Tom Connor wrote:

>So, I think it is a combination of individual inclination and environment.
>I'll do all I can to expose Katie to the environment I've come to love.
>She has a great Music Director at school, but like most in Pennsylvania,
>Band is real important.  (It goes with the football program.  Since the
>high school team has won the state championship 3 of the past 10 years
>including the past 2, the music program is starting to recover quite well
>from 10 years ago. Still haven't done much with strings though, but they
>don't sound that well in at a football game.)

There are great differences among high school bands.  The one I played
in worked hard at functioning both as a football/basketball band and a
concert band, and the director was equally serious at both.  But most
bands are probably not lucky enough to have a director of this kind, and
they only function as sports and marching ensembles.  If a bunch of kids
have a serious concert-minded director, I don't think they will mind being
challenged to do serious music, but this also presumes that (as was the
case in my high school) the band doesn't take all comers, but requires some
basic level of musicianship to get in.

The orchestra in our school wasn't very good either; all of the
self-respecting wind players chose the band.  I felt sorry for the poor
string players, but I think this is the general situation for high school
orchestras (except for performing arts high schools and a few others who
work really hard at it, of course).

Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]