolds School Board.” Her proudest achievement is with the Youth Commission “to promote a Youth Bill of Rights for Oregon in 2006, as well as a pilot program this year enabling students at three Portland high schools to get free TriMet passes.” Canales says, I love standing for people who need a voice. “Volunteering for me is more than just donating my time, it’s about the people that I touch and stand with and for.”
http://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/story.php?story_id=123699906510707300
Testimonials on “Madeline’s Monthly Article & Musical Tips” & “One Minute Radio Show”:
“Great letter again, Madeline. So many teachers would benefit from reading and applying your great books. As a career educator, I’ve seen so many schools miss out on these tremendous benefits. Your secrets make the whole job of teaching much easier and more effective! (March 2, 2009) Elizabeth Hamilton
ttp://www.character-in-action.com/character-builder-newsletter.htm
“Music Therapy Helps with Language Ability” (March 20, 2009) by Niamh Mullen from the Irish Medical Times. “Playing Mozart to children with developmental disorders can dramatically improve their language ability, according to a leading speech and language therapist”. Karen O’Connor says, “It has been scientifically proven that certain music, in particular Mozart, has a special effect on opening up the neuropathways – which are like highways to the part of the brain which allow us to attend, listen, absorb and express yourself.” She was trained in Canada in the LiFt music therapy programme and has clinics in Galway and Dublin. LiFt music therapy programme treats children and adults with autism, Asperger’s syndrom, ADHD, and dyspraxia. She says, “One month’s treatment can accelerate language development by up to three years. The neuroplasticity of the brain is increased, allowing us to take in more information and express ourselves confidently. Controlled MRI scans have shown that the cortex of the brain lit up when classical music was played.” http://www.imt.ie/news/2009/03/music_therapy_helps_with_langu.html
“To Help Ward Off Dementia, Train Your Brain” (March 24, 2009) by Linda Shrieves | from the Orlando Sentinel.com. “12 Listen to classical music. A growing volume of research suggests that music may hard wire the brain, building links between the two hemispheres. ..research … shows positive effects for classical music.”
“Relax Away Sickness and Stress” ( Feb 26, 2009) by Maggie Beidelman from The Santa Clara , SCU’s weekly undergraduate newspaper. “Listen to music: Stay focused and calm while working on the computer by playing soft or classical music in the background. My music major friends recommend Bach’s Third Symphony. Use Pandora online radio to create a station that you don’t have to change every five minutes.”
http://media.www.thesantaclara.com/media/storage/paper946/news
/2009/02/26/Scene/Relax.Away.Sickness.And.Stress-3650107.shtml
“Fine Tune Your Life” (Feb. 16, 2009) by Laura Dixon from The National Newspaper; Abu Dhabi Media Company. “Dr Michael Miller of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore has recently presented research that shows that listening to music can have a positive impact on blood vessel function.” Dr. Miller says, “Listening to music evokes such raw positive emotions that it’s likely in part to be due to the release of endorphins. It’s all part of that mind-heart connection that we yearn to learn so much more about. Needless to say, these results were music to my ears because they signal another preventive strategy that we may incorporate in our daily lives to promote heart health.” At the University of Hawaii’s medical school “Dr. Jorge Camera of the Department of Ophthalmology greeted his patients in the operating room by playing live classical music to them before they were sedated in an experiment to discover whether it impacted on the patients’ vital signs. It was a good hunch: he found that with his group of first-time ophthalmology patients, the average patient’s blood pressure lowered by 21 per cent, their heart rate dropped by eight per cent and their breathing slowed by 20 per cent.” Dr. Camera says, “This validates the growing evidence that listening to relaxing music has profound beneficial effects on the physiological functions of the human body.”
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090216/LIFE/216278847/1196
“Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center For Brain Health: In Cleveland, Patients Are Priority Network of Doctors and Hospitals Places High Value On Treatment Experience” (Feb. 17, 2009) by Marshall Allen from the Las Vegas Sun. The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute brings a new attitude to hospital care. “The Cleveland Clinic main campus is a city unto itself, remarkable for its magnitude, beauty and attention to detail in caring for patients. Inside the newest building’s spacious atrium, visitors are greeted by classical music, paintings, sculptures, a reception staff in red jackets — and sweet dogs that wander the hospital with their handlers, bringing cheer to patients.”
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/17/cleveland-patients-are-priority/
“Music Therapy Helps Nursing Home Residents Retain Their Mental, Physical Abilities” (Feb. 16, 2009) by Meg Hagerty from the PostStar.com in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Music has the power to stimulate memory at Saratoga Care Nursing Home. Gallagher, assistant coordinator of activities and .. music therapist at Saratoga Care says,” Decline creates barriers for people. Music helps people connect with each other and helps them use the skills they still have. In addition, music lifts the mood and helps the “life review process” by its ability to recall memories. The action of singing sends more oxygen to the brain as the lungs are expanded. It keeps some patients ambulatory.” Gallagher “relies on popular songs from the early 1900s to help jog her elderly patients’ memories because even if they didn’t recognize the pieces in their day, they probably remember their parents humming the numbers.”
