Inspiring Future Musicians
"SDSU Live Downtown" will raise funds for music education scholarships for SDSU students.
San Diego State University music education alumni make up almost 65 percent of San Diego County’s music educators. Collectively, they impact more than 10,000 K-12 students each year.
In an effort to raise money for scholarships and funding for the program, proceeds from “SDSU Live Downtown” will support the San Diego Symphony/SDSU Fund for students studying music education at SDSU. In its debut performance in April 2016, “SDSU Live Downtown” raised $40,000 for music education scholarships.
Gaining experience
Joseph Matthew Nelson (’17) was the School of Music and Dance’s Outstanding Music Student for 2017, and is currently teaching music at Castle Park Middle School in Chula Vista.
While at SDSU, Nelson held a music education fellowship at Correia Middle School, where he taught classroom ensembles, managed rehearsals and formed long-term bonds with students. Students in the SDSU fellowship program spend 6 to 8 hours weekly in local schools, where they work as teaching assistants and help with rehearsals, aiding the music program.
Leah Musker is a senior music education major who will be performing with the Wind Symphony at “SDSU Live Downtown.”
“Our program is designed to help us be well prepared to educate our future students and provide them meaningful learning and life experiences through music,” said Musker.
SDSU Live Downtown
On Sunday, April 8, more than 250 musicians, singers and dancers are set to perform at San Diego’s historic Copley Symphony Hall inside the Jacobs Music Center, home of the San Diego Symphony.
This year’s production will feature SDSU’s top orchestral and premier wind groups, a 120-voice concert choir, the Marching Aztecs, SDSU Musical Theatre students, the acclaimed Great Wall Quartet, and for the first time, a dance ensemble.
Tickets are available online starting at $23 and $10 for students.
You can make a donation to the SDSU School of Music and Dance Downtown Concert Fund at sdsualumni.org/sdsulivedowntown. For more information, visit the SDSU School of Music and Dance website or call 619-594-1017.
