As part of our partnership with different communities each year, our education department includes what is called the instrument petting zoo.  No, it’s not a bunch of instruments in a fenced in area, with children walking around them petting them with timid hands.  

What it is in actuality is a chance for kids to get their hands on an instrument and be taught or guided in how to make some sort of elementary sound on it.  The theory is, if they get a small taste of creating new sounds on an instrument they’ve never seen or heard, they’ll want more, and might even want to take up an instrument in school or at home.

Here’s a YouTube movie I found of a youngster named Soren getting his first taste of the violin, with OSO violist Stephen Price giving him a hand with fingering the notes:

Here’s another video of OSO music director Carlos Kalmar giving the Portland Metropolitan Youth Symphony a workout in Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

I was taking part in a meeting this past Wednesday of a task force of players, board members, and management personnel which has met off and on for the last 7 months to discuss the future of the Oregon Symphony. It’s been a pleasure to serve on this committee, and there have been no shortages of good ideas, lively exchanges, and eye-opening revelations from all comers.

While I can’t go into any specifics about what we’ve talked about, our last meeting concerned the future of the Oregon Symphony’s education initiatives. Many of you probably aren’t directly affected by the education arm of the Oregon Symphony’s mission - so I’ll give you a quick rundown on what this vital arm of the organization presents to students both in Portland and around the state during the 2007-2008 season. [Read more →]

A photo from the Baker City High School gymnasium, where we gave in-school concerts and an evening concert in May, 2006. Click photo to enlarge.

Thanks to Sam Bergman for pointing out this excellent audio/visual slideshow of the Minnesota Orchestra’s “outstate” tour of rural Minnesota. [Read more →]

Violist (aren’t we an enterprising bunch?!) Sam Bergman of the Minnesota Orchestra has been writing and hosting the educational series called Inside the Classics. [Read more →]

If you’re concerned about maintaining the current level of federal funding for the arts, or actually increasing the amount of funding for the arts, take a quick surf over to this website: Arts Vote 2008, and fill out and send the online letter which will be sent (either electronically or on paper) to each of the remaining presidential candidates.

While at the site, you can also visit links to the candidates’ web sites, including pages which state their positions on the arts in American life.

Sorry for the imbalance in political candidates presented here, but only Mike Huckabee of the Republican candidates had responded to the queries of Arts Vote. I’ve presented only (in my view) the remaining viable Democractic candidates’ views - head over to the web site to see everything.

Mike Huckabee:

Music and the arts are not extraneous, extra-curricular, or expendable - I believe they are essential. I want to provide every child these “Weapons of Mass Instruction.”

Hillary Clinton [pdf file]:

Hillary Clinton understands that strong arts programs are part of a well-rounded education that helps enrich the next generation of America’s leaders and develop their abilities to think creatively and independently.

Though she does not explicitly refer to music - for her “the arts” seems to refer only to visual art forms.

John Edwards [pdf file]:

The arts lift our spirits, elevate our thoughts, and draw us closer together. I believe that
there is a national role in nurturing painters, writers, poets, musicians, theatre artists and
other performing artists. We must preserve America’s precious cultural heritage by
supporting museums and performance spaces for theatre, dance and music. The arts also
play an important role in our education system: arts in schools can improve reading and
math, foster self-expression and individual thought, and improve socializing among
children.

Barack Obama [pdf file]:

To remain competitive in the global economy, America needs to reinvigorate the kind of creativity and innovation that has made this country great. To do so, we must nourish our children’s creative skills. In addition to giving our children the science and math skills they need to compete in the new global context, we should also encourage the ability to think creatively that comes from a meaningful arts education. Unfortunately, many school districts are cutting instructional time for art and music education. Barack Obama believes that the arts should be a central part of effective teaching and learning. The Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts recently said “The purpose of arts education is not to produce more
artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society.

Allan Kozinn of the New York Times offers his solutions to the lack of music curriculum in schools. His main one: go back 40 years and do it as they did - as an integral part of the complete curriculum, from K to 12. [Read more →]