JAMM Selected as a Collaborating Site for National Evaluation Project

Map of El Sistema Programs in the United States

WolfBrown Associates and Longy School of Music of Bard College have selected JAMM as a Collaborating Site for the National Collaborative Evaluation of Sistema-inspired Music Education.  This project will collaborate with experienced educators to develop 1) an understanding of the conditions under which Sistema-inspired programs have positive effects, 2) the assets that Sistema programs identify and build in children and families, and 3) the effects these assets have on key outcomes usch as achievement and pro-social behaviors.  As a collaborating site, JAMM will have access to the resources, as well as guidance in using evaluation strategies.  For more information on the project:  A National Collaborative Evaluation of Sistema-inspired Music Education.

Performing for the Community: 130-Member Orchestra Strong!

JAMM Students Perform for the Juneau Community (Photographer:  Michael Penn, Juneau Empire)

Over 130 first through third graders at Glacier Valley performed for the Juneau community on April 17th - our biggest orchestra yet!  As part of the program, JAMM students served as ambassadors and greeted guests at the door.  All kindergartner and first graders at Glacier Valley receive JAMM violin and Math in Motion lessons through specialist and classroom teacher teaming.

1st graders demonstrate their math skills using stability balls and drumsticks (Photographer:  Michael Penn)

Math in Motion is part of Academic Beats, a drumming program created to increase heart rate and give children a kinesthetic approach to math.  Susie Denton, Glacier Valley's physical education teacher, has brought this program to Glacier Valley and as you can see by the photos, the kids love it!  JAMM is a school readiness program that uses the experience of playing an instrument to help students learn how to work together as a team, experience success through daily practice, find learning purposeful through community performances, and understand that effort and resiliency helps them overcome life's challenges.  Here is the Juneau Empire article detailing the event:  The Littlest Big Band.  Thank you, Katie Moritz, for covering the event and Michael Penn for taking these beautiful photos. 

Lorrie Heagy asks the cello section to join the JAMM orchestra in a bow (Photographer:  Michael Penn)

Sistema Fellows from the New England Conservatory Intern at JAMM

Sistema Fellow, Hana Morford, works with Jemima during Rock Band

Two of this year's ten El Sistema Fellows from the New England Conservatory (NEC) interned at JAMM for one month.  Hana Morford (violist) and Megan Moran (violinist) chose JAMM among Sistema initiatives worldwide because of its reputation in best teaching practices.  Hana and Megan worked with our young string players and modeled strategies to encourage improvisation.  Juneau's musical community also benefited from having these exceptional musicians in town for one month.  Megan played in the pit for Floyd Dryden's musical, West Side Story, and both Hana and Megan performed with the Juneau Symphony.  Ladies, thank you for giving so much of your time and talent to our Juneau community.

Megan Moran works with a 2nd grade general music class.

A truly Alaskan experience for Hana and Megan:  Staying up for the Northern Lights!

Performing with the Juneau Student Symphony

Mr. Xia plays alongside Tahila and Ruby at the Juneau Student Symphony concert (Photo: Alfie Price)

JAMM partners with the Juneau Student Symphony and performed two concerts dedicate to Music in the Movies.  One was held at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center and the other in the Glacier Valley gym.  Third graders performed Rigoletto, Ode to Joy, and Shortnin' Bread alongside this multi-generational community orchestra.  As audience members, our young musicians were inspired byt the orchestra's performances of Star Wars, Star Trek and Jurassic Park and piano soloist, Kyle Farley-Robinson.  In preparation for the concert, the Thunder Mountain High School Orchestra visited Glacier Valley and performed for us.  Thank you, Tyree Pini and the Juneau Symphony, for continuing this wonderful partnership with JAMM! 

All eyes are focused on the music as JAMM students perform with the Juneau Student Symphony (Photo: Alfie Price)

Kyle Farley-Robinson, the Juneau Symphony Youth Solo Competition Winner (Photo: Alfie Price).

Tyree Pini and the Thunder Mountain High School Orchestra perform for JAMM students.

Dance Machine International Partners with JAMM

Ricci Adan of Dance Machine International works with JAMM students after-school.

Ricci Adan, Artistic Director, has brought her Broadway training to JAMM's after-school program and will join us again next year.  Members of Dance Machine International performed for our students and inspired us all.Ricci's mission is to pass the torch of Musical Theatre knowledge to the next generation.  Ricci is a dancer and choreographer specializing in preserving the great work of dance masters like De Mille, Kidd, Fosse, and Cole. 

Ricci's work centers on passing their legacy on to the next generation by teaching the vocabulary of the dance through the decades and sharing reconstructed works with students of all ages.  Ricci has been impressed with our JAMM students, which according to her "are like sponges who are so eager to learn."  We are thrilled to have Ricci return for the coming school year to work with our students again.  Thank you, Ricci!

