"It's heartbreaking that so many schools are cutting back in the arts, especially music," says Mindy Brooks, an orchestra teacher. "In public schools, it's about funding, of course. But I worry about the kids in those schools who can't play sports and do other things. I know instruments are expensive and concert trips cost money. But music teaches so much. Students learn discipline, self-confidence, dedication, concentration, and it enhances memory. The students learn to make goals and reach them. Music also teaches social interaction. And it keeps kids out of trouble."

And at a school where religion and spirituality are a major component, Brooks says, music is also a royal road to the heart. Through music, young people can find their spiritual center.

"Spiritually, music ties everything in," she says. "The students feel the music, and they feel the spirit of it when they play or sing. They learn how spirituality feels inside. It's right there in what they are doing."

Finally, that quest for "harmony" allows a nice blending of faiths at the school. Brooks, herself, is LDS. But she says that has never felt like a stumbling block. Most people don't even realize it.

"I have absolutely found a home here," she says. "The instructor before me was LDS. And from the moment I got here I've always felt welcome."

In the end, it was Dominique Ricard, a French mystic, who said, "It is in learning music that many youthful hearts learn to love."

The people at the Madeleine would probably add, they not only learn to love, but music is where hearts learn to share, soar and embrace those of other beliefs and cultures.

In short, it teaches ways to embrace life itself.

E-mail: jerjohn@desnews.com