Music as a Means to Inspire, Educate, and Expand Horizons: A Qualitative Evaluation of The Logan Series

April 2017

Nicole L. Rosen, Ph.D. Project Director Susan Hirt Hagen CORE

Kim Corson, Ph.D., CFLE Assistant Professor of Psychology School of Humanities and Social Science

4909 Jordan Road • Erie PA, 16563-1801 • (814) 898-6297 • [email protected] • psbehrend.psu.edu/core Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3 Key findings 3 Background 3 Method 5 Findings from Teachers at Diehl Elementary School 6 Appreciation and Excitement 6 Student excitement 6 Socio-emotional benefits for students 6 Cultural Opportunities 7 Exposure to diverse performances 7 Learning proper audience etiquette 7 Exposure to Behrend’s campus 8 Impact of Music 8 Findings from Students at Diehl Elementary School 9 Appreciation and Excitement 9 Cultural Opportunities 9 Impact of Music 10 Findings from Attendees to Music at Noon 11 Demographics 11 Remarks from Questionnaires and Interviews 12 Valuing music experience & exposure to music diversity 12 Student involvement 13 Musical performances and feelings 13 Free event and convenient 13 Moving Forward 14 Spread the Word – Promote the Series 14 Let it Grow 14 Concluding Remarks 15 References 16

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 2

Executive Summary

The goal of this qualitative study was to evaluate The Logan Series; a university-sponsored music series that includes six annual performances by an array of professional musicians from around the world. The Logan Series

is offered at two locations; Music at Noon at Penn State Behrend and a local partner school, Diehl Elementary School. Data from this study include semi- structured interviews and were conducted with 11 grade school teachers, and “You don’t have to speak a 5 community members, as well as group interviews with 23 middle school particular language to enjoy students. Additionally, 65 college students and community members music…music itself is completed a questionnaire. enjoyable and speaks to just about everyone. The findings provide initial insights into the importance of being exposed to …Say for a refugee [that] diverse musical performances for an array of audience members. comes to this country - Specifically, given the diverse nature of Diehl Elementary School, The here’s a place where everybody can gather Logan Series was especially embraced since it complemented and together for the same strengthened their school culture. Community members reflected on their purpose and that’s to continued support, participation, and enjoyment of the Music at Noon enjoy the performance... performances. Findings from this study can help inform other school districts You know, it helps as they attempt to maintain funding for their arts and cultural programs. people to acclimate to our society and be part Key findings: of the society. And…  There was widespread agreement that music is a “common here’s one more place language” and The Logan Series was embraced by community for inclusion where members in Erie, college students at Behrend, and teachers and people feel like they are students at Diehl Elementary School. part of the group.”  Diehl’s participation in the music series offered emotional and social ~ Community member benefits to students, enriched cross-curricular collaboration amongst teachers, and enhanced a school wide culture of appreciation and open conversation.  As a result of being exposed to The Logan Series, many children were interested in learning musical instruments themselves.  Students at Diehl were exposed to cultural opportunities: they learned proper audience etiquette and were exposed to a college setting.  The Music at Noon series provides community members (most retired) with a free and convenient opportunity to enjoy an array of music performances, as well as socialize with friends and family.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 3 4909 Jordan Road • Erie, PA 16563-1801 • (814) 898-6297 • [email protected] Background

