Nuvi Mehta presents music outreach program

Ventura Music Festival Association is bringing music education to community schools with the Education Outreach Program presented by Nuvi Mehta, artistic director. The program began Feb. 26 and continues through Fri., March 30.

Ventura County elementary students will learn about music in an interactive, inclassroom, multimedia presentation by conductor and violinist Mehta. The music outreach program is part of the music festival's goal to bring music education back to the classroom.

"To teach music and the great composers is to teach life. Great artists throughout history have been blessed with the ability to convey human truths to us all, and all of them overcame obstacles in their own lives to achieve their goals. Their passion and perseverance is one of the lessons we learn from their music even before we learn exactly what they accomplished, or how music works," Mehta said.

According to Mehta the goal of the program is "to open doors into the way music works, so that children can experience the joy of music and the emotions in music, which are human and universal. The most important door we can open is the one which might allow a child to see that his or her opinions matter."

The 13th annual Ventura Music Festival will present its 10-day series from May 3 to 13. This year's theme is "Impressions," highlighting the music and culture of the French Impressionists.

Performers include Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schuur, Pearl Django, Ana Vidovic, the Dorian Wind Quartet, Giuseppe Albanese and Quartetto Gelato.

For more information, call the Ventura Music Festival Offices at (805) 648-3146 or visit www.venturamusicfestival.org.