“Music education is the exploration of the human spirit

and the right of every child.” – Angel Velez

 

 

How has music shaped your life?

Music has been a life-changing experience and has dramatically shaped my life. At first, it was just the pure enjoyment of playing drums and percussion (my first instrument) but then it opened a new door of curiosity and a safe space to explore and meet so many incredible people at the same time. From making friends, to traveling the world, to experiencing different cultures and types of music, music has had a profound impact upon my life. One of the biggest gifts is seeing how everyone is connected through music. Beyond the barriers of language, music has the ability to powerfully communicate and connect. What’s even more cool is that this process is always growing and reinventing itself and giving me new experiences, joys, challenges, and opportunities. I love it!

 

Share your passion for conducting and orchestration.

My passion for conducting and orchestration comes from a deep curiosity and desire to connect and share with others something I feel about music. When I first got into conducting, I must admit my intentions were completely selfish; however, thanks to a wonderful teacher I experienced conducting as an act of listening and communicating. The more I became quiet and thoughtful of what I wanted to say or create, the richer the experience became. 

Through conducting and orchestration, an always evolving palette of colors exist. With my conducting students, I always tell them to imagine a box of 8 crayons and how many wonderful possibilities exist with just those basic colors. Then I imagine thinking of the box of 16 crayons and now, how many possibilities exist? Then think of the box of 64 (the one with the crayon sharpener!) and how more and more nuances of color exist; suddenly, there are countless ways to see one particular color. I love that process, whether it’s in orchestrating or in doing it live, with conducting and playing and sharing those colors with an audience.

 

How does music impact child development and mental health and wellness?

Music has countless ways of being received. From a surface level experience of just hearing sounds, to becoming an emotional experience from these same sounds but something connecting to us in ways we may not understand, or perhaps experiencing it in a purely cerebral sense where the music becomes more of a puzzle to solve. Each of these experiences are valid. More importantly, each of these experiences are necessary and are part of a very important experience that all people, especially children, should have. 

Music covers a dramatic range of experiences, from deeply personal to very public, and it is a tremendously powerful tool for children to learn to access to help them navigate the increasingly more complex experience of adolescence. From reinforcing mathematical concepts to learning how to listen, adjust, and manipulate an instrument to convey a particular set of directions, to the fluid interplay experienced in performing with others, these are concepts that are critical to child development. The sooner children can be aware of how to use these skills in a productive way, not only will they create rich musical experiences, but they will also experience greater mental health.

 

Can you share more about your perspective as a musician and a father?

I am a professional musician who did not come from a musical family, yet as the father of a 10 year old who has been surrounded by music and world-class musicians his entire life, I have been tremendously reluctant to impose my musical experiences upon him so he could be allowed to explore and love music on his own terms. It is terrifying to me since he is exploring on his own terms, many of which I cannot relate to. So of course, my wife and I signed him up for piano lessons knowing that piano has served both of us well and we are aware of what an important foundational tool it is. 

Perhaps it should be no surprise he wants to do more soccer and never practices the piano, so I keep pushing to reinforce my expectations of a well-rounded music education, all while ignoring his growing joy of singing and his uncanny abilities in rhythm. I was a drummer, I could do all of that but certainly not at that age. I have three degrees in music (one is in music education!) and I have taught middle school, high school, college – yet somehow with my own child I have ignored my fundamental rule about music education…just enjoy it. 

So, in addition to my son continuing with piano lessons, he now splits 50% piano with 50% singing and I let him pull out a practice pad and drum along to Michael Jackson or any other album he chooses. As a parent, I can’t help the feeling that I’m failing since he doesn’t fall clearly into the regimented pathways I envisioned, but as a teacher, I see him clearly blossoming and loving music more and more, in turn becoming more curious to explore music and uncover its boundless treasures.

 

Why is music education so important for every child? 

I wish I could list the statistics of the benefits of music education; however as a professional musician, someone who has taught in the classroom, as a father, and as the beneficiary of an education through music, it is clear that I have learned and continue to learn far more than just combinations of notes that create beautiful and fun sounds. Rather, it is the journey it creates that is filled with a life of amazing experiences that impact the mind and soul, and it creates a far better world filled with empathy and action. Music education is the exploration of the human spirit and the right of every child.