by Donna Iadipaolo
WHAT CAN GET hundreds of Ann Arbor kids in the summer to relax and revel in playing a musical instrument while also making friends with other musically inclined youth?
None other than the Ann Arbor Public School’s Summer Music Program.
The grand finale to the AAPS Summer Music Program was a showcase of all the students’ talent with multiple public performances around the city. The program officially ended on July 24.
“The Summer Music Program has evolved over time to meet the needs of both the district and the students,” according to Fred Smith, who has worked as the Summer Music Facilitator/Coordinator for the Ann Arbor Summer Music Program for 13 years.
Smith described how the program has matured through the years.
“In my opinion, the best thing about the program is its primary purpose, to give students in instrumental music an opportunity to keep their skill sets going over the summer in a fun, interactive, yet, instructional environment. Initially, it started out with only Band and Orchestra Classes and has since grown to meet the needs of the community to include the ‘Jazz Band’ and ‘Scarlett Summer Music Academy,’ ” said Smith.
Smith explained that participation in the AAPS Summer Music Program fluctuates each year.
“We have served as many as 250 students across the district to as few as 100 students,” noted Smith. “This year we were somewhere in the middle, around 155 students.”
Classes run from three to five weeks, for up to two hours a day, four days a week, and cost either $185 (for “Early Bird” registration) or $200. Some discounts and scholarships are also awarded.
Class offerings this summer included “Jazz Band” at Huron High School, “All City Advanced Percussion Drumline” at Huron, “Beginning and Intermediate Percussion Drumline” at Huron, “All Jazz Combo” at Huron, “All City Jazz Big Band” at Huron, “Intermediate Band” at Huron, “New Beginning Wind and Percussion Class” at Huron, “Scarlett Summer Band Music Academy” at Scarlett Middle School, “Intermediate Orchestra” at both Clague Middle School and Scarlett, “Advanced String Orchestra” at Clague and Scarlett.
In 2013, the Ann Arbor Public Schools was among 307 districts throughout the U.S. to be named to the 2013 Best Communities for Music Education list. It is a designation awarded annually by the National Association of Music Merchants’ nonprofit group, the NAMM Foundation.
“The summer music program allows students to work in a relaxed atmosphere where they build relationships with other students across the district, while continuing to hone their skills on their instrument,” said Smith. “We believe it to be a wonderful use of parent dollars as compared to more expensive alternative camps elsewhere. We provide experienced teachers, usually teachers from our district, who are well trained and qualified to give our students the best experience they can.”
Deb Katz is an Instrumental Music Teacher with AAPS with 40 years of experience as a music educator. This summer she oversaw the Scarlett Summer Music Academy.
“This (Scarlett Summer Music Academy) program is located intentionally at Scarlett Middle School to make it readily accessible to students in the southeast area of the school district,” said Katz. “This is an area with more limited public transportation options and includes a large percentage of families with limited resources. Putting this program in the neighborhood makes it easier and more welcoming for students in this part of the district.”
Last year Katz’s program added a hot dog cookout during the final week, according to a piece she posted on June 14, 2014 to the AwesomeFoundation.org site.
Deb Katz also explained in her written description of the program that some students have limited family resources, so at the end of each day’s work, the Scarlett Summer Music program provides a healthy snack from the Ann Arbor Farmers Market. Katz went on to explain that the location of the Scarlett Summer Music Academy was decided by various music leaders in the AAPS community.
“The decision was made corroboratively between the summer music program coordinator, the AAPS music coordinator and myself at a time when it appeared that there would not be a summer music option at Scarlett,” explained Katz. “As the band director at Scarlett at that time, I felt it was very important to have summer music in our area and to design it in a way that would allow for the greatest musical growth in a short period of time.”
Katz is, however, not the sole force behind teaching students about music at her school. She has also enlisted the help of many other “coaches” as facilitators to help her students.
“While I am paid for this work, I use my stipend to hire about 10-12 high school and college musicians to work as coaches with the middle schoolers. Every participant gets an individual or small group lesson each day from one of these more advanced players and plays in a coached ensemble,” said Katz.
She went on to explain: “In my opinion, the best thing about the Scarlett Summer Academy is its coaching model….students receive individual or small group instruction from skilled young adult musicians daily and also have the benefit of coaching during full ensemble rehearsals. This allows for more growth in a short period of time.”
A unique aspect of this year’s summer class for Katz was that it was mostly 6th graders.
“There were a total of 21 students (at Scarlett) this summer. I don’t know why this year’s group is mostly 6th graders,” stated Katz. “It may have something to do with how teachers presented this program to their students in the spring. However, I think it worked very well having students whose experience level was fairly similar. Several of this summer’s students are expressing interest in returning next summer, so we may have a slightly older group next year. This really varies from year to year.”
Katz said that the summer program aids students with their classroom instrument learning during the year, as well.
“Being involved in playing one’s instrument throughout the summer allows a student to be better prepared for the school year music program,” suggested Katz. “I also believe that the students in the Summer Academy are well prepared to succeed in their school year music classes because they have developed some specific skills on their instruments and they have developed tenacity in our band rehearsals.”
The Academy promotes and develops particular playing techniques and musical artistry.
“Students focused on a variety of skills (at the Academy),” explained Katz. “They included improvement of tone quality, development of more confident finger technique, and improved music reading. Students also developed self-confidence and their ability to work as members of a team. Each student also focused on some very specific skills unique to their own level of playing.”
She added that the music program strives to promote a comfortable vibe, with an emphasis on the enjoyment and pleasure of music, as well as musician camaraderie.
“The summer music program, and particularly the Scarlett Academy, allows students to work in a relaxed atmosphere where they build relationships with more experienced musicians while gaining skill on their instruments,” described Katz. “We not only learn as much as we can in three weeks, but we also have fun and get to know some really fine young musicians who are our coaches. This gives students a personal connection with music making which is wonderful to see develop.”
People are already looking forward to next summer’s music program. Smith said they hope to be ready for registration near the start of next year.
“Please feel free to check the Ann Arbor Public School’s website for more information and if interested, “ added Smith. “We hope to have next years registration up and running by February 1st, 2015.”