« June 2006 | Main | August 2006 »
July 11, 2006
When Does a Musical Note Become A Religious Symbol?
I first wrote about the holiday controversies over religious music when a local school district and the supervisor of fine arts Nick Santoro became vilified (the school district deserved it... Nick did not) for the banning of certain music deemed to be religious during the Christmas/Hananuka/Kwanza/Rhamadan/Comsumer Holiday period that runs... oh say... from the third week in September until sometime during the first quarter of a new year. Hey... there are folks in my neighborhood that STILL have their Christmas (or are the kwanza) lights up... AND IT IS JULY 11th... but I digress.
Here is what I wrote in 2004:
When Does a Musical Note Become A Religious Symbol?Is it when words are attached that infer religious meaning? If the words are detached from the music does the music retain the meaning of the words? If music programs cannot perform instrumental versions of any music that may have religious lyrics... is it possible to divorce the music and lyrics to any song? Should we no longer use the Star-Spangled Banner as our national anthem because the original words were tied to the consumption of alcohol? Can the Messiah no longer be seen as a great work of art.
(Yes... I know I need to convert my 120 articles from the old blog to this blog)
So... just when you thought it might be safe to bring out those instrumental favorites another superintendent... clearly afraid of her own shadow... bans the performance of "Ave Maria" at the high school commencement. SO what is the next logical step in this story?
Teen sues district after "Ave Maria" silenced
By David BowermasterFor years, seniors in the wind ensemble at Henry M. Jackson High School have selected a favorite piece of music to play during commencement.
For last month's ceremonies, the 17 students chose an instrumental version of "Ave Maria," which they had performed at a school concert in December 2004.
But their choice was vetoed by Dr. Carol Whitehead, superintendent of the Everett School District. Instead, the ensemble played a selection by British composer Gustav Holst.
Now Kathryn Nurre, an 18-year-old who played alto saxophone in the ensemble before graduating, is suing Whitehead, claiming the decision violated her First Amendment right to freedom of speech. She believes "Ave Maria" was nixed by Whitehead because she felt the song was too religious for a school-sanctioned event.
The full story is:
The Seattle Times: Local News: Teen sues district after "Ave Maria" silenced
But my FAVORITE part is the readers reaction. Take a look!
Posted by musicforall at 9:06 PM
July 8, 2006
California Press Conference Announcing Arts Education Funding
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a press conference yesterday announcing California's massive half-a-billion dollar investment in arts education featuring American Idol's Randy Jackson and Earth WInd and FIres Phillip Baily. We have posted a podcast of the event at: http://www.music-for-all.org/FromtheTrenchesPodcast.html
For details on the funding Click Here
The quick recap:
ARTS AND MUSIC BLOCK GRANT
The 2006-07 Budget includes $105 million Proposition 98 General Fund for an annual Arts and Music Block Grant program. These funds will be distributed to school districts, charter schools and county offices of education to support standards aligned instruction in kindergarten through grade twelve. The funds will be available for hiring additional staff, staff development, purchasing materials, books, supplies and equipment. The funding will be allocated at an equal amount per pupil, with a minimum of $2,500 for school sites with twenty or fewer students and a minimum of $4,000 per site with more than twenty students.|
ARTS, MUSIC AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION ONE-TIME EQUIPMENT GRANTS
The Budget also includes $500 million Proposition 98 General Fund on a one-time basis for the purchase of arts, music and/or physical education supplies and equipment. With these resources, schools will be able to make significant investments in items such as musical instruments, kilns, photographic equipment and multi-media design equipment. Further, this significant investment of resources will allow schools to make meaningful investments in order to improve and expand the infrastructure of physical education programs to help address the rising incidence of obesity. Grants will be allocated to school districts, charter schools and county offices of education on an equal amount per pupil, based on the number of pupils in kindergarten and grades one through twelve, with a minimum funding level of $2,500 for small schools.
Posted by musicforall at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)