Your Brain on Music with the Bravo Program's Laura Walter

Laura Walter, the coordinator for the Ojai Music Festival's Bravo program, provides music education for Ojai's kindergarten through 3rd grade students. Since the pandemic, Walter has pivoted deftly to providing that music curriculum online. It's not been without its challenges, as anyone who tried to sing "Happy Birthday" over a Zoom call can attest.  Still, this partnership between the Music Festival and the Ojai Unified School District is one of the most important public-private partnerships in the Ojai Valley. Walter, an accomplished flautist and recording artist, has been with the Bravo program for 12 years now. Her approach integrates vocal music with critical thinking games to teach the fundamentals of pitch and rhythm. She also introduces a lot of movement into the curriculum so that children learn that music isn't just sound, but feeling - the tactile sensation of vibrations. We talk about the new studies with functional MRI machines that map out the way music lights up different areas of our brain, its importance for memory and intelligence, as well as life satisfaction and enjoyment. Walter discussed folk songs and their importance to a culture, and her own introduction to music through piano lessons in her rural Michigan home, and her education and experience that made her the perfect fit for this program. You can check out her work and the work of the Ojai Music Festival at ojaifestivals.org. We did not get around to talking about kombucha brewing, the deliciousness of walleyed pike or Terrence Malick's new document on Lil Peep.