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The Indiana Daily Student

arts

String Academy offers lessons

entStringAcademy

The fall semester of the Jacobs School of Music’s String Academy, a yearlong program for students from ages 5 to 18 to study violin and cello, started Monday as students began private lessons.

Group lessons begin Saturday, Aug. 29.

IU professor of music Mimi Zweig is the String Academy’s 
program director.

She said the program offers a challenging but enjoyable musical environment.

“It is a very serious and fun school where students are learning to play their instruments in a very rich and intense environment at the Jacobs School of Music,” Zweig said.

She said a musical education has a significant effect on people, particularly those who learn to play instruments at an early age.

Many studies have shown playing an instrument opens neurological connections and synapses, Zweig said.

String Academy’s Administrative Assistant Christina Hightower said a musical education has many benefits, even for those who do not choose to pursue music as a career.

She said it helps them with skills such as concentration, organization and hand-eye 
coordination.

“I feel that it is so valuable, even if they don’t go into music,” Hightower said.

Zweig said music gives people a rewarding experience.

“Learning an instrument gives students a lot of self confidence and self-esteem because they are performing all the time,” 
Zweig said.

Zweig said the combination of private and group lessons 
provides an extensive education.

“We combine the best of all worlds,” she said.

The private lessons allow students to reach their potential at an individual level, she said, while the group lessons teach students to work with an ensemble and to perform solos.

The lessons also teach ear training and musical theory, Zweig said, which are skills that are much simpler when learned at an early age.

String Academy is different from music classes at a regular school, because students are placed in classes based on their ability rather than their age, Zweig said.

Students of various ages can be in the same class, she said.

In addition to weekly music lessons, students perform in and attend concerts throughout the year, Zweig said.

She said the rigorous training the students at String Academy receive is similar to the preparation required by students who are applying to the Jacobs School of Music.

Hightower said the program has higher expectations than regular music classes and programs.

Many students from String Academy go on to the top music schools, she said.

It can be competitive, she said, but it is a positive competition that motivates students to become better musicians.

Although String Academy is a serious program, Zweig said, it also builds a strong appreciation for music.

“Students come out 
loving music,” Zweig said.

She said the students at String Academy receive an exceptional education.

“They are getting training at the highest level,” she said.

Zweig said she likes seeing the students grow as musicians and develop 
enthusiasm for music.

“My favorite part is observing how they are making progress and how they become fascinated with what they are doing,” Zweig said.

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