On Monday (9/16) in School Band and Orchestra magazine (Las Vegas), Eliahu Sussman discusses the importance of music education with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop and Dan Trahey, director of artistic programming for OrchKids, the BSO’s El Sistema-inspired program. “I remember growing up in the 1960s and feeling the elitism of classical music even then,” says Alsop. “There are major segments of the populations that have never been exposed to or been able to access classical music. This is a tremendous disservice that needs immediate addressing. … Through our OrchKids program … we aspire to give that access to every child in the community. … Watching these young people grow and thrive is a testament to the transformative power of symphonic music.” Trahey comments, “We’ve expanded into five sites this year, and we’ll reach approximately 900 kids. … We just finished a big conference for music educators who are socially minded. We have multiple OrchKids models where people come and study with us and then they go off and start their own programs…. We have been able to help principals and administrators realize what they have to do to make a music program happen in the school. So we’re seeing an increased interest in music education from many people, besides just us music educators. … I know for a fact that kids in OrchKids are going to make it into major orchestras. There’s no way that you can give a child as much musical direction and support as we’ve been giving them and not have them end up on that path.”
Posted September 20, 2013
