California Center for the Arts, Escondido
PRESS RELEASE
The Center Welcomes Prestigious Yamaha Music Education School
ESCONDIDO, CA (November 8, 2002) The California Center for the Arts, Escondido announces the opening of the Greene Music Yamaha Music Learning Center. Greene Music, founded in 1974, is a local retailer and music education facility with three teaching locations in Miramar, Bonita and now Escondido. They also have two showroom locations one in San Marcos and a super showroom and Steinway Recital Hall in Miramar. The Yamaha Music Education system is a world-renowned 40-year old program with over four million graduates in 41 countries. Greene Music is the only San Diego organization licensed to teach the Yamaha Music System. The Escondido location will be offering classes in keyboard instruction and piano playing. The Learning Center is open every Tuesday to Friday from 3:30 to 8:00 PM and on Saturday from 9:00AM to 3:30 PM. Classes are open to everyone from ages 3 to adult. Please call the Yamaha Music School at 858-621-2222 for more information and to sign up for a free preview class.
A variety of classes are offered for all age groups. For children as young as age 3 the "Music for Kids" program introduces the child to the concepts of rhythm, solfege (do, re, mi), body movement, singing, basic keyboard and reading. The "Junior Music Course" for ages 4-5 is a two-year program that enables children to develop their musical abilities naturally with lessons in singing, ear training, keyboard playing and composition. The "Young Musicians Course" for ages 6-8 teaches a child ensemble playing, keyboard harmony, arranging, music theory and much more. For ages 9 to Adults the Yamaha Music Center offers ‘Keyboard Encounters" -- a course in piano-style instruction. This program reflects Yamaha’s belief that all people are musical regardless of age or ability.
Vicky Basehore, Vice President of the Center says, "The Center is pleased to welcome Greene Music to our campus. We feel their well-established program for keyboard and piano instruction and The Center's current slate of art education programs will complement each other well. We hope the community will embrace both programs as a valued resource for learning about and enjoying the arts." Natasha Martinez, Director of Visual Arts and Education at The Center further notes, "The Yamaha Music School instructors are wonderful professionals. The Center’s ongoing mission is to provide opportunities for people of all ages to learn about the arts and explore their creativity."
Pam Small of Greene Music comments on joining The Center, "We are very excited to open the Yamaha Music School in Escondido so we can offer families in North County a unique music education program. The Center for the Arts in Escondido is such a great location for the arts. Children are so excited to have classes there and be surrounded by the arts."
About the Yamaha Music
Education System
Each Yamaha Music instructor must pass a battery of tests and undergo
strict supervised training before they are certified. The philosophy of
the system is a total exposure to the world of music -- emphasizing individual
instruction, hands on learning and teaching the history of music. In 1997,
a study published in Neurological Research by Francis Rauscher, Ph.D.
and Gordon Shaw, Ph.D. of the University of California, Irvine indicated
that when a group of pre-school children received piano and keyboard training
they scored 34% higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability. This
study reveals that music truly enhances higher brain functions necessary
for mathematics, engineering and science.
Mr. Gen’ichi Kawakami, the president of Nippon-Gakki Company, Ltd. (now the Yamaha Corporation) began teaching the Yamaha music courses in the mid-1950s in Japan. In 1966 Mr. Kawakami formalized these music courses through the formation of the Yamaha Music Foundation. Its mission is to promote music education programs throughout the world. Today the foundation oversees the development of the Yamaha Music Education System and the Junior Original Concert -- an international music event.
About the Center
Located in North San Diego County at 340 North Escondido Boulevard in
Escondido, the California Center for the Arts, Escondido is accessible
by major interstate highways. The Center’s 12-acre campus offers
a Performing Arts season with internationally renowned artists, acclaimed
contemporary art exhibitions in the Museum, an education complex offering
classes and workshops for young people, families and adults, and an awarding-winning
Conference Center which hosts more than 700 events each year in North
County’s largest meeting facility. The Center is a non-profit organization
that is supported by a combination of public and private donations. For
more information, please visit http://www.artcenter.org.