SINGER TO BOLSTER MUSIC EDUCATION.

Byline: DIANA PEYTON Community Columnist

Singer, songwriter and composer Christy Crowl was the featured guest at the opening ceremony for the United Nations Peace Festival - called the Fete d'Excellence's Festival of Lights - in Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 3.

Crowl also participated in a United Nations roundtable discussion on ``The Art of Human Rights.''

The 28-year-old researched the effects of music on children for her presentation. ``Music builds your brain. . . . I have seen the firsthand effects of music on young kids. Music improves discipline, test scores and behavior,'' she said.

Wilda Spalding, founder of the event and president of World Wins Corp., its sponsor, invited Crowl to perform and speak. Crowl said she was the only American invited to the Geneva event.

A classical pianist, the Studio City resident is also the pianist for the Warner Bros. National Bugs Bunny Tour and an advocate of the arts. She believes music programs have been seriously neglected in the Los Angeles public school system.

``Between projects, I perform in music shows called `Stories Come Alive' for kids in the Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside and Coachella county school districts. We get such a wonderful response from the kids to our shows, but it is in the Los Angeles County schools that I am most surprised at the condition of the auditoriums. Teachers are putting their desks on stages, some of the auditoriums are partitioned off, desks are added and the area is made into a classroom. It is sad,'' she said.

``There are no music programs, and the instruments at the schools haven't been kept up. Sometimes I have to bring my own keyboard,'' she said.

Crowl also feels the field is being depleted of quality teachers.

``I have friends who get doctorates and go into fields without music, because there are few programs in which to teach,'' she said.

Currently earning her music doctorate at the University of Southern California, Crowl has orchestrated and produced a new solo compact disc titled ``Christy Crowl.''

``With some of the proceeds from my CD, I hope to start a foundation to give grants to music teachers so students might be able to have programs in their schools,'' she said.

Born and raised in Hagerstown, Md., where her parents Vaughn and Cheryl Crowl still reside, the musician is married to professional singer and actor Scott Dicken. Both are involved in the music program at St. Vincent's Church in West Hollywood. Crowl is the assistant music director and Dicken is a soloist.

Crowl is also the music director at Temple Shalom for the Arts which meets at the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills.

To order her CD, visit www.christycrowl.com.

Local businesswoman Karen Moureaux is the owner of the Contact Point Agility Center in Canoga Park. She teaches pet owners and their dogs the joy of play through agility activities.

A pair of her students, Barbara Lombard and her Shetland sheepdog Joy's Little Man Turbo, will visit Helsinki, Finland, in September to participate on the United States Dog Agility Team in the World Championships.

``When Turbo participates, he looks at me like he just won the lottery,'' Lombard said. ``Karen was so supportive, she kept telling me, you can do this, each step of the way. I would say, but I can't, and she would say yes you can.''

Moureaux competed in the Championships held in Spain, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium with her recently deceased border collie.

``I never dreamed when I started playing with my dog that I would have opportunity to travel. Any dog can participate in agility training, but you have to have one with high energy. You can't turn a couch potato dog into one that enjoys activity,'' she said.

The 38-year-old started teaching agility classes in 1989.

The two women see champion written all over Turbo.

``He reminds me of a high school jock: really good looking, good at everything, and everybody loves him,'' Lombard said. ``He's really a good dog. He's only 3 years old and one of the top five competitors in the country,'' Moureaux said.

Lombard and Turbo were awarded a place on the world team at an invitational tryout held in Minnesota. They've been competing for just two years.

``I'm blown away by it. I knew he was good, I just didn't know how good!'' she said.

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Photo: Christy Crowl was the featured guest at the opening ceremony for the United Nations Peace Festival - called the Fete d'Excellence's Festival of Lights - in Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 3.