December 2004

The Salzburg Festival
Der Rosenkavalier in a Bordello!
By Irving Spitz
There was a startling new production of Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at the Salzburg Festival this year. READ ARTICLE

Anesthetic or Aesthetic:
Arts Education at the Crossroads
By Scott Noppe-Brandon
Over the past few years at Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) I have had the great pleasure of hosting visitors from around the globe, representing over 40 countries. READ ARTICLE

November 2004

A Celebration of Native American Culture:
Focus on Dr. Louis Ballard:
International Native American Composer
By Joan Baum, Ph.d. READ ARTICLE

October 2004

Educating the Imagination
by Scott-Noppe Brandon READ ARTICLE

Strings of Glory: Pablo Casals To Be Honored at the 92nd Street Y
by Joan Baum, Ph.D. READ ARTICLE

September 2004

Special to Education Update from Vienna
Richard Wagner's Tristan & Isolde at the Vienna Staatsoper
by Irving Spitz MORE

August 2004

Product Review
Audio Memory’s Learning Songs
by Mitchell Levine MORE

The Beat Goes on with
NYC Teachers & Taiko Drumming at Lincoln Center
by Michelle Accorso MORE

Heifetz, Shaw, & A Blueprint for Teaching the Arts
by Scott Noppe-Brandon MORE

July 2004

A Love Affair With the Piano:
Interview With Carol Montparker
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
READ MORE

Student Art Exhibition:
Through August 31, 2004 at Yeshiva Univ. Museum
READ MORE

March 2004

A Stellar Music Lineup of Tradition & Innovation: Carnegie Hall
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
A week later than originally planned, Carnegie Hall announced its 2004--5 season, combining a well attended news conference about the spectacular events that will be seen and heard in Stern Auditorium, Weill Recital Hall and Zankel Hall with a memorial tribute to Carnegie’s young and dynamic executive director, Robert J. Harth, whose untimely death shocked the arts community. Speaker after speaker—Sanford I. Weill, chairman of Carnegie’s Board, Ara Guzelimian, the hall’s artistic administrator, the illustrious conductor Pierre Boulez, diva Marilyn Horne, and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma—spoke warmly and admiringly of Harth’s vision and in effect dedicated the new season to realizing his hopes and goals. . . READ MORE

Falstaff at the Vienna Staatsoper: Another Triumph for Bryn Terfel
by Irving Spitz
Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff, which premiered in 1893, when he was just a few months short of his 80th birthday, is a summation of his creative genius. The masterful libretto written by Arrigo Boito, himself a composer, was based largely on Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor but also incorporated material from Henry IV. Indeed it can be said without question that Verdi and Boito succeeded in creating one of the greatest operatic adaptations of Shakespearean material; its only serious rival being its predecessor, Othello. Falstaff was written after Verdi’s second opera, the comedy Un Giorn Di Regno, was a resounding failure. . . READ MORE

February 2004

" And I Teach, Too"
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
As school administrators rev up their rhetoric in preparation for the state's annual spring offensive on the budget, Philip Campanella, District Chairperson of Music and Art for the Malverne Long Island School District, which comprises two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school, good naturedly chuckles that he has no real concern. READ MORE

Great Questions Stimulate Imagination
by Scott Noppe-Brandon
Several weeks ago my wife and I went to see a movie. Being the parents of two young kids, we think of getting out to see a movie, as compared to renting one, as a real treat. As we left the theater we could hear comments, bits of conversation about the film. READ MORE

"Fame on 42nd Street" Offers
Students Paid Apprenticeship with Theatre Professionals
Five New York City high school students have been chosen as the February participants in the Father Fame Apprenticeship Program (FFAP), the result of a partnership between the producers of Fame on 42nd Street, the Father Fame Foundation and the New York City Department of Education. READ MORE

Six Weeks Remain-Register for 'Young Artist
Talent Search'
Young performers have approximately six weeks remaining to register for an audition in the F ourth Annual New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) "Young Artist Talent Search." READ MORE

