Klarinet Archive - Posting 000089.txt from 1998/03

From: Martin Pergler <pergler@-----.edu>
Subj: Music in schools, was Marching Band
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 18:54:09 -0500

On Mon, 2 Mar 1998, Mark Charette wrote:

> In our small high school here in Northville, MI there is
> _no_ orchestra and symphonic band members are _required_ to
> be in marching band.

A couple of the posts mention such a requirement. What's the rationale
behind it?

Incidentally, I'm finding it quite interesting to read all this. In
eastern Ontario/western Quebec, where I grew up, no one ever heard of a
marching band in high school or college. We had a half-decent junior and
senior concert band, and an orchestra. Instrumental music was an elective
course, and the school owned instruments which it lent out to students. At
first you shared with one other person, and later progressed to being
entrusted with a decent clarinet of "your own" (mine was a Selmer 9S), as
you became more pressured to practice. People who took private lessons (a
minority of wind players a majority of string players) of course owned
instruments. Recent educational cutbacks may have changed the story. Note
this was an academically-oriented city high school.

Incidentally, my sense on grossly insufficient evidence was that
our bands and orchestras *were* giving a *musical* experience,
but I cannot remember anyone else but me who was not taking private
lessons on the side during high school who would still be actively
playing now.

Choral music was next to nonexistent in the schools, though
there was a good citywide childrens' choir.

How is it in other areas of the world? I know we have members from
South America, Japan, and Europe...and perhaps elsewhere.

Martin

-------------------------------------------------------
Martin Pergler pergler@-----.edu
Grad student, Mathematics http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~pergler
Univ. of Chicago