So I had a meeting with a high school music teacher today about running their school concert band. As it stands, we're not sure if it will be a concert band for the time being.
To be honest I was feeling very nervous at the time, and rightly so for a few reasons.
*This high school, in the past, was basically "the man" (or "the ensemble") when it came to music and large ensembles in the late 80s all the way through the 90s. Come the new millenium the music program essentially folded and has almost been non-existant since then. With a new music teacher and principal at the helm, a revival of the music program and its ensembles will be attempted.
*We have a lot of inexperienced students and new ones starting out on instruments. While this may appear to be a negative, it is actually a massive positive because they are very keen to be playing music and to take part in an ensemble. All up we have about fourteen at the moment.
*The music resources, in terms of charts, is slightly limited. We found some teriffic charts, but we are still fairly limited in ability. At the same time, we don't want to be spoon-feeding easy music but to be able to challenge and develop the students as the group progresses.
*Some of the current primary band programs in schools, that have kids move on to this high school, are discouraging children from taking further part and are making them quite cautious.
When I arrived home after teaching some students this afternoon, I reflected on the first ensemble that I played in when I moved to a new school. The school orchestra I played in was established in 1996. The music program was essentially the same; fairly new coming almost from non-existance. The first rehearsal we had saw an attendance of 12 students, playing a fairly diverse range of instruments. From there I stayed with the ensemble all the way up to Year 11 in 2000 and witnessed its development from those 12 students to an ensemble of 60+ students. What was even more remarkable was that students from other schools would join in, after school, at rehearsals.
You would normally expect a miniature ensemble, based in a high school, to fall flat on its face. Some of the best ensembles that have come out of schools have started out as these small groups through persistance, determination, and hard work from everyone.
Next week I will start meeting several of the students, the majority being in year seven. I am very keen to be a part of this project and hopefully rejuvenate this intergral part of the music program in the high school.
Fingers crossed.
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