Tuesday and Sunday performances:

UTPB Strings presenting 2 free concerts with Odessa high schools

The Music Department at the University of Texas at Permian Basin has announced special events honoring the musical achievements of Permian High School and Odessa High School.

Permian will be honored at 7:30 p.m. April 22 and Odessa High will be honored at 4 p.m. April 27.  Both events will take place in the library foyer with more than 100 band and orchestra students participating with the University Strings in an on campus concert/celebration.

In addition to UTPB conductor Thomas Hohstadt, guest conductors will include David Golden, John Carroll, Jan Mayfield and Bill Hardin.  Student soloists will include Clint Plumlee, Paul Garza, Chase Cawthron, Adam Vree, DeAnna Donovan, Daniel Guerrero, Jordan Wood and Sammy Berzoza.

“The music programs at Permian and Odessa high schools have achieved state and national recognition,” Hohstadt said. “The University of Texas of the Permian Basin takes pleasure in recognizing these achievements, and we hope to envision new ways to encourage their continuing success.”

Hohstadt promised great music for the programs.

“We’re creating a new context for the enjoyment of music, and we’re going to be breaking as many rules as possible.”

Music selections will include swing, Latin and rock & roll, as well as classical selections from Handel, Gustav Host and Bach.

Music programs in schools contribute to the shared cultural values of a community and to academic achievement.  National SAT test statistics show that students with musical backgrounds scored 57 points higher in reading and 43 points higher in math.

“At the university level, students who participate in music programs are far more likely to graduate.  The difference is even more dramatic among advanced music students in Texas who score as much as 500 points higher than the national average,” Hohstadt added.

Until recently, Hohstadt said, it has not been known why these higher scholastic achievements occur consistently among music students.  Then neurologist Oliver Sacks proved through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that “music involves up to 30 different parts of the brain and enlarges, specifically, the . . . frontal lobe cortex and corpus callosum.” He has shown that “even within one year of musical training, the intense relationship between the left and right hemispheres of the brain is increased.”

UTPB President David Watts will award eight scholarships at these concert celebrations. Receptions will follow. The performances are open to the public and free to attend.