Band is an experience, it is also a socialization thing; there’s nothing quite like band, you know what I mean?”Micah Simpson, Seed-Harvest Music Academy
CULLMAN – Seed-Harvest Music Academy made an exciting announcement recently. They will be starting a new homeschool band beginning this September. The Cullman Homeschool Band will be made up of students ages 8 to 18 and will consist of mostly brass, woodwind and percussion instruments. The band will rehearse and eventually perform different genres of music and perform at different festivals in Cullman.
“My wife and I both have master’s degrees in music education. We both have directed bands in public schools before,” said Micah Simpson, of Seed-Harvest Music Academy, “but we had practically no freedom to choose our own teaching methods or practice our own educational philosophies. So we created our own school,” he smiled.
“Music is one of the only synergistic methods of growth that takes place in the area of cognitive development for a student. When you play an instrument – you use both hemispheres. What better vehicle for developing proactive thoughts and emotions in students than through musical development?
“My wife, Brittany, and I got to looking at the homeschool community here in Cullman. We noticed that there was not a lot of reasonable musical opportunities for them like there would be in public schools,” he continued. “So we opened Seed-Harvest Music Academy; Brittany teaches the classes and I do private lessons and a few ensemble groups. Now we want to put together an actual band that would have the same experiences as my wife and I did growing up in the public school system.
“Band is an experience,” he explained. “It is also a socialization thing; there’s nothing quite like band, you know what I mean? You are with a group of people who are constantly working toward goals and that is something that homeschoolers don’t always get, although they do participate in sports and other things. I got to travel to England and my wife got to travel all over Europe, playing in an orchestra when she was in high school. It was a fantastic experience and we want the local homeschool kids to have the same opportunities.”
The Simpsons believe in a one-room-schoolhouse approach, where older students help in the development of the younger students in order to maximize the collaborative learning environment. They also think that giving students opportunities to compose and improvise would be an important aspect.
The Cullman Homeschool Band orientation and registration session for their first year (September through May) will take place on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 1-2:30 p.m. at the Seed-Harvest Music Academy located at 1607 Third St NE in Cullman.
There will be an Instrument Petting Zoo, provided by Guitars and More LLC, so that the students can try out all of the instruments and choose which one they would like to play in the band. Afterwards, there will be some pizza and discussion about the registration process, rehearsals, costs, concerts, etc.
A $50 registration fee will be required at the end of the orientation session to hold your student's spot in the band.
Details:
RSVP to the orientation and registration session by visiting http://qrne.ws/band.
For more information:
Call- 205-358-2186
Email- SeedHarvestAcademy@gmail.com
Visit- www.seedharvestmusicacademy.org
Facebook- www.facebook.com/MusicSHAcademy
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