Here & There Column 3-23-10

Support Music In Our Schools

Love the month of March.....along with the hint of Spring in the air.....we also celebrate Music In Our Schools Month and what a month is has been so far here in Sullivan County.
Two great productions of "Grease" were put on by the Sullivan West High School and Liberty Central High School and if you didn't attend the great 56th Annual All-County Music Festival March 6 staged at the David E. Panebaker Auditorium at Liberty High School you missed outstanding musical talent produced by our local school districts.
The All-County Music Festival was staged by the Sullivan County Music Educators' Association. Congratulations go out to Festival chairperson Gary E. Siegel for helping to put this program together.
Over 450 top musicians from our county's schools performed in a 3 p.m. concert consisting of the String Orchestra, Elementary Chorus and the Middle School Band and the 5 p.m. concert consisting of the Junior High Jazz Ensemble, Junior High Women's Chorus, Junior High Mixed Chorus and the Senior High Band.
Music teachers throughout our local school systems spent many hours preparing the students to reach this important part of their educational lives......a great job done by all.
While some educational studies are not continued through the lives of graduating students music will always be there and we strongly stress the importance of quality music education.
Printed on the second page of the All-County Music Festival program was the following statement which we proudly quote, "The Ideal Music Program does not exist.....Someone must Build It.....Someone must shape and create the Attitudes for Support, Someone must make a Long Range Commitment....To Provide every child the opportunity to experience the beauty of musical expression."
Music is vital to every child's education and with school budgets being cut back as a result of the state budget cuts to education and our suffering national economy strong support must come from parents to see that music programs are not taken away from our youth.