Religious Education Update: April 29

Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.
--Plato

Our society is committing cultural genocide. When the economy tightens and school budgets shrink, programs in music and the other arts are most often the first to be cut back or totally eliminated from the curriculum. … It strikes me as supremely ironic that today, we still have to try to make the case that music is indispensable if the term “educated” is to mean anything.
--Michael Greene, President of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

I volunteer in the schools and work with trumpet players. These nine to twelve year old children can be completely disorganized and unfocused. Some of them are forever losing their music, denting their horns, and talking when they should be listening. However, for some of them, music is their main source of happiness in school. One little boy insists on coming to band practice when he has been sick at home the rest of the day. Another boy has his music perfectly arranged in sheet protectors, practices constantly, and by sheer persistence and determination has managed to earn a spot in a more advanced group.

The school bands in my district presented their spring concert last Tuesday. The kids who had come to trumpet sectionals in blue jeans and t-shirts, were suddenly formally attired in black and white, with freshly washed and combed hair. They were transformed into serious musicians for that half an hour.

At the concert, my young students brought old music to life by performing songs written by composers who lived long ago. Perhaps without knowing it, the kids were developing an appreciation for our cultural past. The children then played contemporary songs, creating an emotional connection with their proud parents in the audience who recognized the melodies. For many of the people in the room, there was a spiritual connection with the music. They remembered their own musical experiences or saw the joy in the children’s faces. To hear these children making music and listening to each other was to know that a part of our cultural heritage was being passed on. The children were personally enriched by their musicianship as well. As Martin Luther said centuries ago, “Whoever has skill in music is of good temperament and fitted for all things. We must teach music in the schools.”

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education