Burbank, CA elementary school teacher Larry Newman won an Emmy Award for his first attempt at filmmaking. Newman hadn't done any professional filming prior to shooting "Children's Music Workshop: 2007 All Schools Honor Orchestra." He did get some help, though, from Apple.

TUAW is reporting that Larry Newman, a band director at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Burbank said that he had just purchased a high-definition camera and went to the Apple store for weekly lessons on Final Cut Pro. As many of you should know by now, every Apple retail store offers customers ways to get the most out of their Mac and the software applications they use on them. While the Genius Bar offers free, but simple advice on how to use your hardware and software, Apple's One to One Personal Training at the Apple Retail Store can help you do even more, for $99 a year.

Back to Larry Newman, his film focused on the annual concert at UCLA of 130 students, all enlisted for Newman's Children's Music Workshop program. Nine of those students are the focus of the film. Newman accepted the award on Sept. 6, won for his film in the category of "Outstanding Achievement in Children/Youth and Music Programming."

“I was really surprised when I found out about the Emmy because it was the first video I ever made [...] I just purchased a high-definition camera and went to the Apple store for weekly lessons on Final Cut Pro,” Newman said.

Jefferson music teacher Brenda Etterbeck, who brought Newman’s program to the school seven years ago, added: “What really attracted me to Larry’s program is his philosophy. I come from a performance background where you are critiqued on a daily basis and have to be perfect. While it worked for me, a lot of people get discouraged and drop out of music,” she said. “His program is instead about simply bringing the passion of music to children: not to become the best, but to fall in love with it.”

According to statements coming from the protagonists' parents, besides becoming stars, the children's grades also improved thanks to Larry's Music Workshop program.