Klarinet Archive - Posting 000957.txt from 1999/05

From: Jack Kissinger <kissingerjn@-----.EDU>
Subj: [kl] Unfeeling Band Directors
Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 08:33:49 -0400

I, for one, would like to confirm this potential urban legend or lay it to rest.
There are alot of school districts where I live and I have asked alot of band
directors (and/or students) and I have yet to find a single director who requires
an R13 (or a professional clarinet, for that matter). Given the range in
economic circumstances in most districts such a policy would be ludicrous. All
the directors I have talked to are sensitive to differences in student resources
and the effects of peer pressures. Based on my observations, I have to conclude
that school districts that require professional clarinets (let alone R13's) are
as scarce as hen's teeth.

So here's my question: Did/do any of you on the list go to a grade/junior
high/high school where there was/is a requirement that you have a professional
clarinet? Can anyone on the list, from personal observation (not heresay)
document the existence of a school district with such a requirement? Maybe I'm
wrong about this but, if so, I would like to see some evidence.

Jack Kissinger
St. Louis

Cindy Field wrote:

> I have heard, much to my dismay, Bill, that some school districts require
> kids to use Buffet R13s. I have not confirmed this myself but have heard it
> from several sources. Pity the parents who cannot afford a high-end clarinet,
> so the kid goes to school with what the band director and other kids think is
> a "lesser" instrument. Ouch! You know how peer pressure hurts.
>
> Cindy

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