Midtown Theatre Festival Extends Submission Deadline
Those interested in applying to the Fifth Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF5), which will be taking place from July 12th to August 1, 2004, have an extra month to do so as the MITF Selection Committee has pushed back the Festival's submission deadline...
READ MORE

December 2003

Adolphe Sax & the Saxophone
by Mr. Rodney J.Croft
Adolphe Sax, born in November 1814 in Dinant on the river Meuse in Belgium, became a prolific inventor whose inventions included the saxophone, patented in Paris in 1846. READ MORE

Rockefeller U's Precollege Science Education Program for K-12 Teachers
Science teachers in public, private, or parochial schools in the tri-state area are encouraged to apply to be a Rockefeller University Outreach Teacher Fellow. READ MORE

The Rossini Festival in Pesaro
by Irving Spitz
An operatic extravaganza on the Adriatic
Pesaro, a delightful city on the Adriatic coast, is the birthplace of Gioachino Rossini. Since 1980 it has hosted an annual festival devoted to the production of the operas of its illustrious... READ MORE

November 2003

Claudio Abbado: A Unique Musical Personality
by Irving Spitz
A perspective from live performances, DVDs and CDs READ MORE

Baruch Performing Arts Center
by Eric Krebs
At last we have a home for the performing arts at Baruch, which will soon be filled with music, dance, theatre and other related events! READ MORE

Distance Learning at Carnegie Hall
by Michelle Accorso
The students of Glacier Valley Elementary School in Juneau, Alaska were just finished with breakfast as the students from PS 34 in New York City filed into the Zankel Hall theatre in Carnegie... READ MORE

Donations Provide Free Music Education
for NYC Schools
Little Kids Rock, the D'Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts and drum companies, bring free music classes to under-funded NYC schools. The new support will provide the instruments... READ MORE

Fiddlefest at Carnegie
Fiddlefest, the 10th anniversary gala concert to benefit Opus 118 Harlem Center for Strings that will take place on December 2, 2003, will bring together at Carnegie Hall some of the greatest musical talents of our time in a highly-charged program of varied musical styles and cultures including... READ MORE

October 2003

30 Years of Memorable Music Toshiko Akiyoshi & All That Jazz
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Remember the old joke? how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. Well, Toshiko Akiyoshi's been there and now, after 30 years as a composer and conductor of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, she will be disbanding her group in order to devote herself to practice, practice, practice. READ MORE

Art is Core of Education by Scott Noppe-Brandon
Several weeks ago I heard Chancellor Klein speak at a breakfast held at New York Law School. His speech was excellent, as were the questions that followed. READ MORE

Chanteuse Barbara Lowin Offers "Everything I Love"
Love is everywhere as Barbara Lowin premieres her new show, Everything I Love, an evening of continental cabaret, at Danny's Skylight Room Cabaret. Featuring music director Christopher Marlowe on piano, and directed by Scott Barnes, Everything I Love, is subtitled Songs from Near and Far Away. READ MORE

September 2003

Music Education Being "Left Behind"
Local interpretation of the federal "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) education law is seriously affecting access to music education for America's public school students. The law clearly identifies the arts as a core academic subject, explains American Music Conference Executive Director Rob Walker. READ MORE

"New Watercolors" Exhibit
by Meera Thompson READ MORE

Wolf Trap Gets Its Wings
The world premiere of Face of America 2003: A Celebration of Flight at Wolf Trap in Virginia, is an original multi-media and multi-disciplinary artistic adventure series that explores the relationship between the natural stage and the creative process. READ MORE

August 2003

Richard Kogan, M.D.: Music, A Window to the Soul
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
Listening to Dr. Richard Kogan passionately perform the technically masterful passages of Chopin's Polonaise at an interview at Weill Medical College of Cornell University recently, transported me to a state of rhapsody. READ MORE

July 2003

Imagination Conversation
by Scott Noppe-Brandon
During an Imagination Conversation, organized last fall by Lincoln Center Institute in 11 cities across the country, visionary thinkers from the arts and education, the sciences, public policy, business and the humanities, explored the role imagination plays in their personal and professional lives. READ MORE

