“Music enhances the education of our children by helping them to make connections and broadening the depth with which they think and feel. If we are to hope for a society of culturally literate people, music must be a vital part of our children’s education.” — Yo-Yo Ma 

Ask any child development expert, and they’ll echo this sentiment with scientific data showing that music benefits mental capacity, language, memory, and emotional development.

Ivy Ross, the new Director of Education for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, shares this belief passionately. “Listening to music creates new neural pathways and engages both hemispheres of the brain,” she says. Playing music promotes life skills like discipline, perseverance, and creative expression, while boosting fine motor skills, IQ, and academic performance.

Ross speaks from experience. A musician since childhood, she played flute, piano, guitar, sang, and started writing songs at 8. Her mission now is to place instruments into the hands of as many Santa Fe Public Schools students as possible.

While the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival hosts its summer performances over six weeks, its educational outreach has run year-round for 25 years. “We have an obligation to be more than just a six-week festival,” says Artistic Director Marc Neikrug.

The Music in Our Schools program introduces pre-K through sixth graders to live, interactive concerts twice a year. Serving about 3,000 students in 14 public schools across Northern New Mexico, the goal is to spark curiosity and a lifelong love of music.

Students ready to progress from listening to playing can join Guitars in Our Schools or Strings in Our Schools, offering free in-school group lessons. Currently, 20 students study guitar and 44 study violin.

Middle and high school students can advance further through Dream Big, a free weekly lesson program taught by professional musicians. Instruments offered include clarinet, flute, trumpet, guitar, voice, and more.

“There’s a clear arc to our education program,” says Ross. “From listening as little ones to private instruction later on, students begin to see music as both a lifelong enrichment and, possibly, a vocation.”

During the summer, the Young People’s Concerts further music appreciation. These free, family-friendly performances are tailored to young audiences. Music educator and conductor Oliver Prezant moderates the concerts, engaging kids with questions and commentary that make classical music accessible.

The first concert, Franck’s Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano, features Paul Huang and Orion Weiss on July 21. The second, on July 28, presents Schumann’s Piano Quintet with Weiss and the Calidore String Quartet. Both performances are at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Auditorium, New Mexico Museum of Art. After each concert, students can meet the musicians.

Free busing is available by reservation for youth groups on a first come first served basis. For more information, visit santafechambermusic.com/education or contact Ivy Ross at 505-983-2075 x113.

To explore music’s impact on the brain, attend Dr. Assal Habibi’s lecture, Music & Child Brain Development, on Monday, August 11, at noon, also at St. Francis Auditorium.