There seems to be no escaping music; it is playing at the grocery story, the doctor’s waiting room, blaring out of car windows, and pumping through headphones into listening ears. In fact, most people hear music to some degree every day of their lives (Juslin & Sloboda, 2001). Given the omnipresence of music, it comes as no surprise that researchers have sought to understand the impact music has on people’s lives. Examining the emotional and social benefits of music over one’s life course has been key topics of inquiry by researchers in various fields (see Juslin & Sloboda, 2001). “I always say that music Whereas many people may consider music merely a form of entertainment, is a lifetime sport, and researchers have found that music can strengthen one’s mental and physical you know you can play health, serve as a positive form of socializing, and offer creative expression football until you can’t. (Coffman, 2002). Music also has the “power to evoke memories and capture You can play tennis only if you have a emotions” (Bailey & Collyer, 2006, p. 168). Some psychologists use music partner. But music, you therapy to help patients mitigate stress, anxiety, and depression (see Coffman, can participate in by 2002). The benefits of listening and participating in music are too extensive to listening, or if you have adequately summarize and capture within this report. Instead, we focus on how the ability and the music affects certain categories of people differently (e.g. youth, adolescents, interest, you can refugee children, and older populations). participate by singing or playing an For youth and adolescents in particular, music education has four key benefits. instrument.” These include success in society, school, and life, as well as increasing ~ Community member intelligence (Petress, 2005). Much of these benefits are best achieved if music education takes place in early childhood (Levinowitz, 1999). If implemented in early childhood, music education has the potential to strengthen children’s skills in social studies, math, and language, as well as build confidence (Levinowitz, 1999). For adolescents, music education can help inspire their own involvement in playing instruments as a form of extra-curricular activity (North, Hargreaves, & O’Neil, 2000). Other studies have noted the importance of adolescents staying active in extra-curricular activities to decrease their likelihood of anti- social behaviors (e.g. delinquency and truancy) (see North et al., 2000). Many studies have examined the social and emotional benefits music has for homogenous groups of youth, while others have looked into the benefits for specific populations. For refugee children in particular, exposure to music has the ability to give them a sense of belonging, empowerment, strengthen their language skills (Marsh, 2012), and connect them with their past (Baily & Collyer, 2006). Given the myriad of challenges that refugee children are faced with upon entering a new and unfamiliar country (e.g. bullying, language barriers, and racism), music may be part of the solution to fostering a sense of connection and respect. The social and emotional benefits of music do not stop after adolescence. In fact, “music heard early in life continues to have significance later in life” (Cohen, Bailey, & Nilsson, 2002, p. 96). Participating in music (listening and/or performing) can positively affect older adult’s perceptions of their quality of

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 4 life (for full report, see Coffman, 2002). Researchers found that participating in music strengthened older adults’ well-being by providing them with positive social relations and a sense of purpose and accomplishment (Coffman & Adamek, 2001; see also Coffman, 2002). Such positive benefits have the ability to influence older adults’ mortality, morbidity, and ability to cope with stress (see Coffman, 2002). Older adults’ participation in music activities, as well as ‘nonmusical’ activity (e.g. socializing), is especially important for their overall well-being, regardless of their cognitive status (Cohen et al., 2002). Given what we know about the benefits of music, this project aimed to understand how a university- sponsored music series, The Logan Series, affected its audience members. The Music at Noon: The Logan Series is a chamber music and performing arts series that was established in 1989 and is offered with the support from Penn State Behrend. Throughout the academic school year, The Logan Series has six performances at two locations: Penn State Behrend and Diehl Elementary School. The local grade school, Diehl Elementary School (K-8th grade) is composed predominately of New Americans and children of refugees. The grade school’s demographics are diverse (students come from 24 countries and speak 15 different languages). While there have been numerous performances accompanied by enthusiastic audience praise, a formal evaluation of the Logan Series success has been lacking. A formal evaluation of The Logan Series has helped illustrate the importance and community support for the continuation of the music series. Similarly, few studies have explored how musical performances that are for different audiences (e.g. adults, college students, elementary, and middle school aged children) may influence the attendees’ differently. Soliciting qualitative feedback from attendees to The Logan Series has offered in-depth personal accounts from different categories of people, which helps shed light on how the music series has benefited their lives and overall appreciation for music.

Method

Prior to data collection, permission from the Erie School District and the Institute Review Board (IRB) at Penn State University were obtained. Dr. Nicole Rosen (Principal Investigator) and Dr. Kim Corson (Co- Investigator) were the project leads. The research team was composed of Nate Magee, M.S. (Research Technologist at CORE), Jonathan Kinnear (Research Assistant at CORE), and student interns in the Department of Psychology; Heather Fortsch, Cassandra Vandemerwe, Leslie Hasty, Abigail Jantzi, and Emily Ferraro.