June 2003

Music in the Subways
by Michelle Accorso & Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
It was 9:30 am, a bit past the morning crush of riders heading to work on a typical day in New York City. At the downtown platform of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, Richard Mirayes, playing acoustical guitar and singing to the admiration of some passers-by, was impervious to the screeching of the trains. Trained at Santa Monica College, he started lessons at the age of 8 and by age 12 was playing drums in bands. At age 14, he began to record and sing in the background to Frankie Valle. READ MORE

May 2003

Teaching Choral Music
by Joan Baum, Ph.D
The heavens may be "telling the glory of God," as Haydn declares in
"The Creation," but an inspired delivery of that message depends upon voices on earth. READ MORE

The Young People's Chorus Of NY
by Stu Dunn
Education has many facets. One of the most interesting and satisfying is the Young People's Chorus of New York (YPC). READ MORE

Arts in Education
by Scott Noppe-Brandon
As Executive Director of Lincoln Center Institute, an arts and education organization of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, I appreciate this opportunity to invite, challenge and promote dialogue among the many readers, print and web-based, around issues pertinent to everyone involved in education: teachers, school leaders, artists, arts organizations, parents, community members and policy makers of all ilks. READ MORE

April 2003

Young Audiences Honor Riesenberg & Ellerbee
Young Audiences/New York (YA/NY), a pioneer in creating innovative arts education programs integrating the arts and education for New York City public school students, will host its annual Children's Arts Medal Benefit at the Metropolitan Pavilion on Monday, April 7, 2003. . . . READ MORE

New Orleans Music Festival with Louis Armstrong
New Orleans' favorite new festival is Satchmo SummerFest, a five-day event celebrating the lasting influence of jazz icon, international cultural ambassador and native son Louis Armstrong. . . . READ MORE

March 2003

Soccer Saga: Bend It Like Beckham; Holocaust Harbor: Nowhere In Africa
by Jan Aaron
In the charming comedy, Bend It Like Beckam, an Indian girl meets a blonde tomboy who helps her realize her dream of playing big time soccer. As in her previous films, Bhaji on the Beach and What's Cooking, director writer Gurinder Chadha doesn't delve deep here, but assembles a first rate cast to tell this story about changing social conventions. READ MORE

City College Library to Host ?gJazz Age?h National Traveling Exhibition
The City College Library will celebrate Black History Month this year with the only regional showing of The Jazz Age in Paris: 1914?|1940, a traveling exhibition organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). READ MORE

Disney Gives Schools First-Class Treatment
When you let your students discover the wonder and joy of Disney on Broadway, we'll make the experience unforgettable! This school year give your students a day to remember by taking advantage of Disney's educational program, which provides schools with special rates for groups of 15 or more for Beauty and the Beast, Aida and Lion King. READ MORE

February 2003

The Zurich Opera Does It Again!
by Irving Spitz
A riveting and innovative performance of Schubert's rarely heard opera Fierrabras. In 1822, the director of the Court Opera Theatre in Vienna requested the 25 year-old Franz Schubert to... READ MORE

THE WILD THORNBERRYS
by Jan Aaron
See it now at a local multiplex or later on video, but don?ft miss The Wild Thornberry's Movie. The animated film version of the popular Nickelodeon TV show, follows the adventures of... READ MORE

January 2003

Artists, Innovators, and Teachers Hold "Imagination Conversation" at Lincoln Center Institute
by Marie Holmes
Do schools suffer a lack of imagination? The audience full of teachers and other education professionals in attendance at a panel discussion entitled "Imagination Conversation," held recently by the Lincoln Center Institute, likely rely upon their own imaginative powers every day. READ MORE

Mark O'Connor: From Nashville to San Francisco, Musician Extraordinaire
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Though Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern have both lovingly referred to their violins as fiddles, Mark O'Connor may have the world's indisputable claim to the term. By all... READ MORE

