How the Arts Have Changed a Life and Career
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By Sanchie Bobrow |
Mr. Reich was only the first of several music instructors who I held in such high esteem and whose influence helped direct me to my vocation in life. Now, that I am teaching young people to play the violin, I am witnessing how they are reaping the benefits of their music education. No one can question that playing a musical instrument helps breed sensitivity and nobility in a young person's character. It seems that students of a musical instrument have improved study skills, greater concentration and focus than students who don't study music.
In his letter to the Editor of the New York Times (Saturday, August 12, 2000), Eugene Golden, Director of the Music Guild, a nonprofit organization that presents chamber music concerts in inner city schools in Los Angeles, notes that children who attend his organization's concerts and receive instruction in music have improved skills in other courses. He also states that the principal benefit of instruction in music is that it increases self-esteem and self-worth, especially for those underprivileged and bilingual children who are not yet performing well in English and math. It has been well established that the child who has a good sense of self-esteem is not likely to commit acts of violence or use drugs. Years ago I taught a little girl who suffered from epileptic seizures. Jenny's (not her real name) learning skills were compromised and she had been kept back in the first grade while her classmates progressed to the second grade. Our progress was slow at first, but Jenny started to listen, focus and practice every day. Soon she began to memorize simple tunes on her violin. Within six months of starting her music lessons, Jenny's math and reading skills improved dramatically. She was volunteering to answer in class. Smiling more. Her parents were elated and her teacher wanted to know what was happening? Needless to say, Jenny's confidence was boosted and her self-esteem improved. Children don't need an instrument in their hands to be musicians. We are all born with an instrument. We all have a pulse and we all have a voice. If you can't play, you can sing. Schools that can't afford a band or orchestral program can still have a chorus. It saddens me that the arts are still given so little respect in the academic world and the world as a whole. Some of history's greatest humanitarians have been its artists and musicians. It was the great 'cellist, Pablo Casals, who said, "It may very well be music that will save the world." But, back to Public School music. I think most of us who were fortunate to have had music in our schools can remember a band, or orchestral or choral teacher who we loved and will never forget. Someone who taught us to play together, to listen to one another, to cooperate, to be disciplined and to harmonize. Recently, I wrote a thank you letter to my Grade School music teacher and sent it off to PS 208. Surely Mr. Reich was retired, but the Principal was kind enough to forward my letter. Several weeks later I received a message on my answering machine that said, "This is Mr. Reich. Thank you for your beautiful words. I can't tell you how much your letter meant to me." I can't tell you how much that message meant to ME. Sanchie Bobrow is a composer, violinist and educator. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Rutgers University and a Master of Arts in Composition from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY. Her violin studies have been with British violinist Ruth Waterman, Joseph Kovacs and Margaret Graves-Gilbert. Composition studies have been with composers Noel DaCosta, Hugo Weisgall and George Perle. Ms. Bobrow is presently the Director of The Mighty String Demons, a performing ensemble of young violinists on Staten Island. She is on the violin faculties of Wagner College and The School For Strings in New York. Photo by Bill Higgins