Three populations were sampled for this study:  Middle school students at Diehl Elementary School  Teachers (K-8th grade) at Diehl Elementary School  Attendees to Music at Noon at Behrend (college students and community members)

Of these groups, the following methods were used:  Group interviews with students at Diehl Elementary School  Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with teachers  Phone and face-to-face semi-structured interviews with attendees of Music at Noon  Questionnaire for attendees of Music at Noon  Observations and field notes of performances at Diehl and Behrend

Data collection occurred during the Spring 2017 on days of the performances: January 26th & 27th,

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 5 February 14th & 15th, and March 20th. Each interview was recorded and lasted approximately 5-15min for Diehl students and teachers and 15-60min for community members. Research team members conducted interviews in a private and convenient space. Student interns transcribed the interviews and each transcript was later checked for accuracy by a second member of the research team. Members of the research team entered data from the questionnaires into Excel. These data were also verified to ensure the information was entered properly.

As project leads, Nicole and Kim analyzed the qualitative data using a line-by-line coding structure. Nicole and Kim met periodically to ensure that there was agreement in the interpretation of data and code development inter-coder reliability. Codes that were similar were collapsed into more inclusive themes and codes that were disagreed upon were removed from the analysis. The themes presented in this report were unanimously agreed upon by the project leads. The quotes serve as illustration of the themes and patterns of responses that emerged from the data.

Findings from Teachers at Diehl Elementary School

Data from Diehl Elementary School uncovered three key themes; (1.) Appreciation and Excitement, (2.) Cultural Opportunities, and (3.) Impact of Music. Following are brief descriptions of each theme, supported with direct quotes from teachers.

Appreciation and Excitement

When first asked “What do you think about The Logan Series?” several teachers discussed how excited their students are on days of performances, noting that they could “…see [students] moving to the beat,” and “bobbing their heads.” Also, teachers shared stories of how the musical performances offered socio- emotional benefits for some students in particular.

Student excitement They’re excited…they love those days, they look forward to them. It’s a break from the monotonous school day…and they’re, like I said, they’re still learning. It’s amazing. I think it’s been wonderful. I’ve been here for a while and the kids, enjoy it…they're like ‘yay, we have a concert!’ You know, so they get, they get excited! The students look forward to it when, when they know they’re going to have a Logan Series. They look forward to it. Um, it’s never the same type of music so it’s not redundant and it’s not boring to them. There’s always something new to look forward to.

Socio-emotional benefits for students You’ll look in the audience sometimes and you’ll see these kids, like a couple of them like sleeping. And I don’t know if… they’re really used to, like, that calming environment. You know? …It makes you feel calm, it makes you feel, you know, safe. So I really, I do enjoy this, a whole lot! Even the kids, that uhm, it’s hard to keep their attention. Those kids, if you look around, they are engaged. They’re peeking around, trying to see how things are working and things like that. She wasn’t here at the beginning of the year [new student to the school], she’s never been involved with the Logan Series, never seen anything like it… Her first day was seeing the Logan series and she just lit up. She was quiet, she was meek, she didn’t know anybody- but then she saw the music and she had something to talk with her peers about when we had recess. So I think

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 6 it, it helped invite her into the school because it was something low-key, relaxing, something she could share. She like came here and went here ‘til 3rd grade…I mean the pure joy that you saw from her during the concerts…she could not contain herself. No matter what it was. I mean, she just…enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Cultural Opportunities

There was an overwhelmingly agreement amongst teachers that The Logan Series provided their students with cultural and musical opportunities that students might not receive elsewhere. Given the demographics of most students at Diehl (e.g. New Americans, refugees, and those coming from impoverished homes), students were being exposed to diverse performances, which enriched their worldviews. Such experiences were especially impactful for students who could resonate with musicians and instruments that originated from their home country and culture. Diehl’s participation with The Logan Series enabled students to learn proper audience etiquette, which requires them to sit quietly and respectfully during performances. Given that all grades at Diehl (K-8th grade) see the musical performances, students receive ample opportunities to practice their audience etiquette. Such lessons influenced other dimensions of the school as well. Lastly, students at Diehl are exposed to a college setting. For each Music at Noon performance, one grade is picked to visit Penn State Behrend. On days of Music at Noon performances, Diehl students arrive early to Behrend’s campus to enjoy a packed lunch, then sit quietly and respectfully amongst Behrend students and community members to enjoy the musical performance.

