Health & Fitness
The Arts Education Equation
You can't have a community arts organization without an arts education component. Come find out how we view our role in helping others develop a deeper appreciation for the arts.
It’s concert week this week. Of course, when you have nine ensembles, just about every week is concert week in some corner of the City of Fairfax Band Association. This week, however, belongs to the City of Fairfax Band, which will close out the 2012-2013 Concert Season with “Spotlight on the Pops” on May 11th. I’ve been looking forward to this concert for a long time, not only because it’s the exclamation point on another fantastic concert season, but because it highlights one of my major passions: arts education.
“Spotlight on the Pops” will feature the past and future of the Association’s Young Artist Competition (YAC) program. Started in 1996, the YAC encourages musical development in area youth musicians by providing scholarship money for their college education, as well as an opportunity to be a guest soloist with the City of Fairfax Band. This year’s winner, Andrea Hsu from Chantilly HS, will be joining the City Band onstage to perform the 1st Movement of Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major. Also appearing onstage with the City Band will be Paul Fadoul, the winner of the first YAC and an acclaimed musician in the DC area. We’re fortunate to have both of these talented musicians with us for this program!
One of the central themes to the Association’s arts education platform is opportunity. We give members of the community an opportunity to perform with a group of a regular basis. We give youth musicians an opportunity to perform outside of the classroom. We give the Fairfax community hundreds of opportunities to hear some great music.
The other side of that coin, of course, is initiative. Our adult musicians have to balance their jobs and family life in order to make this passion a reality. Our youth musicians similarly need to set aside time for rehearsals amongst their other extracurriculars, homework, college applications, etc. So, what motivates you to attend a local play, art gallery opening or community band concert?
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The bottom line is we all can’t be talented musicians or artists. Some of that simply has to do with the cards we were dealt. We can, however, find ways to experience the arts on a regular basis. Fairfax offers a litany of opportunities. What’s missing from the equation is initiative. Yours. Save the Netflix for another night, get out of the house, and get started on your own arts education journey.