Arts Educators Learn Tools of the Trade
by Sybil Maimin
Art teachers from the five boroughs recently met at Fiorello LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and Performing Arts for the 22nd annual New York City Art Teachers Association (NYCATA) conference to share talents, techniques, and perspectives and to honor... READ MORE

December 2002

Emperor's Club Hails Education
by Jan Aaron
Paying tribute to Education Update's seven years, the December movie spotlights education. While the Greek and Roman classics may be rare in today's classrooms, many modern educators will identify with Kevin Kline's plight in Michael Hoffman?fs The Emperor's Club... READ MORE

Yentl, A Heart-Warming Play for the Holidays
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
Even if you don't understand Yiddish, (headphones with simultaneous translation are provided for those who need them) Yentl transcends language, time and place. Its theme deals with the place of women in a society that views them as married with children, the old Kirchen, kuchen, und kinder READ MORE

November 2002

Profiles in Education:
Muriel Silberstein-Storfer: Art Educator, A Legend in Her Own Time
by Sybil Maimin
Hands-on art is where it all starts,explains Muriel Silberstein-Storfer, revered art educator who created the immensely popular Parent-Child Studio Workshops at the... READ MORE

Mary Lou Retton Starts Flip Flop Shop
Mary Lou Retton gained international fame in the 1984 Olympic Games by becoming the first U.S. woman to win the Gold Medal in the all-around women's gymnastics... READ MORE

October 2002

Music in the Schools
by Kitty Carlisle Hart
For the past 25 years, I have been trying to get music into the regular curriculum of the public school system... READ MORE

Vienna Choir Boys and Boys Choir of Harlem Join Together for First American Performance in the Great Hall at City College of New York, Thursday, October 17
On Thursday, October 17, a historic meeting of two cultures representing five centuries of glorious music-making, will take place in the Great Hall of The City College of New York... READ MORE

Whitney Museum to Host Family Day
Saturday, November 2, 2002 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Whitney will clear an entire floor of the museum for its third annual family day... READ MORE

The Little Orchestra Society’s “Lolli-Pops”
Find New Home
Lolli-Pops, The Little Orchestra Society’s popular concerts for children ages 3–5, will be making their new home at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College (68th off Lexington) for the 2002-2003 season...
READ MORE

September 2002

DVD: The Technology of the Future:
Has DVD Made the Opera House Obsolete?
by Irving Spitz
The advent of DVD (digital video discs), a medium that combines an outstanding digital video image with superb surround sound, has revolutionized... READ MORE

More Les Paul
by Andrew Schiff
Throughout history, education has usually placed emphasis on the teacher-student relationship... READ MORE

August 2002

Art and Education: the Links are Critical
by Tom Kertes
According to Critical Links, a compendium of 62 research studies and interpretive essays published by the Art Education Partnership (AEP), arts in... READ MORE

Music, Art and Dance in the City
Events in Central Park, Events at Lincoln Center
READ MORE

July 2002

Shakespeare Program at LI Elementary School
Since the 1999-2000 school year The Shubert Elementary School has been engaged in an innovative after school theatre program.
READ MORE

Music in Berlin
Few cities can compete with this city's musical quality and variety.
by Irving Spitz
With three active functioning opera companies, in addition to several symphony orchestras, including the venerable Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin's rich choice of musical offerings can easily overwhelm the casual visitor. READ MORE

June 2002

Arts and Technology:
A Successful Merger in District 25, Queens
by Tom Kertes
Famous for having one of the very best art programs in the nation, Queens Community School District 25 has always tried to be a frontrunner of Arts in Education, said Arlene Jordan, the Districty's Supervisor of Expressive Arts. READ MORE

The Lincoln Center Summer Institute: Bravo & Encore
by Joan Baum
Sometimes itAs the little word that makes the difference. In the matter of the Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) Arts in Education program, the key to understanding how this particular school-arts collaboration differs from all other programs that supplement, augment, and enrich learning lies in the preposition oeand as opposed to the conjunction oeand. READ MORE