Exposure to diverse performances Uh yes, it is very diverse. I have a lot of different cultures, a lot of different backgrounds, and I think it adds to the classroom though… because we do a lot of exciting things, especially with this Logan Series. My students love hearing where the instruments come from… uh, during the last series, we had a percussion group and my students loved hearing the African drums. They just perk up because they’re so excited that they get to hear something from their culture. Um, I think it’s great. When I first came here three years ago, I was very impressed because the other schools that I have been at never did the Logan Series with the students and it’s a great way to get kids exposure to different kinds of music. Well our school, in particular, has so many different cultural backgrounds that it gives the kids, not only a connection, to those different kinds of music, but there are kids who have been from those areas that they’re [the musicians] talking about. So it’s kind of nice that those kids who are from those areas can say, ya know, can stand proud that day.

Learning proper audience etiquette Uh, I absolutely love it. I think it teaches my kids a lot. It gets them those social norms that they might not learn at home, or in other cultures. Such as - when someone’s performing, you need to use your listening skills, you need to sit quietly, hands in lap, you need to pay attention, be respectful, and it really helps with that. I’ve never seen a group of students sit so well… for an assembly. Usually I’m used to fidgeting cause the students aren’t used to.. seeing these types of performances. And they get really engaged and interactive. …We’re teaching [students] how to behave in a concert and what that looks like, and even teaching social skills, you know, and how to respond when guests come in. You know, a lot of

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 7 other schools don’t get that cause they're not exposed to it. So we’re teaching, we’re helping them be better adults by teaching them how to interact with each other and interact to people coming in they don’t know.

Exposure to Behrend’s campus And I think being able to go to to Behrend is good for a variety of reasons, not just listening to music, but I think just, ya know... seeing a college. We get to go to Penn State Behrend, so like, you get to be there and…just see the campus. See the kids going to college, I mean, like, some of them might end up going there, it might feel like “oh, this is a warm place I like” and just being at the [campus] is just a good experience for them, so, I like that too. I think the other aspect of it is when we bring one class up to Behrend… It also gives our uh, students exposure to college, you know, to what a college campus looks like, to what happens up there. You know just that experience alone is huge! …It’s just really nice from them [our students] to get out of Diehl and out into a campus setting with other people.

Impact of Music

The third theme that arose from the data relates to participants’ discussion of the overall impact and importance of music. There is widespread support of the arts throughout Diehl Elementary School. As a result, The Logan Series is especially embraced, as it positively impacted the school culture by enriching curriculum and providing opportunities for teachers to collaborate. And then within our classroom, we do a lot with career cruising, of finding what careers interest them. So, especially the ones that with the art and music, we also touch base with different colleges that they can go to and they ah have them research and go through so that they don’t always have to go right around here. I mean it’s nice for them but also exposed to other areas of need that interest them as well. A lot of it [The Logan Series] impacts… how I teach. I’m one, I’m not straight from the book. I try to look at creative ways for kids to learn cause they are at different needs, and everybody’s at different levels. That um, I know throughout the years we’ve tried doing arts infused, which tied in a lot with music in the program. [When I teach],, I try to touch base with our music teacher, sometimes our art teacher, to work with them as well as, um other components in the building, just to touch base, like if we’re doing ancient Egypt to tie in different things there. Music, as well as arts... and then if there’s something I know that for the Logan Series, I’ll make sure to touch base with the kids and say “Hey, this is coming up soon and it’s gonna tie right in with our curriculum.” It is a nice talking point and jumping off point for afterwards that they can talk about, ya know, cause the kids will always say that. If they’re from an area that the people [musicians] talk about, they’ll bring that up later and so then it’s a nice, ya know, and I’m sure that all teachers love that - that they can have conversations about those things. Uh, uh, well, in particular, I have a student that stutters, and she’s in chorus. And it’s, it just gives them some other outlet. It gives them some other way to connect. Ya know, whether it be to something they’re learning in class or whatever. There’s a lot of teachers that bring in music, not in music class, but bring music into the classroom, and kids just relate to that. They just, you remember things. You can remember every song you’ve ever heard.. And if you can relate it to education, kids remember.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 8

