Laura Goldstein
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I offer educational programs especially tailored for general assemblies, music classes, band or orchestra students, and religious school groups. 

Contact me about scheduling a visit with your classroom.

One of the most ancient of instruments,
the harp is also one of the rarest.


Most people have never heard a harp played, let alone had the chance to play one themselves.  When the harp is brought into a classroom, every student (and even the teacher) is mesmerized with the instrument and becomes engaged by asking questions and listening to the sounds of the harp.  Taught in a hands-on style, everyone gets a chance to pluck a string and feel the vibrations of sound reverberating through the instrument.

Here are some interesting facts to consider:
  • Students who participated in arts programs in selected elementary and middle schools in New York City showed significant increases in self-esteem and thinking skills.
    National Arts Education Research Center, New York University, 1990
  • In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than 25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over the middle and high school years show "significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12." This observation holds regardless of students' socio-economic status, and differences in those who are involved with instrumental music vs. those who are not is more significant over time.
    Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga. "Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater Arts." Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, 1999.

  • According to statistics compiled by the National Data Resource Center, students who can be classified as "disruptive" (based on factors such as frequent skipping of classes, times in trouble, in-school suspensions, disciplinary reasons given, arrests, and drop-outs) total 12.14 percent of the total school population. In contrast, only 8.08 percent of students involved in music classes meet the same criteria as "disruptive." Based on data from the NELS:88 (National Education Longitudinal Study), second follow-up, 1992.