Adam Johnson met with the Scena Musical to discuss his new position as Mécénat Musica’s first educator-in-residence.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Last year, Johnson was named Mécénat Musica’s first educator-in-residence. Mécénat Musica is a cultural program that encourages music lovers to make an in-perpetuity donation of $25,000 to an organization that is important to them.
Having been through a high school band program himself, Johnson is in a position of look back on his student days and reflect on what methods might be improved. As an assistant conductor, he spent thousands of hours observing top conductors, orchestras and soloists working together and delivering world-class performances. He took note of the best practices and now uses those to enhance the Canadian music education curriculum.
“There’s a problem of perception around music education, mainly by those who haven’t had a music education themselves. They sometimes think of it as something that is passé when in fact it is something that is very much useful today.”
“One of the things that I find interesting is that every study ever done on the effects of music exposure and education for youth shows tremendous benefits in brain development, focus and even resilience to bullying, because of developed self-esteem and working in a group setting. There are so many attributes that come along in getting a music education that benefit our young people throughout their lives no matter what profession they go into.”
“Singing together, making harmonies and sharing vibrations is the kind of experience that benefits everyone and should be shared by everyone.”
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