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Our PhilosophyMusical skills are most easily learned at a young age. SFIM has developed an integrated course of study designed to operate synergistically among the various musical disciplines. The goal of the program is to help students achieve a masterful understanding of music by the age of 18 - to be “complete” musicians. This, in turn, allows students the freedom to continue their musical development in college on a purely artistic level, or to pursue other interests having gained a skill that that will bring them satisfaction their entire lives. Participation in the arts is an important element of childhood development. Studies have shown that early childhood education in the performing arts, specifically music, enhances a child’s cognitive development. Music is an art that teaches students to focus with energy on their studies, regardless of the subject. The practice of music performance teaches discipline, patience, and sensitivity. Musical skill transcends economic and ethnic backgrounds and helps to foster a cooperative society. top of pageSchool ConceptWe emphasize the study of core musical principles and concepts that allow a student to become a “complete” musician, not just to gain a specialized understanding of a certain instrument or genre of music. With this approach, students learn to both recreate and create music, bringing the vitality, confidence, and quality to their performances that only come with a deep understanding of the music-making process. Cooperation and regular communication among our faculty is our policy at SFIM. Shared knowledge and experience greatly amplify a teacher’s resources. This means our entire faculty participates as a whole in each student’s development. Additionally, our teachers are all performers. That is, they can do what they ask students to do. Performance enhances teaching. They complement one another. We embrace technology to constantly improve our teaching approach. Audio and video recordings are used regularly to analyze the performances of great artists as well as to track the progress of our students. We recognize new developments in scholarship, pedagogy, and composition, and use new information to enrich our curriculum. This approach accelerates and streamlines the learning process of our students. We believe that to learn, a student must feel safe psychologically. We seek to motivate not intimidate students. Also, of equal importance, a good relationship between teachers and parents is an essential ingredient in helping our students learn. top of page |
