San Juan School Board Pledges Support for New Performing Arts Center

The San Juan Unified School District Board of Education pledged its support in a recent board meeting for the ecARTS Visual and Performing Arts Center at El Camino High School. The Board’s vote of support is a significant milestone and comes as ecARTS celebrates its first anniversary as an official nonprofit organization.

Although school and facility construction is traditionally funded by local taxes or special bond measures, ecARTS is relying instead on private donations and grants from individuals, corporations and foundations.

“Research has conclusively linked participation in the visual and performing arts with higher achievements from students. Moreover, it enhances cognitive abilities which serve students throughout their lives,” said Kevin Glaser, President of ecARTS and the Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair at El Camino. “This performing arts center will not only provide a necessary state-of-the-art facility for El Camino students, but it will be an asset for all students in the San Juan School District and the community at large. We intend to offer educational clinics and summer programs for all community members with a desire to experience the arts. That is our vision; that is our goal,” Glaser said.

“I wish to thank Superintendent of Education, Dr. Pat Jaurequi, whose leadership and encouragement throughout this process has been exceptional; Mr. Kent Kern, SJUSD Interim Senior Director, Facilities and Planning for his oversight and input to the resolution process; and the entire San Juan Board of Education for its unanimous support of ecARTS in adopting Resolution 2564,” added Glaser.

Media Contact: performatec@yahoo.com

1,200 Surprises from El Camino's Student Government Students

April 8 was a BIG day for ecARTS. Members of El Camino's Student Government presented a check in the amount of $1,200 to the El Camino Band specifically designated for the ecARTS theatre project. The entire student government class visited the band room and sang at take-off of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You." The lyrics to the song were re-written specifically for the EC Band and their participation at the recent Powder Puff football game and all the other events the band does on the campus at El Camino. To watch the presentation, click the video link below.

Thank you Student Government!

The "Who Do You Know?" Game

We are looking for connections to major companies such as Smart Water, Geico Insurance, Capitol Coors, 7UP, Raley's, and Coke. If you know someone (or know someone who knows someone), we would love to hear about it. Please email us at performatec@yahoo.com.

On a performance-related note, spring is performance time across the San Juan Unified School District (visit the district's Artsworthy newsletter for a full line up.) On tap this weekend:

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
El Camino High School
March 11, 12 at 7:00 pm
Does losing make you a loser? This hilarious musical will take you through the twists and turns of the lives of six young spellers who struggle with puberty and their group of adult advisors mired in their own childhoods.

Tickets available at the door.
$7 students, children, seniors; $9 adults
Contact Sheryl Lee with questions: shlee@sanjuan.edu or 916.971.7996 x 4377

The Magic of Music

Think back to your high school teen years. Remember hearing that song that captured so perfectly the relationship with your significant other? Or the trademark song for your class? Or the music that pumped you up before a big game?

In Sunday’s Sacramento Bee (Feb. 13, 2011), Bruce Maiman discusses the personal and universal magic of music (“Music and its transformative power”). According to Maiman, “Part of music’s magic is that its effects are very personal. Music has the power to cause emotions to well up within us– peaceful, relaxing, exciting, festive, foreboding, unsettling, stimulating, invigorating, and more. These feelings are gripping—often irresistible—and they seem to emerge from nowhere. The color our moods, affect our perceptions and generate a behavioral pattern.

“We now know that music increases the release of endorphins—the body’s feel good chemical—hence soothing the savage beast (or reducing your blood pressure. Newer research also suggests musical training enhances the brain's cognitive abilities. Children taking music lessons have experienced higher IQ scores, increased literacy and mathematical skills, even greater sensitivity to emotional cues in social contexts, two skills critical to emotional intelligence.”

The magic of music lives in these emotional responses. The academic subjects like math and science educate us, while the arts help us make sense of our world. And where better to explore the magic of music than in school band or choir?

Support ecARTS. Educate. Inspire. Entertain.