Manatee County educators and supporters of the arts gathered at The Grove in Lakewood Ranch on Friday for the Rise and Shine Leadership Breakfast.
The event was hosted by the Manatee Arts Education Council, also known as MAEC, an organization which supports, promotes and celebrates PreK through 12th grade arts education.
It was co-founded by Manatee Education Foundation President Mary Glass, and is considered a branch of the charitable organization which supports public education in Manatee County.
Upon entering the event, attendees couldn’t help but notice the student artwork displayed as table centerpieces.
Students from a total of five high schools provided their work, including: Braden River, Lakewood Ranch, Manatee, Palmetto and Parrish Community.
The event also featured performances by River Rhapsody, a choir from Braden River High School under the direction of Steven Armstrong.
There were remarks from MAEC Board Chair Ben Jewell-Plocher, Mary Glass, Jeramiah Bowman (Visual and Performing Arts Specialist, Manatee Schools), Dr. Laurie Breslin (Exec. Dir. of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment, Manatee Schools) and Kelli Moldonado (Van Wezel Foundation).
Finally, a lively keynote speech came from Professor Larry Livingston, who is the Department of Conducting Chair for the Thornton School of Music at USC (University of Southern California).
Professor Livingston told the crowd that teachers are bringing the magic show of art to every school, every day.
He presented data showing that students who participate in arts programs achieve higher attendance, test scores and more.
For the finale, he conducted a touching performance by River Rhapsody, a song called “My Mother’s Faith”, written by Professor Livingston’s daughter, Kasia.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=872977083865127
To learn more about MAEC, visit https://mefinfo.org/maec/.