The Arts asCommunication

CenterARTESA T C A L I F O R N I A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y S A N M A R C O S

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Imagine early humans discovering rudimentarypainting and music as ways to preserve communalevents and understandings as well as express

themselves and their experiences. From these earlyroots in human communication, the arts have only become moreexpressive and diverse, becoming anoften unnoticed daily part of all ofour lives. From prints, photos, andfigures we use to decorate ourhomes, to songs we sing to ourchildren, television and film drama,and the CD playing softly in thebackground, the arts are important,inspiring influences in each of ourlives. Throughout time and acrosscultures, the arts are key methods not only ofself-expression, but also communication. Thistheme forms a connection between two recentCenter ARTES events.

On May 30, the ARTSmobile’s maiden voyagecarried ART4U (our robot) and a wide load of propsto Kelly School in Carlsbad, where Mindy Donner andIain Gunn staged a performance called “A.R.T.4U and

the Time Machine.” In this madcap adventure,Professor Hoonose (Who knows?) and his assistantEunice Communication (Miss Communication) setout with the simple desire to sit together and share a

lunch. First, however, the Professormust find a translator for MissCommunication’s native Zelkolandiandialect in order to ask her someimportant questions. Meanwhile themischievous robot A.R.T.4U has lefthis time machine lying around…Dr. Hoonose, in his usual state ofintellectual distractedness,accidentally steps on and activatesthe time machine, and in a greatblast of white fog, they vanish from

the stage. In their places appear pre-historic puppetswho demonstrate how early cave art communicatedimportant aspects of everyday life. Another greatblast of fog takes them to meet The Bard himself fora puppet version of Romeo and Juliet. This segment,a favorite at the June 2 performance at GrantMiddle School, embodied the timeless challenges ofparent-teen relationships and gave students a

by Richard Hunt

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“…the arts…are important,

inspiringinfluences in each

of our lives.”

ARTSm

obile

Arts Education—Pencil It In

Although the No Child Left Behind Act and theCalifornia Content Standards for visual and performingarts require instruction in the arts, in many casesteachers are required to teach these subjects withminimal training.

Local educators recognized the need to create anarts advocacy resource for teachers who may not havereceived formal arts education training. The resultingArts Advocacy Calendar was produced as a joint effort byDr. Merryl Goldberg, founder of Center ARTES, AnneFennell, music specialist at Vista Unified School District,and Nicole Vitalich Nelson, art specialist at Del Mar UnifiedSchool District, with additional writing and editing byRichard Hunt, Center ARTES coordinator and staff writer.

The 12-month calendar offers monthly “advocacyaction steps” on how to incorporate art into the dailyclassroom curriculum, as well as step-by-step instructions on ways to heightenawareness of arts educationthrough different means,such as presentations tolocal PTAs and schoolboards. The calendar alsoprovides links to variousart and music Web sites thatoffer current informationand ideas for bringing art intothe classroom.

For more information orto pick up a calendar, stop bythe Center ARTES offices inARTS 302 or call Richard Huntat (760)750-4431.

And the winner by a nose…Congratulations to Cal State VPA faculty member

Professor Marcos Martinez, who purchased thewinning raffle ticket at Center ARTES’ June Soiree fortwo Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) clubhouseseason passes.

Thanks to Craig Dado and the DMTC for theirgenerous donation. The raffle raised $475, which will gointo the Center ARTES general fund to be used for artseducation programming across the county.

Coming to a freewaynear you

It’s a bus…it’s a van…it’s the ARTSmobile!Official dedication ceremonies for the latesteducational vehicle (literally!) of Center ARTEStook place on March 24 on the CSUSM campus.The ceremony was attended by CSUSM presidentKaren Haynes, Luann comic strip creator GregEvans, Center ARTES board member RuthMangrum, Rick from Ken Grody Ford, andapproximately 180 local middle school students.Attendees were treated to a story by MindyDonner of the Spinning Wheel Players withpercussion accompaniment by Center ARTESstaffer Richard Hunt and a handful of Grantstudent volunteers.