Findings from Students at Diehl Elementary School

Of the eight group interviews, 22 middle school students participated and discussed what they thought about The Logan Series. Responses mirrored insight from their teachers, highlighting their overall appreciation and excitement, ability to hear music from around the world, and more generally what music means to them. Following are brief descriptions of each theme, supported with direct quotes from students. Appreciation and Excitement

Students were very thankful for having the opportunity to hear different musical performances. Exposure to an array of performances enabled students to stir up emotions and feel things they might not otherwise experience. Notable also were students’ comments that drew connections between how music made them feel and how this affected other classes/lessons. Some students explained: I like it so much because if you had like a long day in class and then you get to go to this, like, show or whatever and then you get to hear all this music and it brings you to life and everything and it makes you want to go back to class and learn some more. I love it. It’s very, like, peaceful and fun. Some of them are very fun. Some of them are very like cultural like.. and I like it cause then you learn more about like, where it comes from and stuff. And you listen to it and you get more experience about the country that it comes from. It’s entertaining for us, then it’s peaceful. …And fun to listen. I don’t know, uhm like, its very, it’s like, maybe, it’s important to learn because uhm maybe you’re in a rough time, and maybe music, it’s the thing that calms you down. And listening to it makes you feel better. It calms you down from all that stress and makes you be like, after the music then you can go back to class and feel like you’re ready for whatever, that comes. It makes you like, like unfrustrated, like you, you’re not frustrated anymore. I like the instruments that some people use. Like the drums, the drums are my favorite instrument and when, and when they were playing the drums I liked it, cause I was kind of moving my head a little, cause I liked it. It makes me feel happy because it’s like different from my i- it’s different from what we usually get to hear. It’s something new and it’s fun. If it is like up beat it makes me feel happy but if it’s like a slow song sometimes it’ll make feel, I mean some make me feel happy and some make me feel sad. I kind, I guess it’s like, it’s like a nice feeling when you hear like different music’s from around the world I think, as I said before but um depending on the song like as you said I would say that I would be happy and sad like depending on what it is like what we are listening to and what they are playing.

Cultural Opportunities

Like teachers, students discussed the benefits of seeing musical performers from around the world. Unique to students though, was their personal connection to some of the performers and instruments, given their diverse backgrounds.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 9 I think it introduces some kids that, like, they, they never been around, like, instruments or like, they’re, they couldn’t afford to, like, buy instruments. It, um, expands their learning of instruments so they get to hear new instruments. And it occupies them, too. It shows the kids, like, different instruments and it shows how many instruments, like, and how you can change the instruments to make different sounds. Uhm, I learned a lot about other uhm, countries, and different places that uhm, I grew up learning about, myself. And hearing the music, it kind of made it really interesting, ‘cause it took, kind of tells, told me a little bit about the, about where it’s from. Uhm, like, I learned about different African [announcement]… music here uhm, different groups from, Afr.. from playing African music here and it kind of interested me in a, a African, learning about Africa ‘cause it is kind of something that interests me ‘cause I’ve always like, had African in me. So it was interesting hearing music coming from it. Impact of Music

In addition to enjoying the array of music performances, some students reflected on how The Logan Series influenced their interest in music or more generally, the ability of music to spark future interests. Like, music, like if you see an instrument that you hear and like, you can go out to a place and maybe try and play it for yourself and see how it, see how it goes. Well its important because it shows kids they can do anything they want. I think so because, you know Diehl is a pretty awesome school so I think this might make schools even more awesome too. Student 2: Uh, yeah. I think that all the schools should be able to experience this music because it’s really nice. It’s really, I’s really fun and nice to see all those people perform. It’s really cool. So you can like, learn more about the instruments, if you want to be a musician when you’re older. You can learn more about what instrument it is, how much sound it makes, and if you love it, you can just keep on playing. I like the piano because it’s just so cool there’s all these keys and they all make different sounds and you can learn how like what sounds they make and everything.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 10 Findings from Attendees to Music at Noon

The Music at Noon data were gathered on three performance days during the Spring 2017 semester (January 27, February 14, and March 20).

