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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000087.txt from 2004/01
From: D Bogan <dgbogan@-----.net>
Subj: [DR-L] Music & Medicine--article from San Antonio,TX paper
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 11:00:04 -0500
Doublereeders:
I thought this was a great article featuring one of
our own.
Web Posted : 01/11/2004 12:00 AM
Mark Ackerman, principal oboist of the San Antonio
Symphony, has directed my attention to a 1994 finding
that music majors have a better chance of being
accepted into medical school than biochemistry majors.
That assertion appears among numerous "factoids" on
the Web site of the Music Education Coalition
(www.supportmusic.com).
The claim comports nicely with other research and with
anecdotal evidence, including Ackerman's.
"A fair number of years ago," he wrote, "a physician
friend of mine wanted me to go to medical school. He
said my admission would be a piece of cake because my
college grades were excellent, but especially because
I majored in music."
Long ago I stopped being surprised by the number of
excellent musicians who had double-majored in music
and mathematics, or music and physics, or music and
chemistry. Probably many other such double-majors
ultimately chose science or math over music.
I bring this up for two reasons. First, I hope you
will exercise skepticism of the "No Child Left Behind"
program of federal meddling in the schools.
Second, I hope you will recognize the value of Youth
Orchestras of San Antonio's tour to Spain this summer.
I have previously mentioned one fatal flaw in the
"educational reforms" touted by the current occupant
of the White House — the futile and harmful dependence
on standardized multiple-choice tests as a measure of
achievement for students and their schools.
It gets worse.
If you go to the U.S. Department of Education's Web
pages huckstering "No Child Left Behind" (www.
ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml), you'll find a lot of
nonsense about how the program relies on
"scientifically based research" to determine "what
works" to improve achievement in math and science —
but scarcely a word about music, or the arts in
general.
If a school is not teaching music as intensively and
zealously as it's teaching math and science, then it's
not teaching math and science. The decline in music
education is a big part of the problem in math and
science education.
Locally, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio is part of
the solution. The 27-year-old organization, now
involving more than 300 students in four orchestras
and several string classes, helps fill the void in
classical music training and performance in the public
schools.
Periodic overseas tours complement YOSA's heavy
schedule of rehearsals and concerts in important ways.
Having accompanied a YOSA tour to Germany back in
1995, I can attest that these trips are well worth the
community investment.
I could see the kids being engaged by the history, the
architecture and art, the everyday culture of the
places they visited.
The experience brought a dimension to their humanistic
learning that can't be had from a book or a TV show.
Naturally, music-making was an important part of the
experience. The kids took pride in their craft and
their teamwork.
This June, YOSA hopes to send about 60 students, drawn
mainly from the top-level Philharmonic, to Spain.
Music director David Mairs plans to conduct concerts
in Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Toledo.
YOSA Executive Director Julie Mielke says the group
hopes to raise $20,000 to help students whose families
can't afford the full $2,939 price tag for the trip.
Among the fund-raisers is a forthcoming sale of
cheesecake and cookie dough.
Don't worry about the calories. They're for a good
cause — the advancement of science and medicine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mgreenberg@-----.net
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Donna G. Bogan
Double Your Reeds and Double Your Music--
Oboe, English horn, and Bassoon
