Quote :

" ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** CONTACT Matthew Wood Alpha Chapter, Mu Beta Psi, National Honorary Musical Fraternity NCSU SINGERS RAISE MONEY FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL INSTRUMENTS Annual A Cappella Concert to Benefit VH1’s Save the Music Foundation On Monday October 22, at 7pm in North Carolina State University’s Stewart Theatre, NCSU student performers will take the stage to raise funds and awareness about the importance of music education in public schools. As the students sing to their hearts’ content, there seems to be something missing. All the melodies and harmonies are there, the soloist is impeccable, and the percussion is really setting the mood. However, all of this is accomplished with one component missing: there are no instruments. The annual event, appropriately titled “Unity Concert,” is the result of a long-standing collaboration of the NCSU a cappella groups. Last year, the concert — the organization of which had traditionally rotated between the ensembles — was entrusted into the caring hands of Mu Beta Psi, National Honorary Musical Fraternity, a local group that advocates music in school curricula. “We noticed the individual a cappella ensembles were often struggling to make the Unity Concert a success,” said Matthew Wood of Mu Beta Psi and this year’s Unity Concert coordinator. “We stepped in and gave it a purpose in the form of a benefit concert for VH1’s Save the Music Foundation. We feel the idea of well-educated students making music without instruments is fitting to the cause.” Once again, this year’s concert will feature NCSU’s entire active a cappella ensembles: Accapology 101, Anno Domini, Grains of Time, Ladies in Red, Packabelles, and Wolfgang. Though the groups are diverse — running the gamut of all-male, all-female, and co-educational — they all share a common idea: music education is essential to a well-rounded education. “Many of us benefited from strong programs in middle and high school,” said Wood. “We just want to make sure those students that follow us will have those same opportunities.” Tickets for the event are $5 for students, $8 for faculty/staff, and $10 for the general public. Tickets may be purchased from NCSU’s Ticket Central (http://ticketcentral.ncsu.edu, 919-515-1100). "Recent research supports what parents and teachers know in their hearts — that music education is a vital part of a complete education," commented Wood. "Once community members understand how music can help children grow, they become strong supporters of school music programs. This is a national trend that we're happy to see here in our community, and we’re excited to support VH1 in this endeavor." One study revealed that young children who received a year of musical training showed brain changes and superior memory compared with children who did not receive the instruction. "It is very interesting that the children taking music lessons improved more over the year on general memory skills that are correlated with nonmusical abilities — such as literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics and IQ — than did the children not taking lessons," said Laurel J. Trainor, researcher of the study at McMaster University in Canada. Fujioka, Ross, Kakigi, Pantev and Trainor. Brain, a Journal of Neurology. Oxford University Press, September 2006. A study of rural and urban inner-city schools found that arts programs helped schools in economically disadvantaged communities develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills; create more opportunities for intellectual and emotional exploration; increase student self-esteem, self-expression, interest in school and engagement with others; promote school-wide communication and collaboration and increase parental involvement and teacher creativity. Stevenson and Deasy. Third Space: When Learning Matters. Arts Education Partnership, 2005. Parents and others interested in finding out more about music-making and healthy development can contact Matthew Wood at unityconcert@gmail.com or go to http://www.VH1SavetheMusic.com and http://www.SupportMusic.com Mu Beta Psi, National Honorary Musical Fraternity, was founded at North Carolina State University in November 1925. Founded on the basis of Four Purposes, the group of men and women are dedicated to the service and fellowship of music, musicians, and the community as a whole, as well as promoting Music as an educational subject. Mu Beta Psi is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization."

[Edited on October 9, 2007 at 3:13 PM. Reason : you people are so lazy]

10/9/2007 3:03:27 PM

words

10/9/2007 3:04:18 PM

tl;dr

10/9/2007 3:04:47 PM

plz2come guise

10/9/2007 3:17:39 PM

When and where and what time?

IANRTLB

10/9/2007 3:19:24 PM

it might have a better turnout if they didn't make this during the rehearsal for the second largest musical ensemble on campus (the symphony). especially since the symphony has community members, many of whom are very keen to help out music education in the area. oh well.

10/9/2007 3:21:44 PM

Quote :

"it might have a better turnout if they didn't make this during the rehearsal for the second largest musical ensemble on campus (the symphony). "

well, we had to get Stewart whenever we could, and this was our best option, and it's hard enough to schedule around concerts, much less rehearsals.

Quote :

"When and where and what time?"

the short and sweet of it:

WHAT: Unity Concert to benefit VH1's Save the Music foundation, featuring all of NCSU's a cappella groups

WHEN: Monday, Oct. 22, 7pm

WHERE: Stewart Theatre

TICKETS: $5 students w/ ID (includes other universities, high schools, etc.), $8 faculty/staff, $10 general public

Facebook link: http://ncst.facebook.com/event.php?eid=19435196952

[Edited on October 9, 2007 at 3:45 PM. Reason : facebook]

10/9/2007 3:43:40 PM

calendar.aspx

10/9/2007 3:46:16 PM

^DONE Thanks for the suggestion, I'd forgotten.

10/9/2007 3:51:27 PM

also: does anyone else find it amusing that an a cappella concert is raising money to buy instruments for kids?

10/9/2007 4:00:51 PM

yes, I find it amusing/appropriate

10/9/2007 4:12:57 PM

i went to these when I was still local and they are worth going to

10/9/2007 4:32:45 PM

ALSO tickets will be available through Ticket Central by Wednesday.

10/9/2007 5:07:20 PM

So tickets don't seem to be up on the Ticket Central website yet. :/

10/11/2007 12:21:28 PM

Tickets are FINALLY up on the Ticket Central website! There appears to be a lot of people coming to this one, which is absolutely AWESOME.

10/17/2007 3:56:15 PM

This event keeps looking like it's going to be huge. Want something to do while others are "Painting the Town Red"? Go to the Unity Concert!

10/18/2007 9:45:50 AM

TONIGHT

10/22/2007 9:48:59 AM

^BUMP^


A Cappella goodness is coming....

10/22/2007 11:21:25 AM

good show

the grains were really good (though that guys michy-mouse-voice reading of the music fact was pretty lame). dude with the soul/motown voice was really good.

I really liked that one co-ed group with the big girl in the middle. anno-domini was really good too.

10/23/2007 10:37:04 AM

Thanks!

The "group with the big girl" was Wolfgang, and the girl in question is Wheezer, who also happened to be my roommate for two years.

Anno Domini is very good, but it was awkward reading their intro.

10/23/2007 10:43:39 AM

hah, i was not there

heard the grains did fine without me though

10/23/2007 10:47:04 AM

^^ ah ok. she has a great voice. i think her group was actually my second favorite of the night behind the grains. very precise.

^ haha yeah they did ok

10/23/2007 11:21:17 AM