From the desk of Luis Carrión on Wednesday, October 21st 2009 at 22:56

BARRAGE PERFORMANCE FOR OMA

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Cragin Elementary is an OMA School, and during our recent visit a class of kindergarten students was busy learning some basic concepts in music. The class is taught by Gabrielle Pietrangelo, an arts integration specialist for OMA, and features important concepts for early learners. She says that “ OMA works with the four arts -music, drama, dance, and visual arts. The students know that we do all of that here, not just music.

OMA is a nationally recognized research-based program that integrates the arts into reading, writing, math and science in public elementary and middle schools. Miss Pietrangelo says that the art disciplines become the vehicles for experiencing the academic concepts. “I’m reinforcing their curriculum through the arts,” she says before the early morning class.

OMA was developed through a collaborative effort between educators and artists in the Tucson Unified School District beginning in 2000. Among the participants in the program are the University of Arizona, the US Department of Education, The Arizona Opera, Arizona Theater Company, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Joan Ashcroft is the Director of Fine Arts for the Tucson Unified School district. She’s also one of the founders of OMA. Her office is responsible for providing art education throughout 123 schools within TUSD. She says that a lot has been studied about the process in which children learn. “We created this model nine years ago to help students learn the academic subjects more completely.”

Ashcroft says that “this program is regarded now as a school transformation model,” and teaches the “new 21st century skills that are important to our new superintendent.”

This program has been shown to improve student performance in AIMS assessments, as well as the Stanford 9 tests, however recent economic budget shortfalls have made OMA a convenient target.

“We have suffered tremendously since we began more than nine years ago,” says Ashcroft. She points out that out of 41 schools there are now only 15 that have a fully integrated OMA program.

Dean Marshall is the musical director of Barrage and he says that he learned of the OMA program through Tucson based Southwest Strings, which provides all ensembles musical equipment. He says that the mission of OMA is in line with the Barrage’s mandate of education. Barrage has developed an integrated program designed to educate, motivate and inspire your string students. Marshal also says that being an educator himself, he knows that performances like the one scheduled for Friday night are important for young budding musicians.

He says the “ Barrage performance offers up a diverse fusion of cultures, and musical styles,” and it reflects some of the exciting fusions that are currently taking place in the musical world.

For OMA students, perhaps like those in Gabrielle Pietrangelos class, the performance is one that will help shape future interests in the arts, and academics. She says that the arts “helped shape my whole belief system.

The OMA benefit performance by Barrage will take place tomorrow night at the recently renovated Sahuaro High School auditorium. You can get information for the concert, and OMA on our website AZPM.ORG. Luis Carrión, Arizona Public Media.

Barrage will perform at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23, in the Sahuaro High School auditorium, 545 N. Camino Seco. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $10 for students and are free for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the Southwest Strings retail office, the OMA foundation office or Southwest Strings. This is a benefit performance for OMA.