“The founding idea for the ARTSmobile wasto bring art to children, since so many children donot have access to the arts in schools and fieldtrips have been severely limited because of budgetcuts,” says Dr. Merryl Goldberg, Center ARTESfounder. Building on the long-established networksand arts education professionals of Center ARTESand partner SUAVE (Socios Unidos para Artes viaEducacion, or United Community for ArtsEducation), the ARTSmobile has already begun itsjourneys throughout San Diego County, offeringstudents numerous programs and activities,including visual art, dance, and puppetry.

The ARTSmobile would never have beenrealized if not for the generous donations of itssponsors. An extra special thanks to Bob and RuthMangrum whose $15,000 donation made the vanpurchase a reality. The exterior wrap that coversthe van with colorful images of the Center ARTESrobot and advertises the van’s purpose wasdesigned free of charge by Greg Evans. JackCusteau of Custeau Signs and Graphics provided a10% discount on the manufacture and installationof the wrap. Ken Grody Ford offered the vehicle fora price $2,000 below Kelley Blue Book. Many thanksto these generous companies and individuals.

Luann Comes To LifeLuann: Scenes from a Teen’s Life is a new musical based on the nationally syndicated

comic strip Luann. Written by the strip’s creator, Greg Evans, and performed by thetalented students from the Rancho Buena Vista High School drama department, themusical explores the joys and angst of being a teen through song, comedy anddance. The production is a direct result of a grant from Center ARTES.

Performances were held Friday, September 15, 16, and 17 at the California Centerfor the Arts, Escondido, and the production was nothing short of a smash success!Each performance was attended by enthusiastic crowds made up of people of allages. Audience members described the show as sweet, charming, wonderful

(and more), and repeatedly commented on the very high caliber talent of theRBVHS student performers.

Warm congratulations to everyone involved. We hope that these successfulperformances will be the first installment of many as

the musical makes its way towards Broadway!The Rancho Buena Vista High School drama

department has been honored by the Office ofEducation Theater Association as a California HonorTroupe, one of only five in the state of California.

This November, Broadway legend Carol Channing will present herone-woman show, The First 80 Years Are the Hardest, as a benefit concertfor Center ARTES and San Diego County arts education.

Channing, known as the “first lady of musical comedy,” has dedicated thenext phase of her career to the promotion of arts in education. To thatend, she has entered into a partnership with the California State Universitysystem to establish a scholarship at each of the 23 campuses locatedthroughout California. Her dream is to establish a supportprogram that ensures that students who show an aptitude for the arts areprovided with the means to pursue their talents at the college level.

“Receiving a doctorate honor precipitated a deep interest in projecting thatinto a meaningful program through which I could elevate the arts in California,” saysChanning. “Our school children are the ones who will carry on and reinvigorate California’s fine and performingarts tradition.”

The First 80 Years Are the Hardest will be performed at the California Center for the Arts on Sunday,November 12 at 2 p.m. VIP tickets are $150 and include an invitation to a post-show reception with Mrs. Channing.Standard tickets are available for $20-$55. For more information, visit the Center ARTES Web site atwww.csusm.edu/centerartes. To purchase your VIP tickets, contact Richard Hunt at (760) 750-4431 orrhunt@csusm.edu. All other tickets may be purchased by calling the CCAE box office at (800) 988-4253 or byvisiting their Web site at http://artcenter.org.

All proceeds from the concert will support arts education programs, including the establishment of theCarol Channing Endowment for Arts Education at Cal State San Marcos. Sponsorship opportunities are alsoavailable, enabling local businesses and community members to partner with Carol Channing and CenterARTES and make a difference in the lives of thousands of San Diego County students. As a special thanks,each sponsorship includes VIP passes to the performance and reception with Ms. Channing. Please contactRichard Hunt at (760)750-4431 for more information.

How En-Channing!

Approaching the Summit

Center ARTES is working to take arts educationto new heights at its inaugural Arts EducationSummit on November 11, 2006. The summit willbring together groups within the San Diego Countyeducational community to strategize and createconcrete steps to move arts education forward.Invited participants include school board members,county office administrators, art teachers, collegeprofessors in education, and superintendents andassistant superintendents.

Education professionals will break into likegroups and work across groups to brainstorm newideas as well as sharing ones that have already beenimplemented successfully. After this networkingsession, participants will report back to share their

findings with the entire group. A panel discussion willfocus on current research and its implications andchallenges. Participants will also enjoy an artseducation related performance following lunch.

