Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2004-05-31 20:51
Hello again, Ember --
Well, your English is "not too shabby", as they say (and "not too shabby" is a colloquial expression meaning "very good").
It seems that each country has its own systems for educating musicians. Certainly in the U.S., there are many different ways to become a proficient musician -- some involving schools, some not. We do have specialized music schools -- usually we call those "conservatories". Most colleges and universities of any size also have music departments, varying in quality from superior to mediocre. Over the years, there has been less and less emphasis on music in the secondary schools (the schools usually attended by those between the ages of 14 and 18), because when there is not enough money for everything, music is often thought to be not as important as other subjects, and programs are cut. There are still many secondary schools that have very large and very competitive music programs, however.
If you want to know more about this subject, I suggest you do a search on the Clarinet Bulletin Board on this site (just go to the Woodwind.org logo at the top of the page, click it, and you can choose the clarinet board). In the "search" window, enter some sort of words like music education, training, universities, conservatories, etc., and you will probably be able to learn more than you ever wanted to know about music education in the U.S.
I live in Coshocton, Ohio, a town of 11,000, which is west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and east of Columbus, Ohio. It's a small "rust belt" town, meaning that its economy used to be based on steel mills and coal mines which do not operate anymore. Thus, the community is shrinking, not growing. But in its heyday, the community supported the arts to a degree which is unusual for a town of its size and character, and there are still some remnants of that tradition alive and well, including two art museums, a wonderful community chorus, a good community concert band, and a local "little theatre" group. The small size of the community makes (or even demands) these activities very accessible to almost anyone who wants to participate, and that is a good thing!
Susan
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