Vermont Alliance for Arts Education » Kennedy Center

National Symphony Orchestra Announces 2010 Summer Music Institute

VAAE — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:24:13 +0000

Every summer, approximately 70 students (ages 15-20) from all over the nation meet in Washington, D.C., to attend the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute (SMI). The Institute offers four weeks of private lessons, rehearsals, coaching by National Symphony Orchestra members, classes, and lectures to prepare aspiring musicians for their futures in music. VAAE is happy to partner with the NSO in distributing applications and to recruit talented and deserving students.

Several of the students are graduates or current participants of the NSO Youth Fellowship Program, an orchestral training program for talented young musicians. Also included are students participating in the Young Artists of Color National Training Initiative of the Kennedy Center. In addition to their many lessons and training sessions, the students also perform a series of free Kennedy Center Millennium Stage concerts that are open to the public.

The Summer Music Institute is coordinated by the National Symphony Orchestra Education Program, which is a component of the Kennedy Center Education Department. Young people, teachers, and families take part in innovative and effective education programs initiated by the Center, including performances, lectures, demonstrations, open rehearsals, dance and music residencies, master classes, competitions for young actors and musicians, backstage tours, and workshops. These programs have become models for communities across the country, as educators and government leaders recognize what the Center has known for years: that the arts can unlock the door to learning for young people, fostering creativity, teaching discipline, improving self-esteem, and challenging students to think in new ways, as well as offering them experiences in the joy of the performing arts.

An application will be available the week of 10/12

Kennedy Center Links to Recognition Awards

VAAE — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:06:41 +0000

I have posted links to two of the Kennedy Center’s recognition programs, the Schools of Distinction in Arts Education Awards and KCAAEN-National School Boards Association Award. Both of these awards require a thorough application process. Links to the School of Distinction (formerly “Creative Ticket”) Award guidelines and applications for the national and state awards are now available.

You may find the guidelines , a “how-to-apply” primer and nomination form for the KCAAEN-NSBA Award on the same page as well.

Robinson Elementary School in Starksboro received the School of Distinction Award when it was the “Creative Ticket Award” in 2004-2005.

New Kennedy Center Opportunity

VAAE — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:40:37 +0000

The Kennedy Center Partners in Education has announced that they are taking applications for the 12th Partners in Education Institute. This is a four-day intensive workshop designed for arts organizations and school districts interested in partnering together to initiate or expand professional development programs for teachers. The KC will select up to 14 two-person teams from around the country, each consisting of an arts administrator from an arts organization and an administrator from a neighboring school district.

The Institute examines program models and planning strategies for establishing and expanding professional learning programs in the arts for all teachers, and develops and nurtures partnerships between arts organizations and their neighboring school systems.

Teams of school district and arts administrators interested in applying for the Institute can download the application here and submit it with letters of commitment from both the arts organization and school system. The application deadline is October 31, 2009.

Questions and requests for a hard copy of the application can be directed to:

Kelsey Mesa, National Partnerships, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC, 20566