Music Education in Public Schools

Friday, July 10, 2015

Today I am grateful for music education in public schools. I love music of any kind. Yes any kind, albeit some in smaller doses than others. (Rap-gamelon-digerado)

When I was a kid my mom taught piano and insisted I take lessons. I hated them. Hated practicing. But ever since I’ve been so glad I have a basic grasp of written music. I also played the clarinet back in the day and was pretty good, except I wanted to dance and we couldn’t afford for me to do both, so I quit clarinet.

All through junior high and high school I was part of the choir and absolutely loved it. The choir was my tribe. There were quartets and madrigal groups and concert choir and I was in all of them. Vito Intravia was our high school choral director. He looked like a Rubics Cube, as wide as he was tall and we loved him. His moustache was bigger than he was and every time he got a new, long conductors wand he busted it on his podium and shards of splintered wood flew at us like shrapnel.

I know many singers, musicians, songwriters. I love live musical performances of any kind, yet each and every time I hear live music, I wonder. . . did they start playing their instrument or learn to sing in public schools? So I ask. Usually they have.

Whenever political figures have to balance an educational budget for public schools, the first thing on the chopping block is the music program. If we continue down this road, concert halls and other performance venues will fold. . .become silent. I don’t want to live in that world. . .a world without music.

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