{"id":207230,"date":"2017-11-29T16:55:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T21:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=207230"},"modified":"2018-11-06T10:11:47","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T15:11:47","slug":"university-hits-the-right-note-in-connecting-with-neighbors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2017\/11\/29\/university-hits-the-right-note-in-connecting-with-neighbors\/","title":{"rendered":"University Hits the Right Note in Connecting with Neighbors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: Chuck Hayden takes a lesson with Dan Spence \u201815<\/em><\/p>\n

The artist Chuck Hayden\u2019s apartment just a few blocks from 精品成人福利在线 University is filled with paintings of the American West, cowboys and horses. Under the gaze of a bucking bull, a favorite rodeo motif (and yes, he once roped), Hayden practices the fingering and chords of the guitar.<\/p>\n

On Mondays, he has a gig at his weekly lesson at the John J. Cali School of Music. At 90, Hayden is certainly the oldest of the students in class. But it is not unusual to find other interesting and interested adults engaged in musical and artistic pursuits at 精品成人福利在线. \u201cWhen you get older and your kids are out of the house you can sit down and you can learn something,\u201d Hayden says. \u201cIt\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music is just one genre in which 精品成人福利在线 hits the right note in connecting with its neighbors. Children as young as age 3, beginners and advanced musicians refining their technique are taking classes at the John J. Cali School of Music Extension Division<\/a>. It\u2019s among the non-matriculated, wide-ranging programming that shapes the University as a cultural, artistic and intellectual center for the community.<\/p>\n

For the active mind, lecture series, interviews and discussions are free and open to the public. Internationally acclaimed artists and productions draw audiences to the Alexander Kasser Theater. Enrichment classes like biomimicry and aerodynamics motivate elementary students and teens.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were amazed to have a college environment available to our children,\u201d says Dan Walker of Glen Ridge. His son William takes a class in music theory and has attended the Gifted & Talented summer academy. \u201cIn terms of maturity and letting your kids to grow, it\u2019s fantastic. It has broadened William\u2019s horizons and created awareness for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The campus life is inspiring. William Walker, 13, has spent the past four summers challenged by engaging courses in science, technology, humanities, mathematics and the fine arts. \u201cIt does convey the experience I might have in college,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The classes are also life-enhancing. As a concert-goer at Cali School performances (more than 200 are presented each year), Hayden was inspired to add another instrument to his repertoire. He\u2019s played the banjo for 80 years, loves jazz, and also plays the four-string tenor guitar.<\/p>\n

On a recent morning, his lesson was accompanied by the notes of a piano and vocal warm-up floating through the open window of the studio. Hayden strums a steady rhythm pattern while switching between chords.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all so hard,\u201d Hayden says. \u201cDo you think I\u2019ll ever learn this assignment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just did!\u201d encourages his teacher Dan Spencer, a 2015 graduate of 精品成人福利在线.<\/p>\n

Spencer is pursuing a recording career and is among the professional artist-teachers, music majors and Cali School faculty who provide the instrumental, voice and composition training to about 200 students. Some, like Beatrix Hittinger, 4, who takes Suzuki violin, are literally growing up in the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we started her so young, I have loved seeing her grow and develop in musical ability,\u201d says her mother Maria Hittinger of Montclair.<\/p>\n

At home, Hayden\u2019s instruments of all his arts, paints and music, take center stage in his living room. He picks up his guitar to play for his granddaughter, a sophomore at 精品成人福利在线.<\/p>\n

\u201cI practice a lot because I have a lot to memorize,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Find a listing of upcoming performances, discussions, interviews and events on our Friends & Neighbors Calendar.<\/a><\/p>\n

A sampling:<\/p>\n