News Stories
Join us for an Upcoming Student Recital!
We are very excited to present the 2011-2012 Seattle Music Partners students in their first recital! The students are working hard with their tutors choosing pieces to perform and practicing. We would love to host you as a guest at any of our school recitals. Please let us know if we can expect you.
- Monday, February 13th, 4pm -Thurgood Marshall Elementary
- Tuesday, February 14th, 3:45pm - Leschi Elementary
- Wednesday, February 15th, 4pm - Washington Middle
- Thursday, February 16th, 3:40pm - Bailey Gatzert Elementary
SMP Has Profound Effect on Students
Greetings from all of us at Seattle Music Partners!
We thought you’d like to hear what some of our partners are saying about our work as we start the new year. This from Greg Imel, the Principal of Bailey Gatzert Elementary School:
“Seattle Music Partners has had a profound effect on the students and the Gatzert Community as a whole. We have seen changes in student engagement, interest in music and in school itself. More 4th and 5th grade students are participating in instrumental music than ever before. We are elated to have such a great partnership with such an influential program.”
And here is what Julie Breidenbach, the Principal of Thurgood Marshall Elementary, had to say about our program:
“SMP has been a tremendous support to our Thurgood Marshall students. Their 1:1 sessions bring music to our students in a way that they would never have experienced without this program. The nurturing presence of the tutors and their consistent guidance supports our students as musicians but also as citizens.”
In turn, we say Thank YOU to our partner schools for embracing our music program all these years and for sharing the talents of your students with us!
When the Student Becomes the Teacher
This month we feature Harald Hyllseth, one of our current volunteers at Leschi Elementary School. Harald started with SMP as a trumpet student in 4th grade and had the good fortune of working with the same tutor for 3+ years in elementary and middle school. “Working with SMP helped launch me as a musician. I had the opportunity to work with a great tutor – that level of support really meant a lot to me.”
Harald is now a freshman at Garfield High School where he plays in the Jazz Band (B) and also with JazzEd in their Advanced Ensemble. “Now that I’m in high school, it’s my turn to give back and to help a beginning student. It’s great to be back at Leschi where my journey began. I’m eager to pass along what I’ve learned!”
The circle complete – the student returns as the teacher. We look forward to working with Harald and other SMP students-turned-tutors as the years continue!
SMP Volunteers Learn from the Experts
The ongoing training and support of our volunteer corps is one of the keys to the success of our program. Each week, our Education and Program Directors lead debriefing sessions where teaching techniques, learning styles and music resources are shared with the group. In addition, SMP staff provides tailored feedback to individual tutors based on observations during lesson time.
To supplement these efforts, from time to time we invite guest speakers to share their particular expertise about developmental stages in learning, teaching tips for 4th and 5th graders, instrument specific pedagogy, etc.
In the past months, tutors have learned from Lindsey Dustin, the Elementary Instrumental Music teacher at two of our partner schools; Marcus Pimpleton, band director at Chief Sealth HS and Denny MS; Katy Pence, a 4th and 5th grade classroom teacher at Leschi Elementary; and Maria Scherer-Wilson, a SYSO-In-The-Schools (Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras) string coach.
We are extremely grateful to these specialists who have taken the time to observe lessons and speak with our volunteers this school year.
SMP Featured in The Seattle Times
SMP is fortunate to be featured in the October 7, 2011 edition of the The Seattle Times in an article by Nicole Brodeur that highlights the strength of the program's one-on-one tutor / mentor model. Read the article!