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The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce that Terry Wolkowicz, Education Director, and David MacKenzie, Music Director, recently presented at the National Arts & Education Forum in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “Contexts of Quality: What is Quality Arts Education?” was held May 14-16 and convened a national audience on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga campus for the purpose of brainstorming ideas, disseminating research, and developing strategies that advance best practices and shape policy recommendations that improve the quality of arts education in our schools.
The Forum is designed to engage attendees through a series of sessions framed around key questions stemming from current issues in arts and education. During two days of sessions, Forum attendees actively explored issues, shared emerging research, developed practical strategies, and shaped policy recommendations in arts education. The intention is to attract people from a variety of disciplines and contexts so that Forum participants walk away with multiple ways to increase access to quality arts education in the communities they serve. Forum participants include K-12 school and university educators, teaching artists, professional development providers, researchers, administrators, and cultural organization leaders from across the country.
Ms. Wolkowicz and Dr. MacKenzie presented the session “Learning in Concert: Connecting Concepts Across the Arts and Academics” and shared the story, successes, struggles and assessments of the NBSO’s past year’s symmetry exploration in music education programming. Participants learned how an arts organization can serve the real needs of the 21st century student and create curriculum that seamlessly connects to classroom teachers, fine arts teachers and their students. The session included a workshop on designing concept-based arts integration curriculum using a selected concept from classical music, including interactive activities that support deep understandings, multiple representations and transfer of learning.
To learn more about the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and its education programs, visit www.nbsymphony.org.