“This gathering of educators and administratorsfrom across the arts education spectrum will be aunique opportunity for them to affect policy at thelocal and county level so that arts education movesforward in a significant and systematic manner forall children,” says Dr. Merryl Goldberg, CenterARTES founder.

Plans for future follow up include publishing alist of key recommendations and next steps thatcame about as a result of the summit.

“…so that arts education moves forward in a significant and systematicmanner for all children.” ~ Dr. Merryl Goldberg, Center ARTES founder

chance to understand how art (even 400 year oldtheater!) can have relevance in their lives.

The show culminates with a celebration of thegreat American musical and its popularitythroughout the world. As A.R.T.4U blares “Singing inthe Rain” and attempts to pirouette about on stage,Dr. Hoonose and Miss Communication dance acrossthe set and into the audience, twirling umbrellasand reveling in their raincoats. Happily, as thecurtain falls, our protagonists at last find themselvessettling in for a pleasant lunch together, satisfied athaving touched the audience with their messageabout the importance of the arts in human societiesand communication.

The next event nicely demonstrated how musiccommunicates important ideas and informationwithin communities. On June 27, Ghanaian masterdrummer and dancer Kwame Degbor presented aprofessional development workshop for teachers ofOceanside Unified School District. With nearly 30teachers in attendance, Kwame passed out lyrics to asong from Ghana, and had the room singing unfamiliarwords in no time. For the next step, he rounded us allinto a circle and taught a popular children’s gamefrom back home. It involved syncopated rhythms in aseries of hand pats with partners on both our leftand right sides. It looked quite simple, but provedtricky, and had all 30 full grown adults smiling and

laughing like kids. He then asked us to couple thesong he had taught us with the hand pat game…afeat that few of us could do with only a few minutespractice, but we all tried, all smiled, and occasionallygot it right.

Then, handing out several two toned agogobells, Kwame demonstrated a pattern and let each ofus try it. More instruments began entering, includingshakaras (gourd shakers) and a variety of drums.One by one, we learned each instrument’s patternand how it fit in with the others. We were starting tomake music! During this process, Kwame began toexplain that drums and music play key communicationroles in Ghanaian communities, from entertainingand passing on history and tradition, to functioninglike the nightly news, making the community awareof celebrations, crimes, and more. Many of therhythms, which are simultaneously both simple andelaborate, are built largely on individual interwovenpatterns that repeat, while the lead drum improvisesand directs, along with the lead singer, based onwhat “news” there is to tell. Not a bad deal. Howwould you like your favorite musicians, singers, anddancers to bring you your news live every night?Kwame rounded out the workshop by giving us eachthe chance to try the dance that accompanies therhythm he showed us. Thanks, Kwame!

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Music for the MassesOn March 11, hundreds of music lovers

braved the rainy weather to attend the thirdannual low-cost, high-caliber Family Dayperformance by the San Diego Chamber

Orchestra (SDCO) at the CaliforniaCenter for the Arts Escondido (CCAE).The Chamber performedRossini’s Overture from theBarber of Seville and Beethoven’sPiano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58.

Before the performance, aworkshop held for teachers andstudent teachers gave participantsa sense of what a performer’s stagelife entails. Workshop attendees

took part in a panel discussionwith guest conductor Nuvi Mehtaand piano soloist Chu-Fang Huang.The discussion, facilitated byDr. Merryl Goldberg, Center ARTESfounder, was designed to“educate the educators” sothey would have the resourcesreturn to the classroom withthe skills necessary toknowledgeably teachaspects of chambermusic to their students.

Many of thechildren inattendance hadnever beforeexperienced aclassical performance.Thanks to thegenerous donationsof communitymembers includingCounty SupervisorPam Slater Price($6,000), Catherineand Bob Goldsmith,George van Baelen,and Joan B. Clark,Center ARTES wasable to providetickets free ofcharge to localstudents and childrenfrom Advancement ViaIndividual Determination(AVID) programs.

we missed you…If you weren’t able to attend this year’s Center

ARTES soirees, you missed out on two terrificevents. Hundreds of guests were treated to greatcompany, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and lively music,as well as important updates on the state of the artsin San Diego County.