Demographics Attendees from the Music at Noon series were primarily White (89%), with Asian (6%), Black (2%) and Other (3%) ethnicities comprising the remainder of the audience. Most attendees had some college (41%), followed by Bachelors (21%) and Masters (15%).

Ages varied, with 18-25 (26%) as the highest, closely followed by 81-89 (19%), 71-80 (18%), and 61-70 (17%). The majority of the attendees were retired (49%), followed by students (28%) and professionals (11%). Gender was fairly evenly distributed (female 55%).

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 11 Remarks from Questionnaires and Interviews

In addition to demographic questions, the questionnaire also included open-ended questions, which included: 1. What makes you keep coming back to attend The Logan Series? 2. Can you describe an especially powerful or influential performance? 3. How has The Logan Series impacted your life? (What has it taught you or made you feel?) Tell me a story…. 4. Is there anything that The Logan Series can do to improve? 5. How has The Logan Series impacted your life? (What has it taught you or made you feel?) Tell me a story….

Respondents reflected on several positive characteristics of Music at Noon, noting the benefits of being exposed to a variety of musical performances, joy in seeing students present (both from Diehl and Behrend), how the musical performances make them feel, and the convenience of the free event.

Valuing music experience & exposure to music diversity There were people from various areas of the country and the world. It is music you can not hear on conventional stations. They all seemed happy to share their gifts. It made me appreciate the value of music in the lives of young people. I really like the use of instruments. The voices are really clean and beautiful, and magical - give people the power of patience and love. I enjoy being exposed to different kinds of music. Like the interaction of performers and audience. The relaxing atmosphere. Great music by very talented musicians. Also, the tremendous variety, which has been offered over the years. It is a pleasant interlude in my day. It's amazing how well so many gifted people can play such wonderful music! Always a pleasant surprise and enriching experience. I mean there is so much violence in the papers and the violence with the firearms and things like that, I really think that kind takes the edge of people where you have something like the arts where you can be part of the audience… who knows, maybe there were two kids on the way to school ready to fight each other that happen to go to a concert like that I think that it helps to diffuse a situation and calm people down. You know look how they use music in uh you know dentist and doctors office and things like that and try to- and store so you can try to sell a product or advertising to help calm or soothe people or to help set a mood and I think that’s so important I think you have a great variety.

Just for the variety and we don’t…in Erie we would have to go all over the world to hear music like this and it’s great that they can come here.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 12 Student involvement I especially liked the program that included students of Diehl School who played ukuleles. The professional performers were so wonderful the children and the children were obviously thrilled and proud to be participating. Oh, I think its great if you bring bus loads of kids here! Being with the Behrend students. They project self-confidence, greet each other warmly, and are friendly and polite. It is nice to see classes of grade school children at the performances. The children are very well prepared and behaved. Congratulations to them and their teacher. The public elementary school students who attend are extremely well behaved. They are from an inner city school. This is probably their only exposure to this music. Ice cream cones upstairs are a great delight after the concert

Musical performances and feelings It makes me feel good in the inside and makes me feel very peaceful. Made me feel content. I feel intense emotion when they get into their performances and it makes me so happy where I want to cry with joy. It allows me to just be relaxed at school and to get my mind off anything. Always feel lifted up after.

Free event and convenient Good music. Free. I love music and the price is right. Short. Diverse. Free. Enjoyable music. Free. Daytime concert. The quality and variety of the performances. Convenient time for retirees. Ample parking.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 13 Moving Forward

In addition to offering great praise for The Logan Series, some participants offered suggestions on how to ensure the continued success of the series. Following are recommendations offered by attendees to Music at Noon and the evaluation team at CORE.

