Yamaha Music School Brings Innovative Music Program To Lexington And Eastern Massachusetts
LEXINGTON, Mass. April 11, 2006 marked the grand opening celebration of the Yamaha Music School Boston in Lexington, Mass., the corporate center for the Yamaha Music Education System in the United States. The invitation-only event began with an open house and tour of the new facility, followed by remarks by Jeanne Krieger, chairman of the Lexington Board of Selectmen and Yoichi Suzuki, Consul General of Japan in Boston. The ceremony also included a welcome presentation and ribbon-cutting ceremony by Yoshi Doi, president of Yamaha Corporation of America who was joined by company executives Hidehiko Kasai, senior managing director of Yamaha Music Foundation Japan; Miki Yoshimori, general manager, Yamaha Music Education Systems; and Mr. Terry Lewis, sr. vice president, Music Marketing Group, Yamaha Corporation of America.
Members of the Boston Conservatory community as well as the Longy School of Music, the Berklee College of Music, and the New England Conservatory of Music attended the event. President-Elect of the Massachusetts Music Educators Michael LaCava as well as staff from other influential local schools were in attendance.
The school is under the direction of Jim Keenan, and offers a range of courses that nurture a love of music, provide comprehensive musical training, and encourage creative self-expression through the language of music by using pianos and electronic keyboards in a group setting. The curriculum introduces children to the basic elements of music to help them develop aural ability and a musical sensibility.
Yamaha teachers must demonstrate the desire and aptitude for instructing children and a genuine dedication to educate beginning musicians. To qualify for Yamaha training and certification, teachers need to pass comprehensive music exams and attend an intensive series of compulsory seminars.
The evening also included a demonstration of the Yamaha Method featuring East Valley (Arizona) Yamaha Music School students and instructor Heidi Grimes, hosted by Kathy Anzis, director of teacher training for the Yamaha Music Education Division. Special performances during the evening concert included Yamaha graduate Jennifer Lin, performing her original composition "Shifting Winds" for piano, clarinet and cello with violinist Markus Placci, clarinetist Gary Gorczyca, and cellist Carol Ou. The highlight of the evening included a performance by local resident and Yamaha graduate, Max Levinson, on piano performing Schubert Impromptu in A-flat Major, Op. 90 #4.
"The Yamaha Music School Boston will be an important part of Yamaha's large network of music related activities," states Yoshi Doi, President, Yamaha Corporation of America. "Our hope is that this corporate-owned school will serve to promote the value of music education and music participation in our society in a very visible and meaningful way locally, nationally, and globally."
The Yamaha Music School Boston is part of a network that spans more than 40 countries around the world. Five million students have graduated, including many professional musicians, since its inception 50 years ago.
Max Levinson, now an accomplished pianist and recording artist, remembers, "It was in the Yamaha Junior Music Course that I learned that music was fun, and this I have kept my whole life." Levinson, who completed graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, won first prize at the 1997 Guardian Dublin International Piano Competition, the first American to achieve this distinction. He now performs with renowned symphonies and conductors around the world.
The Yamaha Music Education System offers five different music courses for children between the ages of four and nine. Most classes are held weekly, covering everything from listening skills to keyboard performance. Private lessons are offered as well.
The Yamaha courses began in the mid-1950s in Japan under the direction of Mr. Genichi Kawakami, President of Nippon-Gakki Company, Ltd. (today's Yamaha Corporation). Mr. Kawakami believed his company was responsible not only for making a quality product, but also for teaching customers how to use it. Consequently, he established the non-profit Yamaha Music Foundation (YMF) in 1966 for the purpose of developing and promoting music education and music popularization activities internationally. YMF guides the worldwide development of the Yamaha Music Education System and also sponsors international events such as the Junior Original Concert (JOC).
In the United States, the Music Education Division of Yamaha Corporation of America works in cooperation with Yamaha Music Foundation to design new courses, improve instructional quality, and refine existing programs.
 Miki Yoshimori, General Manager, Yamaha Music Education Systems; Hidehiko Kasai, Senior Managing Director of Yamaha Music Foundation Japan; Yoshi Doi, President of Yamaha Corporation of America and Terry Lewis, Sr. Vice President, Music Marketing Group celebrated the grand opening. |
The school is under the direction of Jim Keenan, and offers a range of courses that nurture a love of music, provide comprehensive musical training, and encourage creative self-expression through the language of music by using pianos and electronic keyboards in a group setting. The curriculum introduces children to the basic elements of music to help them develop aural ability and a musical sensibility.
Yamaha teachers must demonstrate the desire and aptitude for instructing children and a genuine dedication to educate beginning musicians. To qualify for Yamaha training and certification, teachers need to pass comprehensive music exams and attend an intensive series of compulsory seminars.
The evening also included a demonstration of the Yamaha Method featuring East Valley (Arizona) Yamaha Music School students and instructor Heidi Grimes, hosted by Kathy Anzis, director of teacher training for the Yamaha Music Education Division. Special performances during the evening concert included Yamaha graduate Jennifer Lin, performing her original composition "Shifting Winds" for piano, clarinet and cello with violinist Markus Placci, clarinetist Gary Gorczyca, and cellist Carol Ou. The highlight of the evening included a performance by local resident and Yamaha graduate, Max Levinson, on piano performing Schubert Impromptu in A-flat Major, Op. 90 #4.
 Pianist Jennifer Lin and co-musicians Markus Placci, Gary Gorczyca, and Carol Ou performed their original pieces in a special concert in honor of the event. |
The Yamaha Music School Boston is part of a network that spans more than 40 countries around the world. Five million students have graduated, including many professional musicians, since its inception 50 years ago.
Max Levinson, now an accomplished pianist and recording artist, remembers, "It was in the Yamaha Junior Music Course that I learned that music was fun, and this I have kept my whole life." Levinson, who completed graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, won first prize at the 1997 Guardian Dublin International Piano Competition, the first American to achieve this distinction. He now performs with renowned symphonies and conductors around the world.
The Yamaha Music Education System offers five different music courses for children between the ages of four and nine. Most classes are held weekly, covering everything from listening skills to keyboard performance. Private lessons are offered as well.
The Yamaha courses began in the mid-1950s in Japan under the direction of Mr. Genichi Kawakami, President of Nippon-Gakki Company, Ltd. (today's Yamaha Corporation). Mr. Kawakami believed his company was responsible not only for making a quality product, but also for teaching customers how to use it. Consequently, he established the non-profit Yamaha Music Foundation (YMF) in 1966 for the purpose of developing and promoting music education and music popularization activities internationally. YMF guides the worldwide development of the Yamaha Music Education System and also sponsors international events such as the Junior Original Concert (JOC).
In the United States, the Music Education Division of Yamaha Corporation of America works in cooperation with Yamaha Music Foundation to design new courses, improve instructional quality, and refine existing programs.
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