Let the Music Play
Santa Barbara Training Basis
Nonetheless Retains the Beat
By Leslie Dinaberg | November 10, 2022
Read all of the stories in our “Schools of Thought 2022” cover here.
Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) offers and helps applications that enrich the tutorial, creative, and private improvement of all college students within the Santa Barbara Unified Faculty District (SBUSD).
One in every of its finest identified, signature applications is Preserve the Beat. Since 2003, SBEF has been Conserving the Beat — elevating funds to pay for music schooling in native colleges. At present, all 5,000-plus elementary college students be taught to play an instrument throughout their faculty day.
“We elevate funds by grants, particular person donors, and our radio-thon with 99.9 KTYD throughout the month of February,” says Packages Supervisor Katie Szopa. “These funds are given to our music lecturers initially of every faculty yr to buy devices and equipment and pay for instrument coaches. This previous August, we awarded $33,000 to our music lecturers. SBEF additionally runs a year-round instrument drive. We restore the devices and place them into the fingers of our college students.”
Nick Rail Summer season Band Camp is one other signature SBEF program. Initially based by Nick Rail in 1989, this well-established program offers an enriching and reasonably priced summer season music expertise for college students in grades 4-9. Campers are grouped by capacity and taught by skilled musicians to play solo and as a gaggle. SBEF took over the administration of this camp in 2016, says Szopa.
Since its inception, greater than 2,000 college students have attended band camp. Requested concerning the significance of the camp, SBUSD music trainer Brett Larsen (who was honored as 2017 Performing Arts Trainer of the Yr for Santa Barbara County), says, “Summer season band camp offers an area for starting college students to get excited and able to be part of their faculty ensembles. And it offers the extra skilled junior excessive and highschool college students the challenges wanted to proceed practising and honing their expertise over the summer season break.”
Summer season String Camp is one other SBEF signature program. Szopa says the camp welcomes members, college students of all ranges in incoming grades 4-9, to play the violin, viola, cello, or bass. String college students achieve technical expertise on their instrument, elevated note-reading facility, and composition instruction in a enjoyable, supportive setting. Gamers are divided by degree into ensemble teams the place they follow their devices collectively, culminating in an end-of-camp efficiency, together with performing a bit of their very own composition.
Following the success of their band and string camps, SBEF (in collaboration with SBUSD trainer Charlie Ortega) designed Drumline Camp, targeted on junior excessive college students. The Drumline Camp permits members to develop their understanding of the weather of music efficiency, be taught rhythm studying, and develop correct enjoying strategies. Camp members discover all of the several types of percussion devices utilized in giant percussion ensembles, together with snare, marching tenor, bass, hand percussion, and melodic percussion.
In reminiscence of avid performing arts supporter Léni Fé Bland, her expensive good friend Sara Miller McCune established the Léni Fé Bland Performing Arts Partnership honoring Léni and her unbelievable generosity to the performing arts. “The fund continues Léni’s work by supporting and inspiring scholar participation and publicity to the superb performing arts applications in Santa Barbara,” says Szopa. “Our mission is to accomplice with performing arts organizations in Santa Barbara and SBUSD to supply college students and lecturers equitable entry to performances and promote the performing arts in schooling. The Léni Fund offers Santa Barbara Unified Faculty District college students from Pre-Okay to twelfth grade entry to in-theater performing arts performances and in-class workshops. College students attend performances in 4 of Santa Barbara’s historic theaters: the Granada, the Lobero, the Arlington, and The New Vic.”
SBEF is funded by grants, non-public donations, household basis donations, and enterprise donations, and it’s an originating accomplice within the Pianos on State challenge, in addition to a fiscal sponsor to group applications that profit Santa Barbara Unified college students, together with Bravo!, a free, district-sponsored, after-school music program; and South Coast Youth Band, an after-school music program that gives enjoyable band experiences and high quality instruction for elementary faculty college students in grades 4-6.
See sbefoundation.org.
