It’s a Fact: The Santa Cruz Symphony Helps Young People Become More Intelligent

By Donna Maurillo

Music education develops young people’s brain power and that’s a scientific fact. The Santa Cruz Symphony is ensuring that local kids have that advantage at no cost to the school systems.

The Symphony is just wrapping up several days of musician visits to elementary schools throughout the county. Next week culminates with three days of free youth concerts specially created to bring those lessons home. Performances are at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and the Henry Mello Center. They’re in conjunction with Carnegie Hall’s Link Up educational program.

During the classroom visits, Symphony musicians explain their instruments, provide hands-on experiences, and deliver insights about how orchestras are organized. This is a priceless benefit because they help these young people understand and appreciate music and how it’s created.

That’s not just an “extracurricular thing” for these kids in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Symphony pianist Kiefer Taylor, one of the visiting musicians, has seen firsthand the benefits of music education.

It’s as important as STEM Classes.

“It is just as important as STEM education because it is the architect for a developing brain,” he says. “Scientific research consistently confirms that music training builds the cognitive infrastructure necessary for academic success. By engaging both hemispheres of the brain simultaneously, music strengthens working memory and extends attention spans — a critical intervention in the age of constant screen time.”

He adds that music education provides the mental agility required for academic resilience, complex problem solving, and logical thinking.

It also is a vital tool for neurological health, he says, particularly for students struggling with dyslexia or auditory processing. Music training helps untangle language deficits in ways that traditional visual methods cannot. In fact, the collaborative nature of music creates prosocial behavior and high levels of emotional intelligence.

Music is also a community-building exercise. Whether singing in a choir or performing in an ensemble, young people are practicing the most foundational form of human connection. This “social bonding to the beat” develops a deep sense of empathy and collaborative logic.

Mr. Taylor adds, “In a world that often feels fractured, music provides the tools to listen, synchronize, and empathize. In uncertain times, unity is something we need now more than ever.”

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Donna Maurillo is media relations manager for the Santa Cruz Symphony.

TOP PHOTO: Percussionist Norman Peck during a 2023 classroom visit.