Adding a touch of music to education

Published 8:00 am Thursday, December 13, 2018

Students at Epiphany Day School are getting a musical touch to their education after the school implemented weekly piano classes to their curriculum.

The piano lab is the first in any Iberia Parish school, according to Principal Cheryl Boutte. Since the start of the semester, a piano teacher has come to EDS and offered half-hour piano classes to second, third, fourth and fifth graders every Friday.

“Essentially they have a whole year’s worth of piano lessons every Friday until the end of the year,” Boutte said.

Faculty and staff are hoping to finish out the school year with a piano concert or recital to showcase everything the students have learned throughout their year of learning the instrument.

Boutte said she called around about other schools offering similar programs, and it seems EDS is the first school to implement the program.

“As far as I know, we’re the only school in Iberia Parish that offers a piano lab,” she said. “Every child at least gets introduced to an instrument.”

Boutte called Epiphany an arts integrated school that emphasized the importance of music and art in its curriculum.

“It’s really an asset to our school for every child,” Boutte said. “I wondered how the boys would react to it, and they almost look forward to it more than the girls. Our teacher was sick one week so we had to cancel the class, and you could tell they were disappointed.”

It’s hard to currently tell how effective or long-lasting the lessons will be to the students participating in the class, but Boutte said after four years of taking weekly piano classes the students should at least be knowledgeable about how to read music.

“It’s four years. You won’t be able to play Chopin but you can certainly read music after four years,” Boutte said. “Children love music and art and thrive with it. It’s a way for them to express themselves. This is our attempt to introduce them to an instrument.”