If your child has an interest in music and performance, here is a wonderful opportunity for them.

Starting in September, students with an interest in music are encouraged to try out for SCMC’s School of Music programs.

Auditions for School of Music programs will be held on September 8 from 4 – 6:30 pm. Parents and students can call SCMC’s School of Music Education Director Martha Cudlipp for more information at 616-459-2224 (ext. 206). More information about the auditions are also online at scmc-online.org/youth-auditions/.

What an opportunity this would be for your child. There are dedicated music teachers from the West Michigan Community that help to provide the quality musical training that SCMC has become known for generations.

One example is Erin DeYoung, who will be joining the SCMC’s School of Music faculty in September as the new conductor for the Sinfonia Orchestra, an entry-level string orchestra for beginners.

DeYoung herself had her first community orchestra experience in middle school as a student of SCMC’s School of Music program. She says, “I’m excited to come back to St. Cecilia Music Center as a conductor. It’s great to have a resource like the School of Music where kids get a wonderful education and expand their training beyond their school program. Through this program, students from different schools get to meet one another and develop a bond while achieving common goals together through the experience of music making.”

DeYoung holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music education from Calvin College. Her professional music education experience includes directing the orchestras at Calvin Christian High School for nine years. She currently teaches in the Rockford Public Schools where she founded the district’s orchestra program in 2014.

According to scientific research, the study of music has been shown to nurture the creative and artistic aptitude of young people. Music education also helps build family and community values and focuses children on hard work, self-esteem, cooperation and the joy of achievement.

St. Cecilia Music Center School of Music Programs are open to students Grades 3 – 12. They'll have the chance to practice, perform and perfect their instrument of choice. Students also have the opportunity to work with professional musicians from the West Michigan area in rehearsals.

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