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2009/02/16/ae/today/14423082.txt
“Students’ Projects Lead to Interesting Results” (Feb. 22, 2009) by Beth Reese Cravey from the Jacksonville.com news. “Mice memorize mazes better while listening to classical music – with rap, not so well. Fish – particularly two of the tropical variety, Dalmatian Lyretail Mollies named Doon and Fink – take more breaths in warm water than in cold water.”
“Frank Shoemaker, Leading High-Energy Physicist, Dies” (March 2, 2009) by Kitta MacPherson from the News at Princeton University. Frank Shoemaker “in addition to physics”, his “main passions were his family, classical music, which always filled the air, sailing and dogs.” He was “a leader in the development of high-energy particle accelerators during a highly revelatory era for physics and a founding member of the experimental particle physics group at Princeton. Shoemaker, a hands on scientist “served on the Princeton physics faculty from 1952 until his retirement in 1989, was always building something. He led the reconstruction of the University’s Palmer Cyclotron after a fire in 1952 and, in the course of his research, performed pioneering experiments on the strong focusing of particle beams. He then went on to lead the design and construction of the 3-billion-volt Princeton-Pennsylvania Accelerator, and served as associate director of the accelerator program from 1962 to 1966. He took a year-long leave of absence from Princeton in 1968 to become the first head of the main-ring group at what would become the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory or Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., and led the design and construction of that facility’s 1 kilometer radius main accelerator ring.”
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S23/60/12C24/index.xml?section=topstories
“Restaurant Worker Brings Music to the Job” (March 10, 2009) by Dennis Kellogg from the www.DTV2009.gov , KHAS-TV – Hastings,NE. “Gil Glad’s favorite place to perform is in the corner of this Grand Island fast food restaurant. He drives 30 minutes from Central City 6 days a week to play his songs.” He says he plays, “Three hours. 11:00 to 2:00,” He’s 81–year–old, a former elementary school teacher and principal and “has been playing the organ for more than 6 decades.” Glad’s says, “I like to play polkas. It always… perks up their day. Then I play classical music and old–time favorites. I try to play something a little modern once in awhile, but not rock n roll. I do not play any.” He mostly plays “the standards and that is just fine with those in the dining room. His music is usually an unexpected treat.”
http://new.khastv.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=16495&storytopic=7
“Oh, for A Good Night’s Sleep” (March 12, 2009) by Dr Jacqueline E Campbell from the Jamaica Observer.com. “Research has shown that New Age and Classical music can help persons fall asleep quickly and sleep for longer periods. Choose music that slows the mind through 50-60 beats per minute rather than the 120 plus beats per minute that club music assaults the brain with. A wide range of classical music assists insomniacs to sleep. Handel’s “Water Music,” Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” Brahms “Lullaby,” Mozart’s “Baroque Music,” Debussy’s “Arabesque #1” and Strauss’s “Waltzes” are recommended.”
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20090311T200000-0500_147409_OBS_OH__FOR_A__GOOD_NIGHT_S_SLEEP_.asp
“Word of Mouth” (March 18, 2009) by Jennie Kim, Dougherty Valley High School, Teen Correspondents from the Contra Costa Times. “Chill With Classical: Spring is finally here, and so is sunshine, flowers, and of course, state- and college-mandated testing. For stressed individuals like myself, this time of year is definitely one that I do not look forward to. To help relieve some of my stress, I resort to classical music. Though classical music isn’t the teen music of choice, it does have a cathartic effect. Composers such as Beethoven, Debussy, and Chopin are sure to cool your jets and relax you before that big test. And studies have also shown that listening to classical music aids in mental health. Tune into 102.1 KDFC FM or visit classicalwebcast.com to reap the full benefits of classical music.”
This April if you have a question about the power of music for education and healing … what would your specific question be? Click on the link below and look on the left side to where it says ask Madeline a question:https://www.madelinefrankviola.com/index.php
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..” (Dec 1, 2008)
Mrs. I’s fourth grade reading, writing, and math class in the York County Public School District in Virginia. “During the summer of 2008, I taught students from all the schools in the county. About the middle of the term, I decided to start playing classical music while students worked independently. I noticed that students were more focused on tasks than they had been previously while doing independent work. They also talked to each other less. One day, when I forgot to turn on the music, a number of the students came up to me and reminded me to turn it on. At the end of the term, all the students had reached their academic goals in both subjects, (reading and math) and most had gone way beyond their goals. (Most of the student’s scores went up 15% to 36% higher.) I know that the atmosphere that was created by the classical music contributed a lot to this.” (Sep 24, 2008)
Mrs. C’s high school math class in Colorado: “The students asked for music in class. I told them I wouldplay 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 3 children, ages 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”