Performing Arts Department
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Welcome to the music department! Saint Joseph's High School offers a varied music program that every student can find a class that interests them. Each year over 120 students sing in the choir, learn how to play the guitar, entertain the student section at the football games as a member of the band, expand their horizons and take a music theater production class, or one of the other classes offered. Participating in a music class is very beneficial to any student, regardless of their previous music background. With the pressure of advanced diplomas, AP classes, and college applications, music classes are sometimes overlooked and deemed as not useful. However, this is contrary to all of the research and information on the benefits of music education. Some of the most influential Americans were also musicians. Thomas Jefferson would play his violin when he couldn't figure out the best wording for sections of the Declaration of Independence. Even Albert Einstein said he was so smart because he played the violin, and would figure out problems and equations by playing. Here is an abbreviated list of benefits of music education from Carolyn Phillips, author of the Twelve Benefits of Music Education: 1. Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. 2. There is also a causal link between music and spatial intelligence (the ability to perceive the world accurately and to form mental pictures of things). 3. Students of the arts learn to think creatively and to solve problems by imagining various solutions, rejecting outdated rules and assumptions. 4. Recent studies show that students who study the arts are more successful on standardized tests such as the SAT. They also achieve higher grades in high school. 5. A study of the arts provides children with an internal glimpse of other cultures and teaches them to be empathetic towards the people of these cultures. 6. Students of music learn craftsmanship as they study how details are put together painstakingly and what constitutes good, as opposed to mediocre, work. 7. Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards of hard work. 8. Music study enhances teamwork skills and discipline. 9. Music provides children with a means of self-expression. 10. Music study develops skills that are necessary in the workplace. It focuses on "doing," as opposed to observing, and teaches students how to perform, literally, anywhere in the world. 11. Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks. 12. An arts education exposes children to the incomparable. Below are a list of important links, including the list of course offerings. Please direct any questions to Erin Cook at ecook@saintjoehigh.com Links: Email Music is a friend of labor for it lightens the task by refreshing the nerves and spirit of the worker. ~William Green
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