The Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music (LACM) is a private music school that embraces the philosophy that music is part of who we all are. That is, we humans are innately musical creatures in the same way that we are "hard-wired" to learn language. With this in mind, we also support the prospect posed by numerous researchers that music evolved as a means of social bonding. In other words, music is a very powerful tool for making us feel connected to each other. Based on these premises, the Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music is committed to the idea that we can create a safer, more productive, and more civilized society by nurturing our natural musical abilities.

The need for humanity to learn to interact more peacefully has perhaps never been greater than now; the cultural climate of our time calls on us to transform ourselves into more understanding and cooperative creatures. We can begin that transformation with the help of our musical instincts. Countless musicians, from Beethoven in the Ode to Joy finale of his ninth symphony to John Lennon in his song Imagine, have dreamed of a united humanity, a "brotherhood of man." This desire of many musicians to connect humanity through music reinforces the notion that music does indeed create powerful emotional bonds between people.

The social protest music of the 1960s gave life to the message of peace and freedom that Martin Luther King Junior so eloquently communicated in his "I Have a Dream" speech. With music as a tool, we have the power to realize that dream through our own personal efforts to become more thoughtful and compassionate individuals. How fascinating to think that our collective journey towards the "promised land" of King´s speeches may actually be a musical one!

Our desire for our students at the Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music is to impart to them the understanding that each of us is an agent of change in our world and, therefore, each of our lives has a tremendous influence on the world around us. Through the discovery of our own musical abilities, we can help create a world of peace and harmony that for now lives only in our imaginations.

The Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music (LACM) was founded in 2000 as an institution dedicated to service through music education. Throughout the years, we have prided ourselves in providing high-level music instruction that conforms to the academic standards established by organizations such as the Music Teachers Association of California, the Music Teachers National Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the National Piano Guild. We have also embraced the nine National Standards for music education that were established in 1994 and whose development was funded by the U.S. Department of Education. A result of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act that Congress signed into law in 1994, the National Standards for the arts, civics and government, English language arts, foreign languages, geography, history, and science were established to identify what all students should know and be able to do to live and work in the 21st century.

Beyond our commitment to academic excellence in music, the Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music is a participant in a much greater vision for music education. In a world where there is an increased urgency in the need to find solutions to many of the pending issues of our time, we believe that it is the role and responsibility of organizations of all kinds to view themselves as part of those solutions. In order to do so, organizations must be able to resist myopic goals and visions they have for themselves and, instead, replace them with goals and visions that reach far beyond those short-term values.

What does this mean for music education? First we can begin with the understanding that music is an activity that all cultures possess and that the capacity to make music, like the capacity to learn language, is a natural part of being human. With this understanding in place, we can make the argument that learning how to make music, like learning how to speak a language, is a right that all of us possess. Certainly we would not withhold the learning of language from a child simply because he or she may not show interest in the art of public speaking. We expect our children to learn to communicate verbally because language is a vital part of human life. But why is it that so many view music making as something that is limited only to those who possess extraordinary musical ability? It is a scientific fact that we are all musical creatures; we should, therefore, all cultivate this innate ability that is part of our human heritage.

But how can the importance of music-making be compared to the importance of language some may ask? After all, without language, we would not be able to communicate, our societies would quickly disintegrate, and the human condition would regress to an uncivilized and animalistic way of life. Can the same analogy be made for music? Perhaps it can or perhaps not. We are not attempting to make that argument. What we are trying to say is that music enhances our ability to communicate in ways that language often does not. There has never been a greater need than now for humanity to explore and develop higher levels of communication that refine our ability to empathize with one another. Until we can more successfully share each others’ struggles and triumphs by experiencing them as part of our own, the world we have created for ourselves will continue to become increasingly dangerous.

Music allows us to communicate not merely through words, but more directly through our emotions. It offers us the opportunity to share our common humanity when we produce music together. Music-making is a means of communication that actually allows us to experience the same emotions collectively. When we look at it this way, music is an incredibly powerful means of communication. With music, we have at our disposal a tool to help humanity achieve greater levels of understanding of itself through the ability to share each others’ experiences more deeply.

What does this mean for those who are already involved in music? It means that we have a responsibility to contribute towards the creation of a better world by sharing this understanding with others.

Clarinet         Guitar         Piano       Violin

Christine Jones is the director of the Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music in Los Alamitos, CA. The Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music offers private lessons in piano, voice, guitar, violin, viola, cello, bass, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, and flute. Our music program includes quarterly recitals, annual certificates, community outreach, music festivals and competitions. Christine has a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the University of California at Irvine, and a Masters in Music Education from Boston University. She is also an arts activist in Los Angeles and Orange Counties and an active member of Music Teachers Association of California, Music Teachers National Association, National Piano Guild, Music Educators National Association, Mission Viejo Arts Council, Junior Chamber Music series in Orange County, Musical Arts Club of Orange County, Americans for the Arts, and numerous other educational organizations. Her piano students have participated and won prizes in SYMF, Cypress College Piano Competition, Southern California Junior Bach Festival, Musical Arts Club of Orange County, Music Center Spotlight Awards, American Fine Arts Festival, Long Beach Mozart Festival, and various MTAC festivals. Abiding by the philosophy that all people are born with the ability to learn to make music, the Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music accepts students of all levels and ages with varying degrees of abilities. She is an active pianist, educator, and arts advocate who supports the notion that music has the capacity to forge powerful bonds between people. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from the University of California at Irvine and a Masters in Music Education from Boston University. She is the owner of the Los Alamitos Conservatory of Music, where she teaches piano. Ms. Jones is also a promoter of chamber music among young musicians and is a coordinator for the Junior Chamber Music Series (JCM), a chamber music program for young musicians in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. In addition to teaching, performing, and being an advocate for music program, Ms. Jones adjudicates locally for organizations such as the Music Teachers Association of California and the National Piano Guild.