SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Music education is something we’ve seen get thrown out of school curriculum because of funding costs.
One program that partners with Carnegie Hall and Julliard is doing everything in its power to change the narrative and show how impactful music can be.
The Savannah Music Festival (SMF) is showcasing a fun and exciting way to learn in Savannah-Chatham County Public School Systems with a program dedicated to teaching students and teachers about the style of learning.
“Musical Explorers, it was developed in partnership with Carnegie Hall Wild Music Institute and this is the 10th year of the program in Savannah,” said Jenny Woodruff, senior director Public Outreach with SMF. “We are reaching over 10,000 students who are in grades K through 2.”
Erika Tate and her firm Bluknowledge are responsible for evaluating Musical Explorers, and she states that since the implementation of the program they have seen teachers correlate music to other parts of the curriculum, making students more engaged in learning.
“One of the findings that has been very consistent for us is that teachers have been making connections between the Musical Explorers curriculum and other core academic subjects,” said Tate, the founder of Bluknowledge. “Music Explorers is taught by music teachers and classroom teachers and in our survey last year, we found 89% of teachers were making a correlation to social studies and over 50% of teachers made a connection with language arts.”
Musical Explorers covers different genres of music from all over the world; music teacher Chris Miller says programs like this are what keep children excited about learning.
“It gives them the chance to see that there is a great big world out there to explore,” said the Haven Elementary School music teacher. “It gives them a chance to dream and experience new things and for a child. You can’t beat that.”
The first fall concert for students will be held Dec. 5 through 8 featuring all the artists students got to learn about during the fall semester.
