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Show To Webber, music is essentially a foreign language. When children read music, they translate it to the rest of the world by singing or playing. The techniques Webber teaches in each class are brought together in a performance setting so children can put to use the skills they have learned. Mary Antinori, a licensed Kindermusik educator, has a different perspective on performance. She says, "It is not about performance, it is about the process. We do not want them to feel they are performing. We want it to be kin." As a result, children are not forced to participate in any activity. Kindermusik has four levels of participation. Village isfornewborns to 1 year olds. Here, babies learn through vocal play, object exploration and innovative movement. Our Time for Toddlers 1 to 3 year olds introduces children to music with singing, imitating sounds, rhyming, sound identification and innovative movement. Three to five-year-olds participate in Imagine That! This program combines music with meaningiul language, storytelling, companion interaction, movement and pretend play. The final level called Young Child, for ages 5 to 7, concludes the Kindermusik program. Children explore vocal development, rhythm, notation, musical symbols and pre-keyboard, stringed and wind instruments. Each program has an element of parent participation. Parents can then reinforce the elements that have been taught in class. According to Antinori, "A lot of it has to do with the interaction with parents. They get a home CD that the kids are extremely attached to and they get their own instrument." Because Kindermusik originally started in Germany, a lot of folk songs from Europe are taught, which Antinori says provides a good exposure to a multicultural world. The multicultural aspect is also important to Webber. In her classes, Middle Eastern prayers are taught and she also sings songs in Spanish. This allows a multicultural classroom to feel as though each is an integrated part of the curriculum. According to Webber, "I sing Spanish songs. I sing songs in different languages. There is something they relate to. They learn sp quickly through music." Park City musician Rich Wyman has had a successful experience with music his entire life. He started as a young child playing the violin and piano. Now 39, Wyman has found success as a professional musician with four albums and a fifth on the way. He remembers music getting him through some difficult times. 'The first thing that comes to mind is my parents' divorce. I think it helped me with that because it was a very messy divorce. "I was in the music theatre and 1 was doing plays, but it wasn't until 1 was entering my teen years that the divorce affected me. 1 started writing and pouring everything into my music. Putting my feelings out in music was fantastic. It's a fantastic outlet." Throughout his life, Wyman admits that music has been a spiritual and creative outlet. Attending the High School for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. did not seem to have an effect on his overall education one way or the other. He docs say, however, that music can be tied to subjects such as history, math and language because they all have similar elements. Wyman, like Webber and Antinori, agrees that music is also a cultural experience that is important in the development of any child, especially socially. Even though Wyman has not felt that his music education benefited him in his academic classes, others would disagree. As Webber says, "I'll be honest with you. 1 was not a good student in school. I know darn well that the only thing that got me through school was music. I can spout off SAT statistics and other studies, but 1 know me, and it was music that got me through school." There are many different types of music education and each is beneficial for a different type of child. The longterm effects arc yet to be determined. But, for those who have experienced such classes, they can see the benefits. In fact, that is what drove Antinori to begin the Park City Kindermusik branch, also known also as Music in the Mountains. As for Webber, she has spent the majority of her life performing. When it came time to make a decision about her future career, she simply said, "Music was the answer." Park City Parent Back io School 706.2004 25% Off<£izza Coupon (limit one coupon per pizza) Our dec^js now open! • We deliver • family owned and operated 435-649-9901 322 Main St., .615.1429 • Bicjfii&kliday.; 43SLGQ? 4 EEfctlajn Ytaw Drive'• -pftfc City, Utah 84098* rix® msn.com >. * • / ^ R l H K j ' i S 23 |