Introducing JAMM's newest section: the double bass!

Garrett and Keyton are two of JAMM's bass players.

JAMM was awarded four double basses and six cellos through a Classics for Kids matching grant to help JAMM expand its lower string section.  Rod Crist, a musician and Glacier Valley's counselor, is the bass instructor and Meghan Johnson, the principal cellist of the Juneau Symphony, will continue to teach the ever-growing cello section. Thank you, Classics for Kids, Ron and Kathy Maas, DeeAnn and Michael Grummett, Holland American Line, and the Juneau Community Foundation for funding these beautiful instruments. 

JAMM and the International Mini-Fiddler's Project

The beauty of technology allows Geza Silvay to provide live instruction to JAMM from Helsinki, Finland.

JAMM's lead violin teacher, GuoHua Xia, will receive weekly lessons streamed live from Helsinki, Finland.  The International Mini-Fiddler's Project gives music teachers around the world an opportunity to explore the Finnish high-standard music education in weekly lessons provided by founder, Geza Silvay.

Ten coutnries participate in these weekly lessons and JAMM is the first US site to join the project.  Other participating countries include Denmark, Germany, South Korea, and Israel. Helsinki University Cognitive Brain Research Group is working closely with the project.  Although the ColourStrings method used in this project is geared toward one-on-one teaching, the partnership will benefit Mr. Xia in his private teaching, as well as JAMM teachers who continually seek new ways of motivating young children.  

JAMM Featured on CCTV's Americas Now Program

Mike Kirsch poses with Glacier Valley's 2nd grade JAMM students

Mike Kirsch, a veteran television journalist at CCTV, spent over a week here in Juneau filming JAMM for an Americas Now news magazine story. CCTV has an audience of 1.2 billion viewers worldwide, so JAMM was honored to be featured.

Mike beautifully wove together the pivotal role that GuoHua Xia, JAMM's lead violin instructor, plays in the Juneau community, the inspiring teamwork at Glacier Valley Elementary School where JAMM began, and the sustained investment Juneau is making in its youth through music. Thank you, Mike and CCTV for covering a program that shows what community and school partnerships can accomplish!

Kindergartners from All JAMM Sites Perform at UAS

Over 80 JAMM kindergarten students from Auke Bay, Glacier Valley and Riverbend Elementary Schools performed together at Juneau Jazz and Classic's Community Day at the University of Alaska Southeast. This was the first time that all three sites had an opportunity to perform together and gave the community an opportunity to celebrate JAMM's expansion to more schools and grades within the Juneau School District.

For the 2013 – 2014 school year, both Auke Bay and Riverbend Elementary Schools will expand their programming to 1st grade, while Glacier Valley will expand to 3rd grade with the addition of a bass section.  Thank you, Juneau Community Foundation, Holland America Line, Ron and Kathy Maas, and Mike and DeeAnn Grummett for helping JAMM match a grant from the Classics for Kids Foundation to purchase 4 basses and 6 larger-sized cellos for our growing 3rd grade orchestra members.  Over 400 students will participate in JAMM next year! 

Project Ubuntu Arrives in Juneau

Daniel Becton, creator of Project Ubuntu, visits JAMM

Daniel Becton visited JAMM for one week as part of Project Ubuntu - a national, year-long service project that celebrates and supports organizations dedicated to service throughout the United States.  As part of Project Ubuntu's mission, Daniel will visit one community in every state: 51 communities in 51 weeks. Daniel selected JAMM as the organization to represent the state of Alaska.  We marked the 35th week of his journey.

Becton supports Project Ubuntu's partners by channeling his skills and resources to meet their needs, and by sharing his perspective on service and building positive community.  He dedicates one week to each partner to learn their stories, and broadcasts these stories to a growing international audience as he strives to inspire increased kindness and service.

As part of his week of service in Juneau, Daniel visited all three JAMM sites, videotaped programming and interviewed parents and students to help produce a video about JAMM's expansion to Riverbend and Auke Bay Elementary Schools, as well as 2nd grade at Glacier Valley.  Daniel is a cellist, so he also was a wonderful asset to our beginning cello students.

Thank you, Daniel, for your service and for choosing JAMM as your Alaskan service organization!  For information about Project Ubuntu:  http://projectubuntu.info/

Sistema Taiwan Documents JAMM

Derjk Wu, founder of Sistema Taiwan, and Kris Wang, a film documentarian, made the long trip to Juneau to observe, film and interview key people involved with JAMM.  In particular, our guests were interested in documenting effective teaching practices and learning more about developing successful community partnerships.  Over a year ago, Derjk started Sistema Taiwan in ten orphanages throughout Taiwan.  I was honored to visit one of those orphanages last summer and to provide teacher training to the incredibly dedicated teaching staff there.  We hope to create future opportunities that connect our two programs and children! 

