 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: jendereedknife
Date: 2009-04-18 01:22
Dear list,
I am writing on behalf of Teresa Cheney, a music teacher in the Granite school district of Salt Lake City, Utah. I am taking an online course with her at BU. She has asked for help from the community because her school board is having an emergency meeting on Tuesday (April 21) next week about axing the general music program.
One of the respondents told about how Leonard Slatkin had actually showed up to a meeting and persuaded the board not to cut the program in his community. We may not be Slatkins, but if anyone is interested (or knows someone who might be) in showing their support, please let me or her know. I think if the board can be made to realize how many members of the community want a music program, and of its importance, the program may be savable.
You can reply to me - Prez@jendeindustries.com
I have a feeling that we are going to see a lot more of this. Perhaps we can come up with a stock petition or a portfolio of information to have ready for anyone in need of it at such short notice. We have to look out for each other. Once schools cut music, the environment for private lessons and performances diminishes, which leads to less musicians settling in the area, which leads to less tax money for the school boards, which leads to more cuts....
Thank you in advance!
Tom Blodgett
President
Jende Industries, LLC
Sincerely,
Tom Blodgett
President,
Jende Industries, LLC
www.jendeindustries.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2009-04-18 03:23
MENC has a page of links regarding advocacy, and poking around their website yields other valid and pertinent research which may be beneficial.
http://www.menc.org/resources/view/music-education-advocacy-central
Sue
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jendereedknife
Date: 2009-04-19 01:16
Thank you Sue and Paul!
I have forwarded the info to Teresa. With a little help from our friends, we've been able to locate the names and emails of the board members, the meeting agenda with the propositions, and sent some messages out to some influential people in Utah's music scene.
It's wonderful to "feel the love" sometimes - Teresa is in Utah, and she's getting help from Taiwan, Texas, MA, and even from someone who is currently on vacation in Brazil (originally from SC) - just to name a few!
Thanks again!
Tom Blodgett
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2009-04-21 18:35
This is a huge problem which is going to have trickle-down effects (or is that trickle-up?) for just everybody who reads this board. If we let music go, professional players will suffer because no one will know enough to go to their concerts. Students will be poorly educated and not as successful as adult members of society.
This quote by J F Kennedy says it well:
"The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation's purpose...and is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization." Statement prepared for Creative America, 1963.
I went on a diatribe on this topic in the thread about the Brooklyn Philharmonic. As a parent, as a citizen, and as a music educator and performer, as I am sure many of you may be, we owe it to our country to loudly educate our officials, administrators, and anyone who will hear us about the importance of arts in educating our students.
Sue
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-04-21 21:43
Sue wrote:
>> If we let music go, professional players will suffer because no one will know enough to go to their concerts.<<
I'm not at all advocating doing away with music programs, but I have to take exception to this. If our concerts require people to be super-educated from early on, I'd say that at least some of the blame rests with our concerts.
I tend to go for the opposite approach (and, of course, it works best when people are doing both at once) by endeavoring to engage people in music, making performances both in and out of the concert hall more accessible (not necessarily by "dumbing down" the repertoire, which seems to be many people's accessibility-increase of choice).
You can show charts and extol virtues and stage protests all you like, and probably have some success, but that success is often localized to the mobilized area, and is a constant battle. If, however, we work towards making music a vibrant experience that engages the community, rather than something that only happens Saturdays at 8:00 in a stuffy building with an education expectation of its attendees, I think school administrators would more likely ask why their district DOESN'T have a music program and what can be done to rectify that.
People generally don't like being told what's best for them, but are often much more receptive when you extol the virtues of something they themselves (and, more importantly, the influential busybody parents, if we're talking school board members) have seen and experienced to be valuable.
"We should have a football program!" "Football? I LOVE football! I play on weekends, and go to games a few times a year! Let's do it!"
compared to...
"We should have a music program!" "Music? Yeah, we probably should, since that's culture and all. They have a big hall downtown, yeah? I suppose that's a good idea, if there's room in the budget."
As long as we treat classical music as something that requires education to appreciate, we'll keep fighting this battle.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: 3dogmom
Date: 2009-04-22 12:24
Alex,
I couldn't agree more.
My suggestion is that exposure and some education is the key, just as it is with football. We all know about football - but we don't all know about music. Some only know what they hear on the radio, and we know how limited that is. If they don't hear it in school, they may not be exposed at all - unlike football, which is pretty hard to miss. Although I do try. But seriously.
So the goal is, "A concert? Yeah, I went to some of those in school, they were really great." Or, "Jazz? We had a jazz trumpet player come to our school, it was awesome." I've been singing the praises of that Chris Botti in Boston performance on PBS to my students, and those who have tuned in have really liked it. And maybe their parents will like it too.
I am with you on all points.
Sue
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
