08/01/2007
Children Will Win Again with Music in 2008
Through it's Education Outreach Program, Nuvi Mehta, Artistic Director of the Ventura Music Festival Association, brought music education to more than 4,000 children during the festival's 2007 season.

In 2007, more than 4,000 youths and students in Ventura County elementary schools had the opportunity to learn about music in an interactive, on-site multi-media presentation by Nuvi Mehta, a conductor and violinist who serves as the Artistic Director for the Ventura Music Festival. This highly acclaimed music outreach program is an integral part of the music festival's quest to bring music education back to the classroom.

"To teach music and the great composers is to teach life. Great artists throughout history have been blessed with the ability to convey human truths to us all, and all of them overcame obstacles in their own lives to achieve their goals. Their passion and perseverance is one of the lessons we learn from their music even before we learn exactly what they accomplished, or how music works," Mehta says.

The goal, says Mehta, is "to open doors into the way music works, so that children can experience the joy of music and the emotions in music, which are human and universal. The most important door we can open is the one which might allow a child to see that his or her opinions matter." Taking part in this elementary outreach program is a very rewarding experience for Mehta. The many school letters from children he receives each year are a tremendous reward for all.

As part of its Outreach Program, the Ventura Music Festival also sponsored a Music Education curriculum section with the Ventura County Star on March 29, 2007. Delivered to junior and high school students throughout Ventura County, it provided teachers with an effective tool for music education.

The 13th annual Ventura Music Festival presented its10-day extravaganza May 3 -13, 2007. The Festival theme, Impressions, illustrated the rich traditions and generations of music and culture of the French Impressionist. World-class performers included Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schuur, Pearl Django, Ana Vidovic, The Dorian Wind Quartet, Giuseppe Albanese, Quartetto Gelato and more.

The 14th Season of the Ventura Music Festival is set for May 1-11, 2008. Entitled "Appassionata: The Age of Romance," the music will celebrate the age of romance between 1825-1900 when, for the first time, composers wrote passionate, poignant music for and by the common man. In a time when music was once reserved for kings and noblemen, it became universal, ushering in an era of powerful expression for everyone.

For more information, please contact Tina Vervoorn at CMS Info Services at 805-983-3495 x 117.