Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
Established 1879
June, 1952
REVIEW
VOL. I l l -No. 6
THE
PIONEER
PUBLICATION
2,867th Issue
O F T H E MUSIC
I N D U S T R Y
Group Piano Demonstration by New Rochelle
Pupils an Example for Other Municipalities
Piano Has Been Taught in New Rochelle Schools for 30 Years—
450 Students Attend Group Classes Each Year—Survey Reveals
That 8 5 % Continue Musical Studies After Leaving
School—150 Students from Kindergarten
to Junior High Grades Participate
in Piano Festival
N Friday night, May 23rd, public
O
school pupils of New Rochelle,
under the supervision of Mrs. Fay Tem-
pleton Frisch and her assistant, Anna
Marie Loretto, gave one of the most im-
pressive piano festivals which has not
only been held in that city but also in
many other places throughout the coun-
try.
Eleven pianos were on the stage,
which were played by groups of chil-
dren from kindergarten grades to those
in the junior high school.
As the children came in, approxi-
mately 150 of them, a processional
march was played on the organ by Luke
Boeve, 14-year old organist, who also
plays six other instruments including
the piano, tuba, piccolo, Sousaphone,
violin and flute and whose lessons have
been confined more or less to the group
policy. Harris Silvertone acted as stu-
dent conductor and after the children
had been seated they rose and sang
"America, the Beautiful".
Under the caption of "This Is The
Way We Learn to Play" the group of
children played "The Duke of York'",
an English folk song. The program
notes stated that the "Duke of York will
present the early approach to piano
playing" and, as an introduction it was
also stated "This Is The Way We Learn
to Play will be a series of activities
which will show the approach to key-
board study with small children in
groups. Group piano instruction is rec-
ognized by Lhe leading educators and
administrators as well as the music ed-
ucators as a most important beginning
in music education. The piano classes
have been used by the music specialists
as a basic music training; by remedial
experts as an important tool in reme-
dial work; by reading experts in help-
ing to develop eye movements, and by
principals of elementary schools as an
aid in emotional and personality ad-
justments."
Group Piano Instruction for 30
Years
It might be interesting to note right
here that the instruction of piano classes
started thirty years ago, under the di-
rection of Dr. Leonard and continued
under Bernard B. Nye, Director of Mu-
sic Education at the present time. Dur-
ing the last ten years, approximately
450 students each year have been taking
piano lessons in the schools, and ac-
cording to Mrs. Frisch, who made a
survey a short time ago, after the stu-
dents have finished their courses in the
schools, it was found that 85% of them
continued their piano music.
r
MRS.
FAY TEMPLETON FRISCH TEACHES THE YOUNG CHILDREN RHYTHM.
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW, JUNE, 1952
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