comprehensive musicianship through performance Continued from page 18 Cost/Benefit
We recognize that every decision comes with positive and negative aspect, and we do our best to weigh the costs and benefits of every decision. Our philosophy helps us more easily weigh the pros and cons, and because of its simple clarity, it helps us see deeper into the true costs and benefits of an issue. Our philosophy works well for our program and the students in that program. There are some aspects of our program where we perhaps fall short of the ideal but we know when we review the sum of all the experiences our students have, they have a rich and diverse set of experiences in music they can take with them for the rest of their lives.
Here is one example, a compromise: we make it possible for students to be involved in band, choir and orchestra from sixth grade through high school if they want to. While it gets harder to do as
students get into high school, a majority of students in middle school participate in two to three ensembles. The cost? Students aren’t in band five days a week and don’t demonstrate as much improvement in their playing skills. We feel it is important for students to have a variety of experi- ences, however (when else do they get the chance?) and it is therefore a priority for us. We also know that students who hear about key signatures in choir rehearsal are more likely to remember the same concept when a different teacher reinforces the same topic in band class.
Student Perspectives
We have a wide variety of students that thrive in our bands. As with any program, some students give more to the band than they take (students with strong playing skills, student leaders, enthusiastic volun- teers, etc.) while others need more from the class than they give back (students who struggle to play, aren’t comfortable lead-
ing, etc.). We use our inclusionary model to find a way for all students to thrive while also knowing that keeping them in our pro- gram often means everyone compromises a bit for the good of the whole.
Nick Music Matters at St. Norbert College
Located on the banks of the Fox River in De Pere, Wis., St. Norbert is a top-10 Catholic liberal arts college, honored by the Carnegie Foundation for community engagement. Students learn from a dynamic music faculty of exceptional teachers and performing artists.
• B.M. degrees in music performance and music education; B.A. concentrations in composition and liturgical music.
• Performing opportunities in more than a dozen ensembles.
• Music scholarships open to all students.
• Scholarship audition dates: Jan. 27 and Feb. 17, 2018. Visit
snc.edu/music/auditions
Welcoming Philip Klickman, new conductor of the college’s wind ensemble and concert band.
snc.edu/music •
music@snc.edu • 920-403-3112 20
Nick is a highly motivated student in our wind ensemble who takes private lessons, plays in the top local youth symphony orchestra, has been in the state honors program for years, and has participated in national competitions on his instru- ment. Due to the nature of our program, we aren’t able to give Nick as much time and attention as he likely needs to prepare him for his career goal of being an orches- tral musician. Our school doesn’t offer A.P. Music Theory, but a school in the neighboring town does. Attending those classes means he misses band rehearsals a couple times a week. We recognize that, for Nick’s best long-term career, we need to make it possible for him to be in our ensemble and get the theory course. An unforeseen benefit of this decision – be- cause of his A.P. Music Theory schedule, he has a block of time on certain days that coincide with the rehearsal times for our youngest band. Nick offered to serve as a rehearsal assistant when available and has become a wonderful tutor to many younger players in that band. We often worry about our best musicians missing rehearsal, but this compromise is better for Nick (and it got our younger students the benefit of getting some great mentoring).
Connor
Connor is a member of our state-champion soccer team who enjoys music but doesn’t always have the time to spend working on technical skills as a percussionist. Like many of our students, band is a priority for him but time does not allow it to always be the top priority. We’ve done our best to make room for students like Connor in our band (nearly 80 percent of our high school band members are in at least one sport, most are in at least two). Connor is liked and respected by his classmates, and as a result was chosen by them to be our percussion captain for marching band. He doesn’t hesitate to call for that extra 7
January 2018
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