Posted by lisa on August 31, 2003 at 09:27:40:
In Reply to: Is band "uncool"? posted by Geezer on August 30, 2003 at 20:07:05:
I had to slither out from under my rock to respond to this one.
A friend and I were discussing the other day how both of our high school bands, one in northern Ohio, and one in southeast Ohio, had both dwindled to a size of about 10 people. In one case, the auxiliary (majorettes and flag corps) outnumbers the players. Additionally, the band wears dumpy looking uniforms, "walks" when they play, and cannot even play the National Anthem anymore. The concert band has had a similar such demise, despite all of the best efforts of the longtime band director. The football team will likely go to state, and as much as I enjoy (and have participated in while concurrently in marching band) high school sports, I have to admit that seeing the halftime disasters makes me embarrassed of my past as the lone sousaphone player in that band. I am not proud of my band heritage anymore, and that is sad. Until I got to graduate school, looking back on it, I never really felt proud of the musical endeavors I was involved with.
I was watching the Tennessee football game on TV yesterday, and I noticed the ad for the University. While most schools show all different shots of the university, UT's ad featured one flute player, with a narrative along the lines of, "Who needs football when you have music?" I was shocked to see this. (Incidentally the flute player in the ad is a friend of mine from Knoxville.) Perhaps this mentality needs to transgress to our pre-baccalaureate institutions. With the kinds of support that athletic departments at major universities such as UT, OSU, etc. give to the music department, it is surprising that music does not fare as well on a lower level of academia. Granted there is much more money handled on the higher of the levels, but surely the operational costs are proportionately less at the high school level. Maybe a little bit of support, even just morale-wise and not financial, from athletic areas would change some of the attitudes of teenagers.
Just my $.02 (while feeling old!)