MObile Bravo Program
The Ojai Music Festival’s BRAVO! Music Education Program enriches the lives and learning of the children in the Ojai Valley through the gift of music.
For over 30 years, BRAVO! has been enhancing the existing public school music curriculum by offering interdisciplinary music lessons. Our goal is to help make music an integral, enjoyable, and exciting part of the everyday learning process.
BRAVO! believes that a robust music education is critically important for all students. Through BRAVO! programs, students learn the fundamentals of music making, engage in creative problem solving, develop teamwork skills, and discover how music relates to their other core curriculum, especially language arts, history, geography, and math. The BRAVO! program enriches students’ foundational skills for academic and personal success.
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
The core of the BRAVO! program is its artist residencies. These multi-unit programs encourage musicians and teachers to work cooperatively to promote meaningful learning through reinforcement and mentoring. Artists residencies include:
- Adopt-A-Musician
- Flutes Across the World
- Resonance and Rhythm
- Chumash Culture
- Musicians Meeting Musicians
- Ojai Creates Opera (coming soon!)
EDUCATION THROUGH MUSIC
Education Through Music (ETM) integrates vocal music lessons with critical thinking games to teach the fundamentals of pitch and rhythm. Through weekly music workshops, ETM improves students’ pattern recognition, social skills, and teamwork abilities. ETM is offered to every K-1 student in the Ojai Valley, including selected special-needs classes. The program ensures that young students continue to have access to music education by replacing the once-standard music classes that have since disappeared from public school curricula.
MUSIC VAN
BRAVO!‘s Music Van brings instruments from all orchestral families to third grade classrooms throughout Ojai for hands-on demonstrations and exploration. Staffed by dedicated Festival volunteers and Women’s Committee members, the Music Van is timed to grant students the opportunity to try instruments before signing up for the district band program.
IMAGINE CONCERT
Every year, the IMAGINE concert introduces young students to peer and professional musicians, and to give musicians of different ages the opportunity to make music together.
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
BRAVO!‘s new program brings music education to an additional segment of the Ojai Community – residents of continuing care and assisted living facilities. Through interactive percussion workshops, BRAVO! gives residents the opportunity to take part in collaborative music making and musical expression, encouraging physical movement and exercise of motor skills.
The Festival’s BRAVO! music education program is made possible by many generous donors and welcomes your support. For more information on BRAVO!, please contact the Festival office at 805 646 2094 or [email protected].