November 30, 1999
Contact: Ranjit Arab, University Relations, (785) 864-8855.
LAWRENCE -- Robin Hart carefully places his right hand on the piano. After a brief pause, he lets out a sigh, squints at the sheet music in front of him, and strategically places his left hand on the lower keys.
All the while, Becky Brandt sits patiently at his side and nods in approval as he slowly makes his way through the first four measures of "It's a Small World After All."
Hart, an eighth grader at Central Junior High School in Lawrence, repeats the measures for the remainder of his 30-minute lesson. Although frustrated at times, he ends with a smile across his face.
"That's really good," says Brandt, a Leawood sophomore at the University of Kansas. She takes a pencil and circles the notes that gave him the most trouble. "Is it easier to play now?" she asks him.
"Yeah," he says, letting out another sigh, this time in relief.
Hart and Brandt are just two participants in the Music Mentors student club at KU, a volunteer program that connects musically-talented KU students with aspiring junior high and elementary school musicians. Once a week, the college students provide private music lessons at no cost to kids who might not otherwise be able to afford individualized instruction.
The program is part of the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, a three-year $347,000 federal grant that is a collaborative effort between the University of Kansas and the Lawrence school district to provide after-school programs for local public schools.
Christie Garton, Olathe junior and president of Music Mentors, says she created the program after being inspired by an English course in community involvement her freshman year. Garton, who plays piano, guitar, viola and had formal voice training, says she wanted to share her love of music - and its many benefits - with kids.
"There are so many studies that show that music not only develops the brain, but it also helps the kids socially in interacting with people, understanding commitment and building confidence," she says. "I've seen the benefits in my own life from studying music, and just wanted to provide that to kids who didn't have the opportunity to take private music lessons."
So far, about 30 KU students and 50 junior-high students are involved in the program, which began only three weeks ago. The program also helps a handful of elementary students at East Heights Elementary School. Though all of the KU volunteers have had many years of music training, some are not music majors. Garton says they simply wanted to share their passion for music.
Currently, the program is trying to prepare the kids for their upcoming recital at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 12, in the Lawrence Arts Center, 200 W. Ninth St.
Although it may be too early to measure the success of the program, Martina "Tina" Thompson, a program associate in the School of Education at KU and project director of the after-school programs at Central Junior High, East Heights and New York elementary schools, says she has already heard a chorus of praises from both kids and parents.
"I was overwhelmed with the response of the students, and the parents see this as a wonderful enrichment opportunity for their children," Thompson says.
She also says that she is impressed with all that the Music Mentors program has accomplished on limited funding.
The club, which is a registered student organization at KU, has received only $150 of funding from the Student Senate to cover the essentials, from photocopies to flyers.
For Amy Wong, Topeka junior and Music Mentors vice-president, the program not only benefits the kids, it also challenges the KU students and, she says, it even helps out the school district.
Wong, a pre-physical therapy and health management major, has been teaching viola since her high school days. Once she graduates, however, she will have to focus on her career. She says she hopes other KU students continue the program long after she has left campus.
Garton, meanwhile, says she will to continue the Music Mentors program next year with plans to extend it to other Lawrence schools. Eventually, though, she wants to use her business and French major to pursue a career in international law. Still, she hopes the Music Mentors' legacy is not only carried on at KU, but with students at other universities as well.
"It relieves tension and helps you see past all the problems you face as a kid," she says. "And every kid needs to find something that they're good at that makes them feel special."