 Networking and
Advocacy Group
Save the Date: We are planning a fabulous one-day symposium in Worcester, MA, Friday, October 8:
Vibrant Arts = Flourishing Schools and Communities
Developing Leadership Capacity for Arts Advocacy
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MCC Independence in Jeopardy
Massachusetts residents are urged to contact their state senator and Governor Deval Patrick and request that the MCC not be placed under the control of MOTT (MA Office of Travel and Tourism). The House has already approved a similar measure that does not include the MCC under MOTT, so focus must now move to the senate version of the bill and the governor.
To find your local state senator and the governor, click here for the Americans for the Arts website and follow the directions--you will be contacting state officials within two minutes--it is that easy! |
Taking Music Seriously
Scientific
review of how music training primes nervous system and boosts learning
 Now a data-driven review by Northwestern University researchers published July 20 in Nature Reviews Neuroscience pulls together
converging research from the scientific literature linking musical
training to learning that spills over to skills including language,
speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion. The science covered
comes from labs all over the world, from scientists of varying
scientific philosophies, using a wide range of research methods.
Scientists use the term neuroplasticity to describe the brain's ability
to adapt and change as a result of training and experience over the
course of a person's life. The studies covered in the Northwestern
review offer a model of neuroplasticity, said Nina Kraus, lead author of the Nature perspective. The research
strongly suggests that the neural connections made during musical
training also prime the brain for other aspects of human communication.
"The effect of music training suggests that, akin to physical exercise
and its impact on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain
for auditory fitness and thus requires society to re-examine the role
of music in shaping individual development," the researchers conclude.
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