The February 4 soiree was held at the Escondidohome of Suzanne and Jack Kirkpatrick. “TheKirkpatricks are tireless and enthusiastic supportersof arts education. We are grateful to them for theirhospitality and their support of Center ARTES,” saysDr. Merryl Goldberg, Center ARTES founder. ThePauma Valley Country Club catered the event with anamazing assortment of appetizers, and guests weretreated to a performance by a quartet featuring CSUSMfaculty members and musicians Merryl Goldberg,Eduardo Garcia, Bill Bradbury, and Richard Hunt.

The Museum of Making Music hosted the June 4soiree. Carolyn Grant, Executive Director, spoke aboutsome of the programs the Museum has implementedto benefit local children. Guests enjoyed refreshmentswhile exploring the museum, which is filled with 500vintage instruments documenting a century ofAmerican popular music. “Since providing artseducation to our children is the ultimate goal of bothour organizations, partnering with The Museum ofMaking Music is a natural fit,” says Goldberg. “We arethrilled to work with Carolyn and her staff and lookforward to future opportunities to share our resourcesand knowledge.”

Special thanks to Beverages and More inOceanside for their partial sponsorship of beveragesat the June 4 Soiree. Don’t miss out on the nextsoiree! For tickets or more information, please callCenter ARTES at (760) 750-4431.

Soiree

AVIDThank YouTo Our Most Recent Donors

Without the support of the community, CenterARTES would not have the resources to provide artseducation training and performances to teachers andchildren throughout San Diego County. Our sincerethanks go out to these outstanding organizations:

THE RANCHO SANTA FE WOMEN’S FUND$15,000 andUNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA $2,000

These grants will allow the Center ARTES mobileteaching van (otherwise known as the ARTSmobile) totravel to school sites to offer programs andperformances to Advancement Via IndividualDetermination (AVID) students throughout the county.

FOX FOUNDATION $3,500

Thanks to the Samuel I. and John Henry FoxFoundation at Union Bank of California forcontributing these funds to support the upcomingArts Education Summit at Cal State San Marcos onNovember 11, 2006.

B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R SDr. Merryl Goldberg*, Founder and Executive Director

Rosita Botto-HiebAngelo DamanteVivian Doering

Greg EvansCatherine Goldsmith

Frances HunterRuth MangrumElsie Weston

C E N T E R A R T E S A D V I S O R Y B O A R DBonnie Biggs,* Professor Emeritus

Fran Chadwick,* College of EducationKaren Evans, San Diego Schools

Lynne Jennings, San Diego Guild of PuppetryRon Jessee, San Diego County Office of Education

Cecelia Kouma, Playwrights ProjectTomoko Kuta, California Center for the Arts, Escondido

Marcos Martinez, Chair, Visual and Performing ArtsJames Miles, San Diego Symphony

Jan O’Hara, Community Art TeacherLydia Vogt, Retired Principal

Patti Saraniero, Arts ResearcherLaura Wendling,* College of EducationPat Worden,* Executive Administrator

*Denotes Faculty at Cal State San Marcos

What is AVID?Center ARTES has recently been

developing a close partnership with the AdvancementVia Individual Determination (AVID) college preparatoryprogram. AVID enables students from groups who aretypically underrepresented in college classrooms toreceive supplementary academic support, entermainstream activities in school, and increase theiropportunities to enroll in four-year colleges. AVID hasseen steady growth throughout California, nationally,and internationally in the last 25 years. “With approxi-mately 95 percent of AVID kids going on to enroll incollege, we know that it is worthwhile to focus ourefforts and our funds on this program,” says Dr. MerrylGoldberg, founder of Center ARTES. Programminggets well underway this Fall. AVID currently operatesin 265 California middle and high schools, as well as in1,900 schools in 30 states and 15 foreign countries.For more information about the AVID program, go tohttp://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/ps/avidgen.asp.

www.csusm.edu/centerartesOur Web site has a new look! And since we know it’s what’s on the inside that counts, you’ll find new content andfresh organization to make our new site a valuable resource for educators. Check out our new design and keep upwith the latest happenings at