The Phoenix Symphony receives a $10,000 Grant Award from Thunderbirds Charities to support the Mind Over Music® education program.
PHOENIX (March 11, 2024) – The Phoenix Symphony, Arizona largest performing arts organization, is thrilled to announce a grant award of $10,000 from Thunderbirds Charities to support its signature education program, Mind Over Music®. The program uses music to teach STEM concepts to Title 1 students. The Phoenix Symphony is one of a select group of orchestras in the country to implement a school instructional model based on STEM theory and practice.
Symphony musicians collaborate with each teacher to design and adapt lessons to meet the needs of the students. In one lesson, students explore area and volume by measuring the musicians and their instruments and designing a stage plot for the orchestra based on their calculations of space requirements.
Addressing education gaps, the goal of Mind Over Music® is to increase overall academic achievement. An independent study from the three-year pilot program before COVID-19 reveals improvement in all measured educational outcomes. Across all three years, evaluations showed that students in Mind Over Music® classrooms scored higher on classroom assessments than those in controlled classrooms.
The Phoenix Symphony is very grateful to Thunderbirds Charities and its Board of Directors for their generous contribution to this meaningful education program.
This grant is part of the Fall 2023 cycle. View a list of all Recent Grantees.