The Conference Board of Canada lists many of these academic, personal management and teamwork skills as the foundation of a high quality Canadian work force both today and tomorrow.

Music education helps develop:

• Problem solving skills
• Teamwork
• Goal setting
• Self-expression
• Hand eye co-ordination
• Memory skills
• Self-confidence and esteem
• Concentration
• Poise
• Time management skills
• Understanding across cultures
• Communications
• Technological awareness
• Quality of life
• Standards of excellence
• And much, much more!

Music Does Make the Difference

• When a child studies music, significant elements of his or her education find focus and expression
• Developing the ability to understand and use symbols in new contexts
• Finding and directing the power of personal creativity and self-expression
• Exercising the diverse skills of problem solving
• Participating in the deeply human satisfaction of shared work and meeting new challenges

Education without music short-changes our children and their futures. Education with music provides students with a competitive edge.

• Musical Intelligence:
  Research on intelligence and cognitive function points to the possibility that music may be a form of intelligence.

• Development Gain:
  Music education, especially at an early age, can help open the door to important benefits. Involvement in music powerfully reinforces such crucial characteristics as self-esteem, self-discipline, creativity, and self-expression. It helps develop problem-solving skills, integrates subject matter across the curriculum, and has a high correlation with overall academic achievement.

Study in Music is Preparation for the Future

Did you know?

• Students with course work or experience in music scored 50-60 points higher in the SAT verbal portion and 36-50 points higher in the math portion in 1996. (The College Board)
• Japan, a world leader both economically and technologically, is extensively revising entire education program, with a major focus on the arts and creative thinking. (Dennis Tupman, Saskatchewan Music Educators Conference)
• Major industries are hiring new computer systems employees on the basis of their creative potential. (Time, June 11, 1990)
• The arts are Canada's 11th largest industry, representing fully 4% of the Gross National Product, yet they receive only 0.8% of the total Federal expenditures. (Statistics Canada)
• Arts jobs are expected to increase 130% more than non-arts jobs in the 90's. (Statistics Canada)
• An education in the Arts provides people with a competitive advantage when it comes to getting a job. (Ian Scott, Chief Hiring Officer, William M. Mercer Limited)