A Free Music Education Series for Children in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach & West Palm Beach

(Palm Beach Gardens, FL – June 2, 2014) Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane, Executive Director of The Palm Beach Pops, today announced SUMMER ROCKS 2014, a music education series designed for children up to age 12. The Pops created the “Music & You” In-School Youth Education Program to expose students to new learning experiences and positive role models while developing creativity, providing tools for communication and enabling students to build a strong sense of self. This unique educational musical program will benefit over 500 children this summer in Palm Beach County, is free to participants, and is funded entirely by The Palm Beach Pops.

June 16-20
Schoolhouse Children’s Museum
129 E. Ocean Blvd. in Boynton Beach

Westgate Park & Recreation Center
3691 Oswego Avenue in West Palm Beach

July 7-11
Florence Fuller Child Development Center – East
200 N.E. 14^th Street in Boca Raton

Florence Fuller Child Development Center – West
10130 185^th Street South in Boca Raton

The four 45-minute sessions will focus on each of the four sections of the orchestra (Brass, Woodwinds, Strings and Percussion), all taught and performed by members of the Pops orchestra. The “Music & You” program will be hosted by Mr. Music, Gary Mayone, who has been a member of the orchestra since its beginning, is the Principal Percussionist, and can actually play every instrument in the orchestra. The program includes the introduction of famous composers, history of music with a focus on the great American songbook, and complements a curriculum which is often taught in schools. The programs culminate in a mini-concert featuring approximately a dozen professional musicians from The Palm Beach Pops, wrapping up concepts taught to the children during the week.

“Over the years we have seen budget cuts in our schools which has adversely impacted music and art programs. In response to this, our “Music & You” In-School Youth Education program was created, which is benchmarked to Common Core standards. The program provides a rich academic learning experience as the children are exposed, some for the first time, to a live orchestra and develop an understanding of how music is made. It has become one of the most successful educational programs in our community, reaching over 90,000 students since its inception in 1998,” said Ms. Laurent-Ottomane. “The summer program will be followed by a month long program in four North Palm Beach county schools this fall, serving approximately 1,200 children in the classroom. While securing funding is challenging, The Palm Beach Pops bears the entire cost of these programs. We continue to seek funds for the program and are grateful to those donors who help us make this a reality for our community and our children,” Ms. Laurent-Ottomane continued.