Music Education

Alice Beer Engeman, a retired director of music studies for the Baltimore City Department of Education and a Peabody Institute faculty member, died of respiratory failure Saturday at Good Samaritan Hospital. She was 99 and lived in Towson. Born Alice Elizabeth Stewart in Redwood County, Minn., she earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Northwestern University. She played the piano and taught in Mattawan and Battle Creek, Mich., schools. She moved with her family to Towson in 1951 and joined the Baltimore City Department of Education as a music specialist.

When jazz musician Yosvany Terry talks about music education, his voice rises with emotion. "We need to focus on the younger generation," he said by phone from his home in New York City. "They are the ones who will carry the torch into the future. We must expose them to different musical traditions so they can learn how to utilize what's come before them. Then they will be able to fly higher with their own creations. " Considering his passionate stance, it's fitting the Cuban born saxophonist is the headliner Saturday, Jan. 26 for the 9th Annual Jazz @ The Lake concert.

Can music education programs survive and prosper in today's economic climate? The answer is yes, if … There are many variables contributing to that conclusion, and when a certain number of them combine, a positive outcome is sure to result. To begin with, let's establish the premise that "every student in the nation should have an education in the arts. " This quote is the opening statement from "The Value and Quality of Arts Education: A Statement of Principles," which was collectively written and endorsed by the nation's 10 most important educational organizations, including the American Association of School Administrators, the National Education Association, the National Parent Teachers Association and the National School Boards Association.

Even after breaking up, the Bridge can't let fall pass by without taking a Baltimore stage. The roots-rock six-piece, which broke up last November after its annual Thanksgiving Eve headlining show at Rams Head Live, will reunite for one night only on Saturday at the Maryland Science Center (601 Light St.). Tickets, available here ($30 for 18+, $40 for 21+), are on sale now. Proceeds from the reunion show will go toward Believe in Music, a non-profit organization aiming to "uplift underprivileged Baltimore City students academically, culturally and spiritually" through music education, according to a press release.

When the county school system was hit with a $5 million budget cut in 1999, the school board compiled a list of "nonessential" programs that could be considered for elimination. The elementary school music program was on the list, and although it was not considered to be in serious jeopardy of being cut, concerned parents filled the auditorium where the school board met to discuss the budget. Teachers, parents and residents packed the hearing, recalled Robert Powers, a band instructor at Emmorton Elementary School who attended the meeting.

WHEN MARYLAND'S music teachers get together, they expect to be entertained by the best. Vocalists and instrumentalists from Wilde Lake High School at River Hill will travel to Ocean City next week to rehearse and perform at the annual state music education convention.Katie Harkness and Dylan Gentile will perform with the Senior All-State Chorus. This is Katie's second year making the highly competitive group and Dylan's third.Three Wilde Lake freshmen will debut with the Junior All-State Chorus.

Every week for the past 12 years, Worthington Elementary School music teacher Saundra Cunningham has moved cafeteria tables and rearranged chairs so that Howard County's best student singers could explore places such as South Africa, Israel, Ireland and the Deep South through music.While the youths come away feeling they have a better understanding of music, Cunningham says the Howard County Children's Chorus -- one of only two advanced choruses in the state -- is as much about enhancing their academic performance as it is about singing.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.But there are exceptions to that rule -- people so good that they're incapable of being corrupted, such as the violinist Midori.She's got the power to charge one of the highest fees in classical music and draw sellout crowds no matter how high the ticket prices. That's why the Peabody Conservatory wanted to engage her for the benefit recital that the violinist and her longtime collaborator and Peabody professor of piano, Robert McDonald, give tonight in Friedberg Hall.

Peter Marvit, a 51-year-old scientist who sang with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and sought to widen music education opportunities for city students, died at Johns Hopkins Hospital after he was shot near his Northeast Baltimore home last Monday night. He had been returning home from a choral rehearsal. "If there was anyone who really had a great love of the city, he was it," said Susie Brandt, his companion, who also said he had diverse interests. "He never wanted to be boring.

