Seattle's music education landscape hit a high note earlier this year, with local educators tuning into a new rhythm to inspire the next generation of musicians. According to a post on Art Beat, The Creative Advantage spearheaded the Seattle Music Education Coalition's Professional Development Day at the esteemed Seattle Opera Center on January 25.
The coalition, a symphony of partners including Seattle Public School's Visual & Performing Arts music teachers, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, The Rhapsody Project, and a variety of local music organizations, orchestrated a suite of workshops for the city's music educators. These sessions ranged from "Strings and Songs of the Heart," guided by Paula Madrigal of Orquesta Northwest, to Dr. Christopher Mena's dive into "Afro-Caribbean Rhythms." Teachers had a chance, to not just learn, but to actively engage with a rich tapestry of musical heritage.
These educators also got to explore "The Art of Inclusion While Having FUN!" with Eduardo Mendonça from Show Brazil and bent their ears towards "Music Making Grounded in Culture," where Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons demonstrated how to teach improv and theory by ear.
