On Thursday, September 11, Heather Noonan, the League of American Orchestras’ vice president for advocacy, was interviewed by host Jim Cunningham on Pittsburgh radio station WQED. Noonan was in Pittsburgh to attend the Arts Education Partnership National Forum, where she, along with representatives of the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory, participated in a panel entitled Restoring Arts Education Capacity to California’s Largest K-6 School District: El Sistema and the Community Opus Project. The wide-ranging radio interview covered such topics as new developments in music education, the general level of support for classical music across the country, and a look at advocacy for orchestras, as the League and partners work to encourage school systems to make a robust commitment ensuring that students have access to comprehensive musical education. Noonan pointed out examples of growing innovation in the ways orchestras are engaging with their communities, citing the Pittsburgh Symphony’s health and wellness program, and also stressed the impact early music education has on future orchestra attendance.
Posted September 16, 2014
