As the music team works to increase the opportunites and advance the quality of music making at ABIS, we get many questions about why we have chosen to go in the direction of musical ensembles and specifically band and choir. While the full answers to the questions are incredibly complex and multi-faceted, one area I would like to highlight is the need to guide students and “plant the seeds of interest” in new musical experiences. Music teachers invariably get questions asking, “what if my student doesn’t want to play the {instrument} forever?” Our answer is that students need to be exposed to new music, experience serious commitment to a specific area of music, and given room to radically change the way they think before they become stagnant and limited in their personal preferences. Below is a quote that I feel captures the spirit of this concept. It can be found inside an amazing article that talks about tons of amazing benefits of bands and other ensembles, located at this address: http://www.musicforall.org/who-we-are/advocacy/why-music-why-band
“…it is inconceivable to musicians that music education is not considered a core subject in every school curriculum, and for EVERY child…if we want the students-of-today to become the music-makers of tomorrow; the responsibility of “sharing the good news about the importance of arts education in our schools” must be embraced with a serious commitment accompanied by a diligent follow-through. We no longer can teach only the “interested students;” we must plant the seeds-of-interest and personally escort the students to the gateway of their musical future.”