Technology that knows no boundaries
12-year-old piano student Lucas Porter and his Royal Conservatory of Music teacher, Marc Durand, are benefiting from a technological advancement that has the potential to revolutionize the way music is taught around the world.
Lucas and Marc's long-distance lessons are made possible by MusicPath, an ingenious new program developed in Canada at Acadia University. MusicPath connects two Yamaha Disklavier pianos so that when Lucas plays one in Nova Scotia, Marc's piano in Toronto plays too. Add to this a video and audio link that allows student and teacher to interact, and now musicians in even the most remote areas can receive expert instruction.
It's just one more example of how technology is helping to shape countries, communities and young talent, like Lucas.
In fact, Lucas has made so much progress in the last few months that he has set his sights on becoming a concert pianist seen and heard around the world. He already has the first 700 miles behind him.
About the Program
Located in Toronto, the Royal Conservatory of Music's Learning Through the Arts is a highly acclaimed public school program that helps teachers teach core curriculum subjects - such as math, science, history and social science - through carefully designed and tested participatory arts activities such as role playing, story telling and music. The program is currently offered in 63 schools across Canada and reaches 22,000 students.
As the exclusive technology partner, TELUS will assist in both expanding the program to 240 schools with 100,000 students and 2,300 classrooms by 2003, and integrating online resources and tools into the delivery of the program.
In addition, TELUS was the lead donor in the Royal Conservatory of Music's Build National Dreams capital campaign to restore the historic, century-old headquarters of the current Conservatory in Toronto, and to build a new, state-of-the-art educational facility - to be named the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in recognition of our contribution.
Scheduled to break ground this September and officially open its doors in the fall of 2006, this e-learning and multimedia facility will be one of the world's greatest arts and education centres as well as the heart of creative education in Canada. It will broaden the reach of The RCM's innovative programs by connecting children, creativity and communities across the country.
TELUS - proud supporter of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Proud supporter of our communities.