Derjk and Kris were kind enough to share the photos they took while visiting JAMM.  Here are some highlights:

 

Kennedy Center Recognizes Juneau and JAMM

Juneau was selected as the 11th city in the United States for the Kennedy Center's Any Given Child program, which helps communities provide access and equity to the arts for all children K - 8th grades.  As part of the final selection process, two representatives from the Kennedy Center flew to Juneau to meet with community and school members and visit Glacier Valley to watch JAMM 2nd graders play on their stringed instruments before performing a Tlingit dance in Alaska native regalia.

In a Juneau Empire article announcing the award, Darrell Ayers, Vice President of Education at the Kennedy Center, said that he was "excited by the plans for the new Library, Archives and Museum building on Willoughby Avenue, and by the success of the Juneau Alaska Music Matters (JAMM) program out at Glacier Valley, Riverbend and Auke Bay Elementary Schools."

To bring access, balance, and equity to each child's arts education, the Any Given Child initiative will incorporate existing resources of the Juneau School District, along with those of local arts organizations and the Kennedy Center to create a plan for arts education specific to the city.  With the assistance of expert consultation services provided by Kennedy Center staff and other professionals, community leaders develop a long-range plan for arts education that is tailor-made for the school district and community.

PBS Comes to Juneau to Film JAMM

JAMM continues to receive international and national attention as a teacher-training site and inspiration for other in-school El Sistema models cropping up across the country.  PBS in New York City (Thirteen/WNET) in collaboration with the Longy School of Music of Bard College, filmed JAMM as the pilot of an eight-part multimedia professional series on El Sistema-Inspired Music Education in the U.S.

PBS is dedicating an entire episode to Glacier Valley's JAMM program.  Jill Peters, the Executive Producer of the the project, was thrilled by what she saw during the four days of filming.  Jill shared her impressions at a Juneau School Board meeting:  "It has been my privilege to spend this week at Glacier Valley.  I hope you're not sick of the compliments, but every day, I have just seen more and more that has absolutely inspiring."  Here it the Juneau Empire article detailing PBS' visit: http://juneauempire.com/local/2012-11-12/jamm-filmed-pbs-series

The series will be aired sometime in 2014. Thank you, NorthWind Architects, for hosting a reception for Jill and giving JAMM an opportunity to recognize its contributors and advocates.

JAMM Receives Support Through Challenge Grant

Glacier Valley Students Unveil Grand Total Raised for JAMM Challenge Grant

Thank you, Juneau community, for helping JAMM reach its $18,000 goal to expand to 2nd grade at Glacier Valley and kindergarten at Riverbend and Auke Bay Elementary Schools next year.  Ron and Kathy Maas provided a $6,000 challenge grant to help place violins in the small hands of next year's kindergartners at Glacier Valley and Riverbend Elementary Schools.  The Juneau community generously responded to the Maas' challenge, including major donations from the Juneau Community Foundation, Sealaska Native Corporation, Skaggs Foundation, the Tupou Family, and Michael and DeeAnn Grummet. 

To celebrate, JAMM 1st graders helped unveil the grand total at their spring concert. In the photo below, Glacier Valley 1st grade violinist, Jazlynne LaChester, helps the audience count by $1,000's to celebrate JAMM reaching its $18,000 goal.

Thank you again, Juneau community, for investing in the intellectual, creative and disciplined minds of our students! 

JAMM Expands in Grade Levels and Programming

2nd grade JAMM students perform at Glacier Valley

JAMM is proud to announce the expansion of its program to Auke Bay and Riverbend Elementary Schools in the Juneau School District.  Both sites will start a kindergarten violin program by providing 90 minutes of instruction during school hours throughout the week.
Both schools will adopt a similar model, which utilizes existing school personnel and partners with the community.  Music teacher and kindergarten teacher help with instruction,while learning from Suzuki instructor, Diane Barnett, who received training at Glacier Valley. With half of the Juneau elementary schools participating, over two hundred students will have access to quality music education, early literacy skills and lifelong habits including focus, teamwork and discipline.

In a Juneau Empire article covering the story, Lori Hoover, the principal at Auke Bay, shared the school's reasons for starting at JAMM program next year: 

My big goal is that learning music and learning to appreciate music just helps in the big picture of we we want kids to develop.  If they can focus and learn to play violin that focus extends to all of their academic subjects.  It can be taught in a fun way.  It helps them socialize.  In the big picture, yes, they're learning music, but it's a skill they can continue the rest of their life in reading music.  That's my main thing, we want them to be great students and this is one way kids learn academic skills is through music.

Here is the link to the entire Juneau Empire article.  Thank you, Auke Bay, Glacier Valley and Riverbend Elementary Schools, for making instrumental music a core part of your students' public education.

Staff from Auke Bay and Riverbend Elementary Schools Attend Glacier Valley's Paper Violin Night