May 2002

The Vienna State Opera
Magnificence in the pit. The orchestra says it all!
by Irving Spitz READ MORE

April 2002

The Art of Bel Canto in Song & in Word, Free at Lincoln Center READ MORE

A Musical To Warm Your Heart: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
by Sybil Maimin READ MORE

PS 99 Students Perform Opera To Commemorate Yom Hashoah READ MORE

Kent Tritle: Musician with Heavenly Job Pulls Out All the Stops
by Joan Baum, Ph.D. READ MORE

March 2002

Wynton Marsalis and Lincoln Center Release Jazz Appreciation Curriculum
by Marie Holmes READ MORE

Is The Cultural Pendulum Swinging West To Chicago?
Visual delights at the Art Institute and heavenly singing at the Lyric Opera
by Irving Spitz READ MORE

February 2002

African History Month Events in NYC READ MORE

Music Festivals in Israel: Solace for the troubled
by Irving Spitz
Israel's musical life, always strong, is flourishing, in spite of its economic and political troubles. One reason is that the country has received a tremendous boost in the last two decades by the influx of a large number of competent musicians from the former Soviet Union. Partly as a result of the availability of this new talent, a number of new orchestras have been set up and older established institutions have been strengthened. All of these orchestras give regular subscription concerts; in addition, Israel hosts several international music festivals.
READ MORE

January 2002

Listening Adventures for Children at Carnegie Hall
by Marylena Mantas
The best way to experience Listening Adventures is to see it yourself, advises Lisa Hanford Halasz, Ph.D., director of education at Carnegie Hall. READ MORE

December 2001

The Maestro & the Little Orchestra: Dino Anagnost in Top Form
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
It?fs as difficult for organizations as it is for individuals to think business as usual after September 11th, but the fact is that everyone has been adversely affected by the tragedy and by the continuing terrorism that has made New York City for some a place of fear. READ MORE

November 2001 

Degas Comes To Life At The Joffrey Ballet School
by Marylena Mantas
Some admirers of Degas' impressionist painting The Dance Class argue that the realism of the image allows viewers to sense that they have walked into the painting. Yet, a few miles south of the Metropolitan Museum of Art the experience of walking into The Dance Class transcends that of oil on canvas. READ MORE

October 2001

The Washington Opera
by Irving Spitz
Although in its current season the Washington Opera will be giving 80 performances of eight operas, the beginnings of this impressive company were humble. In fact, the first formal performance of the company in 1957 took place in an auditorium in one of Washington's universities, and rehearsals had to be held in New York. READ MORE

Education Update Writer, Sculptor Honored with 1st Prize READ MORE

September 2001

The 92nd Street Y
A home for learning for over 127 years, the 92nd Street Y is a great place for kids and teens to learn something new while having fun and making new friends. There is something for every child at the Y.
READ MORE

SI Educators Discover the Familiar at Ellis Island
by Kahdeidra Martin and Katarzyna Kozanecka
Some 30 Staten Island school officials became threads in our nation's fabric recently by exploring the Ellis Island Tapestry, an interactive curriculum that teaches history and social studies through drama. Led by Kathleen Gaffney, co-founder and president of Artsgenesis, Inc. who designed the Tapestry, participants used their imaginations to leap back in time, becoming the daughters, husbands and disabled grandmothers of families who migrated to the United States on the busiest day in Ellis Island history: April 17, 1907. On this day, 11,745 people were processed for citizenship. READ MORE

Discovering Good Teaching at Juilliard
by Joan Baum, Ph.D.
There may be no more reliable assessment of a teacher than the observation of a teacher by another who becomes a student. This past spring I, a longtime college teacher of English, took an evening music course at The Juilliard School with Peiwen Chao, and I was able to recognize and admire her methods. READ MORE

Vanguard Crafts
Vanguard Crafts, Inc. has been selling fun in the form of the arts and crafts for more than 40 years. We carry a broad range of basic supplies such as crayons, paints, glues, brushes, beads, papers, and much, much more. Several hundred pre-packed kits take the guesswork out of creating that perfect craft and are ideal for use with small or large groups such as scouts, camps, and classrooms. Our kits all come with detailed instructions and cover a wide range of age groups and abilities. READ MORE

