Teaching the Sound of Music

The Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program at the Shepherd School of Music, which offers music curricula and experiences for every age group, has gotten a major boost with a $5-million grant from the Brown Foundation Inc.

Hammond, who designedand launched the program seven years ago, was a composer and visionary leader who took Rice’sShepherd School of Music to new levels of professionalism during his 16 years as dean. After his death on January 29 in Washington, D.C., the program was renamed in his honor.

“For many decades now, the Brown Foundation has provided vital support to virtually every aspect of the academic enterprise at Rice, ranging from science, engineering, and humanities, and in more recent years, music,” said Rice president Malcolm Gillis. “This latest gift from the Brown Foundation will allow Rice to become even more deeply engaged in musical arts in the Houston community and is also a most fitting memorial to former dean of the Shepherd School, Dr. Michael Hammond. Once again, all of Rice and all of Houston are in debt to the Brown Foundation.”

The program emphasizes training for young musicians in music theory and chamber music, and the grant will be used to teach music performance and theory to Houston-area students ages three to 18. It also will be used to support up to 10 Brown Scholars—graduate students who receive full-tuition fellowships and stipends while they teach in the program. “This is a tremendous step forward for the Shepherd School preparatory program,” said Virginia Nance, preparatory administrator. “This will allow us to plan for the future with confidence.”

More than 200 students are enrolled in the program’s various classes, which are designed to build and enhance their connection to music. Students also can receive individual instruction on many instruments and in voice. One of the courses is the Mini-Maestros Music Day Camps for Children, which teaches youngsters ages two to 10 about music through singing, listening to orchestral music, playing percussion instruments, and doing creative movement and eurythmics. The classes also include ear training and general musical concepts such as dynamics, tempo, pitch, and rhythm. “The experience is beneficial and challenging for all children, even those already taking instrumental lessons,” said Rachel Buchman, the program’s early-childhood music consultant who also teaches the Brown Scholars.

“What I find most extraordinary about teaching young children,” she continues, “is the joy they get from hearing and making music and the profoundly accurate musical instincts they have. Young children can carry a tune and keep a beat. They are born with these sensibilities; it is my job to recognize these sensibilities and develop them while keeping their musical imaginations alive and growing.”

—Ellen Chang