Academy of Music and Art

“Using the Performing Arts to Worship God!”

The Academy of Music and Art of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton will be starting again in September 2011.  We plan to meet on Thursdays on the same schedule as in Fall 2010 through Spring 2011.

The Thursday schedule will be as follows:

We hope to have as many people as possible involved in this program.  This program focuses on all aspects of Music and the Arts.  We will be covering:  rhythm, chimes, bells, percussion, singing, drama, drums, movement, general music theory, improvisation, worship leading, and Bible study.  Both groups will be participating in Worship once or twice a month.  We will also be doing a recreational activity twice a year.  We will need two volunteers to help with supervision for each group.  Enrollment is open year round for you to join the Academy at any time.

If you have any questions about the Academy or would like to register, please contact David Lincoln at 630-668-5147 (ext. 22) or by

You can also register your child for the Academy of Music and Art online:

Music is participatory.  Music participation provides a unique opportunity for literacy preparation.  Whether the children are singing, playing, or listening, teachers direct them to listen and hear in new ways which exercise their aural discrimination.  Playing instruments and adding movement to the lessons teaches children about sequential learning which is essential in reading comprehension.

Music is physical.   Music can be described as a sport.  Learning to sing and keep rhythm develops coordination.  The air and wind power necessary to blow a flute, trumpet, or saxophone promotes a healthy body.

Music is emotional.  Music is an art form.  We are emotional beings, and every child requires an artistic outlet.  Music may be your child’s vehicle of expression.

Music is academic.  For some people, this is the primary reason for providing music lessons to their children.  A recent study from the University of California found that music trains the brain for higher forms of thinking.  Second graders who were given music lessons scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than children who received no special instruction.  Research indicates that musical training permanently wires a young mind for enhanced performance.

Music is for life.  Most people can’t play soccer or football at 70 or 80 years of age; but they can sing, and they can play piano or some other instrument.  Music is a gift you can give your children that will last their entire lives.  Edwin Gordon, a preeminent music educator and researcher, states that "Music aptitude is a product of both innate potential and early environmental experiences. . . regardless of the level of music aptitude with which children are born, they must have early formal and informal experiences in music in order to maintain that level of potential.  Otherwise, the level of music aptitude they may be born with will never be fully realized in achievement. . . . (a child's) innate music aptitude, be it high or low, will diminish, possibly vanishing to almost nothing, without an early stimulating music environment." ("All About Audiation and Music Aptitudes," Music Educators Journal, No. 41, September, 1999).

“Your talent is God’s gift to you.  What you do with that talent is your gift to God.”
~  Leo Buscaglia