August 2001

New Ways of Appreciating Art
by Tom Kertes
If you haven't seen a large group of school superintendents all in one room swaying, rowing an imaginary boat, and fighting the one-eyed monster Cyclops with an umbrella, well you haven't lived a full life. READ MORE

Puccini's Next-to-Last Opera Scores High Grades
in London
by Irvin Spitz
Special to Education Update, London
In its early days, the English National Opera (ENO) performed at the Sadler's Wells theater in London. In 1968 it moved to its present venue, the Coliseum. Regardless of its location, ENO remains one of Britain's great cultural icons READ MORE

July 2001

Creative Education Creates Miracles
by Tom Kertes
In most schools, wiggly, gyrating students are not looked upon too kindly in class by their teachers. But in at least one program in the city, the teacher actually leads the twisting. READ MORE

June 2001

Opera Quiz Kid
by Sarah Elzas
Opera has become cool, at least at Long Island City High School (LICHS). Jessica Agudelo, a junior, gets up early to attend opera classes at school twice a week at. She was recently selected as a Quiz Kid panelist out of 150 students across the country in a competition where they answered questions about Verdi's Aida, Bizet's Carmen and Mozart's The Magic Flute. READ MORE

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: Could Its Troubles Be Over?
by Irving Spitz
London, England? Over the past few years, the Royal Opera House (ROH) has been plagued by debt, scandal and bad publicity. But the appointment of the latest American Arts Administrator, Michael Kaiser, as chief executive in 1998? the third such appointment within one year? seemed to put the ROH back on track. READ MORE

May 2001

A Conversation with the Lyric's Joan Kretschmer
by Irving Spitz
Joan Thomson Kretschmer is the Lyric Chamber Music Society's founder, Artistic Director and pianist. Founded in 1997, the Lyric had its first concert in1998 and continues to be dedicated to providing musicians an opportunity to perform chamber music READ MORE

Grants For Teachers Who Use American Music
For the fourth year, the National Music Foundation will award cash grants of up to one thousand dollars to teachers of any subject, in any grade K-12, and in any academic setting, who create lesson plans using American music. READ MORE

An Operatic Jewel on Lake Zurich
by Irving Spitz
Opera buffs please take note. To hear great opera, go to Zurich. The Zurich Opera may not be the first company that springs to mind when thinking of great opera, but in fact it can hold its own with the most prestigious houses in the world. READ MORE

Music Therapy for People with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's Disease
Music may benefit the four million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's and could potentially help many of the one million Americans with Parkinson's disease, according to several studies that have looked at music therapy's effect on memory and other mental activities. One study, conducted at the University of California, Irvine, found that people with Alzheimer's who listened to a Mozart sonata greatly improved their scores on memory tests. READ MORE

School of Music & Art Receives Grant
The Alumni & Friends of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts has received a five-year, $1.125 million grant under the Talented Students in the Arts Initiative (TSAI), a new collaboration of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Surdna Foundation. READ MORE

Violence Prevention through Theater
After the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999, Adina Taubman, an actress and playwright, began a series of interviews with members of the Columbine community. READ MORE

April 2001

Funding for Arts Education
The Center for Arts Education (CAE) has received a $12 million grant from the Annenberg Foundation and a $2.5 million commitment from the New York City Board of Education to extend the restoration of the arts in the City?fs public schools. READ MORE

Young Artists Speak Out
High School students from all over the city who had won an artwork competition asking them to address oppression and discrimination had their work displayed at an exhibit, Young Artists Speak Out, at the New York Historical Society in March. READ MORE

Students Perform on Historic Pianos
Twelve students from Interlochen Arts Academy, a fine arts boarding high school in Michigan, recently received a unique opportunity to perform on a collection of historical pianos that are part of a Smithsonian Institution exhibition celebrating the piano's 300th anniversary. READ MORE