Some News to Check Out...

The Youth Orchestra of San Antonio (YOSA) has a new Music Director, Troy Peters. Read this article for full details: http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/Music_director_Troy_Peters_set_to_make_local_conducting_debut.html

For additional information right from the YOSA site, click here.

Interesting Event... Consider Attending

Thomas Hampson, baritone and Wolfram Rieger, piano

Philadelphia Chamber Music Society America’s leading baritone returns to Philadelphia for a very special recital with accompanist Wolfgang Rieger. Part of Hampson’s continuing “Song of America” project, this concert is presented in collaboration with the American Musicological Society and commemorates the 250th anniversary of the first song written in America. Price: $25.00 215-569-8080 Thomas Hampson, baritone and Wolfram Rieger, piano Photo An evening of American song Hampson's PCMS recital is part of his continuing Song of America project, marking the 250th anniversary of the first song written in America. Thursday, November 12, 2009, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Independence Seaport Museum 211 S. Columbus Blvd. For more info visit www.pcmsconcerts.org.

Dear Fellow Strings and Families,

We have some exciting news! The Strings International Music Festival has opened an online store. The store can be accessed by clicking here or cutting and pasting the following link into your browser: http://www.cafepress.com/simf.

Just in time for the holidays, the Strings store has a variety of great gifts for your Strings fans, alumni and family members. T-shirts, sweatshirts, travel mugs, calendars, bags, and that’s just to name a few. Make sure you add a visit to the Strings store to your holiday shopping list.

Also, remember to stay up-to-date on Strings news and events on our Facebook page, and by following us on Twitter.

The Mozart Effect... Interesting Read...

Have you ever heard of the Mozart effect? Perhaps yes, and perhaps no, but it is a truly remarkable example of the beneficial effects of classical music. The term “Mozart Effect,” came out of a 1993 study conducted by researchers Frances Rauscher and Katherine Ky in which they studied the effects of listening to Mozart on the IQ scores of college students. Well, needless to say, the college students that had listed to Mozart had improved test scores. Rauscher and Ky repeated their study in 1995 on a larger number of test subjects, and the results were the same. In 1996 and 1997, another study was conducted at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. The study showed increased brain activity in subjects after listening to Mozart. The study also found that music similar to Mozart, meaning other classical music, provided the same increase in brain activity.

Scientists and researchers have continued to study this classical music phenomenon, and have found increased spatial cognition, increased test scores, improved fine motor coordination, improved vision, and higher brain function. Perhaps most interesting, and most important, however, are the important effects of classical music on our health and well being.

According to the Institute of Brain Aging at the University of California, it has been found that listening to Mozart has improved the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale scores of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

But is it only Mozart? According to Professor John Jenkins, and his study of the Mozart Effect on epileptic patients, it is Bach too. As published by the BBC, he found that “short bursts” of classical music decrease epileptic attacks. A hospital study on heart patients that was conducted also found classical music to be beneficial. The study reported that 30 minutes of listening to classical music had the same affect on their patients as the anti-anxiety drug Valium, and when you walk into a surgical room, it is usually classical music that you will hear.

Here are some other interesting facts on the benefits of classical music:

- According to a St. John’s University study, classical music aids in memory development from as young as 3 months
- It has also been found that listening to Baroque music enhances memory, specifically of spelling, poetry, and language
- According to a study conducted by the University of Washington of the effects of classical music listening on people in the workplace, it was found that those listening to classical music while editing a manuscript had a 21.3% greater accuracy rate, and those in the billing department of Mississippi Power & Lighting had a 18.6% increase in efficiency.
- In 2004 the British Transport Police started playing classical music in underground stations. After 6 months, robberies were down 33%, assaults were down 25%, and vandalism was down 37%.

The benefits of classical music are quite clear – improved health, improved work skills, lower crime; lower stress. There really is no reason not to listen to classical music.

Philadelphia Orchestra - Complimentary Tickets for this Saturday October 31!!!

We have exciting news! Complimentary tickets to Saturday's Philadelphia Orchestra concert are available to all Strings Families and friends! That is for this Saturday, October 31st. To get your tickets just visit us on Facebook, and reply to the discussion board posting, “Complimentary Tickets to Saturday's Philadelphia Orchestra Concert” by posting your name, email address, and number of tickets you would like us to reserve for you. We will contact you to confirm the reservation, or if any additional information is required.

These tickets are compliments of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and will go QUICKLY. There are only a limited number available, so respond ASAP! Details on the concert are below.

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto
Saturday, October 31st, 8:00 PM

Vladimir Jurowski Conductor
Sergey Khachatryan Violin

Stravinsky Scherzo fantastique
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Prokofiev Symphony No. 4 (1947 revision)

Energetic Armenian-born violinist Sergey Khachatryan joins the Orchestra for an all-Russian program that highlights Tchaikovsky's summery Violin Concerto. At the podium for his fourth Philadelphia Orchestra visit is Moscow native Vladimir Jurowski, principal conductor of the London Philharmonic and music director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Jurowski opens the concert with Stravinsky's flamboyant early Scherzo fantastique, written when the 24-year-old composer was still under the tutelage of Rimsky-Korsakov, and closes with Prokofiev's rarely heard Fourth Symphony from 1930, in its sumptuous expanded version of 1947.

Additional Strings programs, news, and events can also be found on our Facebook page. So be sure to check it out regularly!

We're on Twitter

Follow the Strings International Music Festival on Twitter now. Visit us at: http://twitter.com/stringscamp.

Back from Croatia!!

This summer's Croatia trip was amazing. We visited Venice, well known for its classical musicians and history. Exciting to note is that our tour guide in Venice was actually an opera singer... how fitting!!

Check out the photos from the trip, and be sure to look on our website for 2010 registration information.