Thanks for Young Musicians

MOS just experienced its second Hear the Future! Festival Concert, featuring three excellent high school ensembles performing both individually and also with the entire MOS chorus.  It was a wonderful event for everyone involved, and the performance level of the guest ensembles was very high.  It reminded us all there are young people in our midst who want to perform fine music and perform it well.  Thanks to the teachers and parents who help make it possible, but thanks especially to the young musicians who care enough to work so hard to accomplish something of such beauty.    At the conclusion of the concert we sang a piece set to music by composer/arranger Ken Berg, with words I had written.  I hope they express my pride and my confidence regarding all our fine young musicians.

 

Hear the music we are singing

with our voices full of hope.

Choral song emerges from us

in a sound kaleidoscope.

 

As it brings us all together

music is the common bond.

Differences begin to fade and

with one voice we do respond.

 

Hear the future even as we

honor those who sang before.

Centuries of choral singers

earn our thanks for evermore.

 

Sharing beauty, truth and wisdom

through the panoply of song;

now with hearts and souls united

we have joined the choral throng.

 

Hear the music we are singing;

songs that come from far and near.

We are singing words eternal.

Hear the Future!  It is here!

Supporting the Arts in our Schools

The Michael O’Neal Singers will be presenting Hear the Future! on Sunday, April 25, at 3:00 PM at Roswell United Methodist Church.  This pairing of high school and adult musicians is a tremendous way to showcase our musicians of tomorrow.  (Of course, that’s not entirely correct, since these young people are also our musicians of today!)   Susan McLeish, one of our faithful MOS members and a teacher in the Gwinnett County School System has written a letter to Governor Perdue and our Georgia Legislators informing them of this concert and inviting them to attend.  I believe it to be such a fine and well worded statement that I wanted to share it with you.

April 21, 2010

Dear Governor Perdue and Georgia Legislators,

Have you heard a 90-piece high school orchestra perform lately? How about a 180-voice choir? The opportunity awaits you this weekend.

As you contemplate state budget cuts and their accompanying difficult issues, please take the time to come to Roswell this Sunday afternoon, April 25, to see and hear firsthand how crucial the arts and arts education are to a community.

This Sunday, The Michael O’Neal Singers, an auditioned symphony chorus, and three Fulton County high school groups (2 choruses and one orchestra) will combine talents to bring some spectacular music to life. We would be both honored and grateful to have you in our midst, and you can be guaranteed the perfect environment in which to sit, relax, and ponder the role of the arts, specifically music, in the lives of all participants, both those on stage and in the audience.

I happen to be a Georgia educator, and I see evidence of the importance of the arts in students’ lives on a daily basis. The obvious examples are the artwork on the bulletin boards throughout the school, the drama presentations that draw huge student interest and participation, and the myriad of musical opportunities offered both before and after school. Our fine arts teachers work tirelessly to flavor the students’ lives with color, texture, expression, melody, harmony and rhythm. The very first sounds that greet me upon entering the school building every morning are those of budding instrumentalists who pour their youthful energy into growing their talent. This is in stark contrast to the students who sit idle in the cafeteria, waiting for the same forty-five minutes to pass before homeroom starts.

However, it is not just the students’ musical talent that is being developed through the arts. Academic teachers can almost always tell which students play in an ensemble or perform on stage because fine arts students have learned how to engage meaningfully in the learning process. They know how to practice and persevere. They understand that progress can be slow, and that success is not instant. All of this ultimately translates into increased student achievement because the students have learned how to be participants in the classroom, not just spectators. They have learned to become productive learners, not just receptive.

Receptive learning requires only receptive language; it is the language of standardized testing, which does not require a student to originate an idea or answer, but rather to merely recognize it when they see it. Productive learning, on the other hand, requires productive language where students must write or speak to answer questions or offer ideas. In other words, a form of energy must be present. It is at this point that synthesis takes place and true leaning occurs. Students who have been given the opportunity to participate in performance-based learning both understand and benefit from this dynamic. Our fine arts classrooms are, therefore, incubators for nurturing thriving learners.

Another dynamic you will see at Sunday’s concert is the joy of life-long learning. The high school students and the adults will be performing side by side, breathing energy—together—into a musical manuscript written over 200 years ago. I cannot think of any other community event that would bring over 130 high school students into contact with 130 adults (ranging in age from young professionals to retirees) in such an authentic way.

The concert will be synthesis at its best; you wouldn’t want to miss it. Please come!

Susan M. McLeish, Soprano II and French Teacher, Gwinnett County Public Schools

Hear the Future AGAIN!

We in The Michael O’Neal Singers are about to host our second Hear the Future! concert featuring three outstanding ensembles from Alpharetta, Riverwood and Roswell High Schools.  These excellent ensembles (one orchestra and two choruses) are fine examples of the amazing music education taking place in so many of our schools in the Atlanta area.  Would that all schools across our country could possess such programs.  I am tremendously encouraged about the future of music performance in America when I hear such groups as these, but it also reminds me that we need to do everything we can to support music education in our schools during these economically challenging times.  As we all know, when budgets are reduced it is usually the Arts that experience the first cuts.  If we hope to have singers and players in our community choruses, orchestras and bands in the decades to come, we need to support music education now.

What are your thoughts about music in our schools?  Share your experiences from yesteryear or today.