Music in the Mornings™

Imagine a grade school full of students, completely quiet, except for the sound of classical music playing through all the halls and in every classroom.

Since 1999, that is exactly what has been happening at a growing number of schools in southern Oregon, thanks to Britt's music listening initiative called Music in the Mornings™. For five minutes at the beginning of every day, a selection is played through the school's public address system with an informative introduction read by the principal. The same five-minute piece of music is played daily for a week, allowing listeners to develop a familiarity with the composer and his work. Each week features a different composer and a "kid-friendly" script about the music. Children not only learn about the music, they learn to experience the power and beauty of music for themselves.

Music in the Mornings™ was designed by education specialists in Canada. Tall Timbers Publishing Company created the program, which provides a comprehensive learning opportunity for students of all ethnic and economic backgrounds. Recent research has shown that exposure to music at an early age can have a significant impact on behavioral, cognitive, creative and motor skill development. These studies reinforce Britt's belief that music education increases the likelihood children will develop into adults who participate in the cultural well-being of their communities, and foster similar programs for subsequent generations.

Beginning with Jacksonville School in 1999, Music in the Mornings™ has grown through Britt’s support, gifts from businesses and individuals and generous grants from numerous foundations to include 88 schools in southern Oregon, currently serving more than 25,000 school children.

The Visual Arts Curriculum was designed by Britt Festivals Education Director as a tool for educators to accomplish their benchmarks in art while listening to the musical selections. These visual arts lesson plans take only 5 minutes a day, for 5 days in a row, and and are based on curriculum that coordinates the art lesson to the music. The curriculum has also been developed to meet Oregon’s state standards. With funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust and the Miller Foundation, this program was initiated in 2006 via in-service appointments with all of the participating schools, using nine visual arts lessons. In 2008, the curriculum expanded to 21 lesson plans created by visual artist Jennifer Eufusia. These lessons have been collected in a textbook for use in our region and beyond. Order forms for these textbooks are available online.

The next three years include outreach to all 88 schools with performances by the Arianna String Quartet. These outreach programs take music included in the listening program and bring it to life for students with live performances. The music of Ravel, Debussy and Mozart is performed by one of the nation’s finest string quartets, the Arianna String Quartet.  

Music in the Mornings™  has been designated a model program by the Oregon Alliance for Arts Education, the Oregon Department of Education and the Kennedy Center. Contact Joelle Graves at 541-779-0847 x122 or by email if you would like more information on how Music in the Mornings™ can benefit your school and region and for important information on arts collaborative relationships.

Major funding of this project is supported by Britt Society, the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), State Farm Insurance, Wolf Creek Partners and the Miller Foundation.