Spread the Word – Promote the Series Music at Noon attendees mentioned that given the enjoyable experience, they never wanted to miss a performance. To ensure this wouldn’t happen, some participants suggested that organizers of The Logan Series advertise more. Specifically, they suggested increasing the frequency and visibility of advertising (e.g. in local newspapers and local radio stations), as well has having an email list-serv. (NOTE: th During the March 20 performance, contact information from attendees was obtained.)

Some community members and retirees mentioned that after the musical performances, “The Logan Series they enjoy lunch at Bruno’s, where they sit with friends and discuss the performances. contributes to the Behrend can capitalize on this by advertising specifically to the Music at Noon crowd. way of life at Providing attendees with information (maybe even coupons) would not only give Bruno’s more business, but it would also complement Behrend’s commitment to the Behrend. It Erie community. teaches students the attitude of To booster Behrend student attendance, organizers of The Logan Series might respect and consider making concerted efforts to advertise on campus. To grab the attention and knowledge.” interest of students, flyers can include an interesting fact about music, followed by an ~ Community invitation to attend the upcoming Music at Noon performance. For example, “Did you member know that listening to music can help relieve stress, elevate mood, and improve cognitive performance? Come enjoy a free music event and leave feeling relaxed, focused, and ready to tackle your studies! Music at Noon: The Logan Series (Band – Date – Location).” This would not only increase attendance of the Music at Noon performances, but exposure to diverse musical performances would benefit college students’ emotional, social, and physical well-being.

Let it Grow Given that participants overwhelmingly agreed that the Music at Noon performance is a great highlight to their day, it is not surprising that they requested “More shows!” Some participants suggested expanding the series to include eight shows per year, as well as having longer performances. While this may be beyond the capabilities of organizers of the series, they may consider other music-related events that community members might join. For instance, Dr. Gary Viebranz invited attendees to join his class discussion after a performance one day. Such invitations might reassure community members that the musical enjoyment does not have to stop once the musicians receive their standing ovation. Also, given the familiarity of some community members with organizers of The Logan Series, invitations might be extended for some attendees to join the musicians for lunch or dinner.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 14 Concluding Remarks

The findings of this study reveal that there is an overwhelming applause for The Logan Series from Diehl Elementary School and community members of Erie County. Attendees of the music series voiced great appreciation and excitement for having the opportunity to hear an array of musical performances. Specifically, participants enjoyed being exposed to musical performances that were culturally diverse, in terms of musicians, performers, “Good learning and instruments. Such exposure, participants explained, could not be offered anywhere experience for else, especially for those living in Erie County and students at Diehl Elementary School. people that aren’t exposed to much Participation in The Logan Series was especially impactful for Diehl Elementary School, of this kind of specifically in terms of impacting the school culture, enriching curriculum, sparking music.” interest in music for students, and offering students socio-emotional benefits. A ~ Community tremendous influence to the school’s overall embrace of the arts is greatly influenced by member the principal, who was previously a music teacher himself. Given his own background and appreciation for music, Mr. Dana Gilmore has set a tone within his school, in which music and diversity are warmly embraced. As a result, the school is unique in that its school culture is built on values that celebrate respect, appreciation, diversity, and cultural expression.

The Music at Noon series has proved to be more than merely an hour of entertainment for several retirees in Erie County and surrounding towns. In addition to sharing joyous sentiments similar to teachers and students at Diehl, community members discussed how the series enabled them to socialize with friends and family. The series, therefore, serves not only as a form of music education to its attendees, but it can also serve to benefit retirees by offering them entertainment and socialization. “I love these The Logan Series is filling a much needed gap in Erie County. By providing free musical events. Where do performances for Behrend, Erie, and Diehl Elementary School, attendees are exposed to you find these music from around the world. This experience expands their worldview and overall talented people?” appreciation for the arts. Given the current climate in which funding and support for the ~ Community arts is quickly diminishing, such findings speak loud and clear of the necessity to support member and embrace whatever form of arts we can.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE 15 References

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