Peter Marvit never missed rehearsal with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and this week he showed up wearing one of his trademark ties - short, fat, and brightly colored. After the three-hour practice concluded with "Carol of the Angels," director Tom Hall told everyone "to drive safe and be well. " But as Marvit returned to his Northeast Baltimore home, the 51-year-old scientist and father was gunned down just steps from his front door overlooking Herring Run Park - a seemingly random attack that police said Tuesday may have been a robbery.

Brian Drake, an instrumental music teacher and band director at Westminster High School, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Carroll County Music Educator Award, sponsored by the Music Advocates of Carroll County. The award was scheduled to be presented during the Westminster High School Marching Band Show on Saturday, Oct. 13. Drake has been an instrumental music director at Westminster High School for more than 10 years. During this tenure, the school has been recognized for exceptional ensembles, both outside on the marching field and inside on the concert stage.

There's a new face at Arnolia United Methodist Church - but a familiar face to the area. Keith Derrickson recently became the church's director of music, and brought with him years of experience and creativity. A Baltimore County Public Schools music teacher from 1978 until 2008 - at Overlea, Hereford and Parkville high schools, as well as Pleasant Plains Elementary - he most recently served as an interim professor at Towson University teaching music education classes and serving as a student intern supervisor.

Peter Marvit, a 51-year-old scientist who sang with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and sought to widen music education opportunities for city students, died at Johns Hopkins Hospital after he was shot near his Northeast Baltimore home last Monday night. He had been returning home from a choral rehearsal. "If there was anyone who really had a great love of the city, he was it," said Susie Brandt, his companion, who also said he had diverse interests. "He never wanted to be boring.

Peter Marvit never missed rehearsal with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and this week he showed up wearing one of his trademark ties - short, fat, and brightly colored. After the three-hour practice concluded with "Carol of the Angels," director Tom Hall told everyone "to drive safe and be well. " But as Marvit returned to his Northeast Baltimore home, the 51-year-old scientist and father was gunned down just steps from his front door overlooking Herring Run Park - a seemingly random attack that police said Tuesday may have been a robbery.

Barbara Girdler Music Scholarship - A scholarship in the amount of $1,000 will be awarded to a qualified Howard County High School band student graduating in Spring 2012 who plans to pursue a music education degree from a four-year college or university. Eligibility requirements and applications are available in high school guidance offices and online at http://www.girdlermusic.org . The application deadline is Fri., April 27.

For most aspiring musicians, the guitar is the symbol of cool. And for most angst-ridden teenagers all over the world, learning how to play the rock' n' roll catalyst is not always a simple task. That is why many Harford County residents have chosen longtime rock band frontman and guitarist-turned-teacher, Jim Bowley, as their teacher. Raised by a single mother who worked as a banker, Bowley, 45, graduated from Archbishop Curley High School, an all-boy school in Baltimore, in 1984 and then received a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson University in music education in 1988.

The sad irony is that the No Child Left Behind Act is intended to better prepare our children for the real world, yet it's leaving music behind despite its proven benefits."

Barbara Girdler Music Scholarship - A scholarship in the amount of $1,000 will be awarded to a qualified Howard County High School band student graduating in Spring 2012 who plans to pursue a music education degree from a four-year college or university. Eligibility requirements and applications are available in high school guidance offices and online at http://www.girdlermusic.org . The application deadline is Fri., April 27.

Alice Beer Engeman, a retired director of music studies for the Baltimore City Department of Education and a Peabody Institute faculty member, died of respiratory failure Saturday at Good Samaritan Hospital. She was 99 and lived in Towson. Born Alice Elizabeth Stewart in Redwood County, Minn., she earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Northwestern University. She played the piano and taught in Mattawan and Battle Creek, Mich., schools. She moved with her family to Towson in 1951 and joined the Baltimore City Department of Education as a music specialist.

For generations, music students have been getting gold stars, certificates and other pats on the back from their teachers. But a budding musician with high marks in one state is not necessarily on the same level, judged by the same criteria, as a budding musician in another. Such positive reinforcement may soon carry a lot more weight countrywide. Launched by Carnegie Hall in New York and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the Achievement Program seeks to establish the first national standard in the United States for measuring musical aptitude in students of all ages.