Adventures in Advocacy!

Hello Blog Readers!

It's a beautiful day here in MENC-land with blue skies! I hope it is just as beautiful there.

Did you know that advocacy is quite the adventure? Well, it is! This week's adventure took CW and I to Capitol Hill to talk to several offices about The National Anthem Project Curriculum Kit. As you likely already know from the MENC Legislative Memo (unabashed plug, sign up here!), we are hoping to create and disseminate a national anthem curriculum kit to send to every public school in the country, but need funding to do so.

Now, CW and I are very familiar with Capitol Hill after both having worked there for years. Yet we still stumbled across a secret place neither of us had seen before. Within about 50 yards of the Capitol is this beautiful little brick enclave. It was sunken down a bit and had a gurgling fountain in the middle and had stone seats all around. This is picture CW took with his cell phone. (Better quality to last week's advocacy day photos--maybe we should've used his phone instead of the cameras!) It was quite the welcome retreat from the bustling halls and sidewalks of Capitol Hill, so we sat there for a few minutes taking it all in. Unfortunately, a group of about 15 or so tourists also soon stumbled upon it and it became slightly less serene. ;)

From there we headed towards Union Station and were not allowed to cross the street by several imposing policemen and police vehicles. We knew something was coming, but we weren't sure what. It turned out to be the presidential motorcade. And considering the nine or so armored SUVs (not to mention all the police) and what I believe was a helicopter overhead, I'm guessing he was in the car. We tried to get a picture (again with the camera phone) but could only snap a few--this one you can see one of the police cars in front followed by two of the gazillion black SUVs. I think my favorite part of the motorcade is always the person whose job is to ride filming the motorcade while standing up through a hole in a van.

Well those were our adventures in advocacy this week!! Tune in next week to see what exciting adventures we have!

Around the Water Cooler: There's a new lead in my NCAA pool! DP from the web team has taken a strong lead as we go into the Final Four games this Saturday and the final game Monday night. I still have a chance to win, though, so my hopes are pinned on Ohio State to win it all. In other news, I was only slightly surprised that Chris Sligh went home on American Idol and that Paulina went home on Dancing with the Stars. I love both shows and am rooting for Joey Fatone to win DWTS!! Maybe I should start a Dancing with the Stars pool, too... (free of course!) Until next time!

Thursday Interlude

Hi All,

As managing editor for news, I live in a kind of time warp much of the time. This week is a good example. I began work on news for the May issue of Music Educators Journal in early March and final tweaks for the magazine took place this week

The May issue was about to go to the printer, but in my world it was time to ready April Teaching Music news for online posting. If you are a member, the magazine probably arrived in recent days. You may have the April issue sitting on your desk or tucked away in a tote bag to read. An alternate-universe version I created for the Web site will pop up the MENC site soon.

Preparing print stories for use online is a little like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. This text fits there; those photos go there. I update and add information to stories, add to stories , add more photos. Then I hand all of that over to a very skilled colleague for the html coding. You will see it on the MENC Web site soon, thanks to DP’s hard work. The March news is still online as I post this. Click www.menc.org/news for March news that is now up, and the April news that will follow come.

Anyway, back to my time warp (Hey, any Rocky Horror fans out there? Yeesh, I am dating myself. Actually, my grandparents told me about it when I was a kid)

One of my favorite news photos in April TM is one I actually shot last July when the week long GAMA/NAMM/MENC guitar workshops were held at our offices here in Reston.

When I see the photo, I recall how much was fun it was having the music teachers at the Reston headquarters for a week. The teachers told me they enjoyed the learning process and interacting with peers. By the end of the week they sounded pretty good. I took the photo above at the final day “recital.” I enjoyed meeting several music teachers, all of whom are members.

I enjoy my blogging. And maybe it is just because I am posting, but it seems as if nearly everyone I talked with in the past week had some kind of music-related story to tell me.

Here is just one. I visited a friend in the hospital last weekend and she described how a patient in a nearby room routinely broke into song. After a tune or two, he would ask for chocolate pudding and one of the nurses would bring it. I will have to remember that little gambit the next time I have to don a drafty hospital gown. I love pudding.

That little slice of life reminded me of a vacation several years ago when my husband and I rented a Left Bank apartment in Paris for a couple of weeks. (Cheaper than a hotel and close to the Metro) We found ourselves falling into a rather pleasant morning routine. I would make coffee and he would go to the nearby patisserie for croissants and once we settled in at the kitchen table with newspapers, somewhere in the building an opera singer would begin rehearsing. First scales, then an aria or two.

Now, I am not exactly huge opera fan. However, there was something glorious about sitting there while this melodic voice drifted down the stairwell from a floor or two above us. For us, the daily recitals were as much a part of our trip as a day at the Louvre or our trek to Versailles.

I guess what I am trying to say is, music is such a wonderfully portable art form, one that is easily shared in unexpected places. As much as I love art, I don’t carry framed prints around with me on the subway to admire. I seldom go without my iPod Shuffle, though.

And I love to dance, but an airplane aisle leaves you no place to practice the two-step or encourage others to join you in the Electric Slide. On the other hand you can fly from Virginia to Kansas listening to Macy Gray www.imdb.com/name/nm0004975/ or Harry Connick Jr.,/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001065/ as I did recently to attend the KMEA conference.

On a closing note: Did you get a chance to listen to the March 24th “Weekend Eddition Saturday” on National Public Radio? It included a follow-up story about the Bentonville, Arkansas, choir, which performed at Carnegie Hall’s National High School Choral Festival? The group was one of four choirs chosen to sing at the March 19 festival.

I included the link for previous Bentonville story in my first “Interlude” last week. Scroll down.
For the follow-up story, click on the link below and you can hear the Bentonville High School Chamber Choir singing "Psalm 96" by Jan Sweelinck and "Worthy to be Praised" by Byron Smith at Carnegie Hall. Click for some stunning music
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9109686

You will also hear an interview with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Craig Jessop, who discusses why he helped create the festival, “making it about the music, not competition,” and how the young singers thrived on the strenuous rehearsals. NPR reporter Jeffrey Lunden also includes an interview with MENC Member Terry Hicks, who directs the Bentonville choir.

Around the Water Cooler:
How do your colleagues feel about American Idol? At MENC, the show counts both rabid fans and those who are utterly disinterested. I guess you’ve figured out I’m a fan. Starting to love Jordan, both her voice and her winning personality.
Many of us, though, were we excited when New Jersey music teacher Anwar Robinson made it to seventh place in Idol’s season four. Remember the velvety voice, the cascades of long braids and the shy smile? That's Anwar.

Curious about his career? Click here http://www.anwarrobinsonfansite.com/ for an update that includes concert dates and clips of his music.

See you next Thursday
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany 2

Goings on in my neck of the MENC woods....

New Hampshire (click to see sessions) is readying for their annual All State conference, April 12 - 14 in Concord, NH. (l'll be going to run the MENC resource booth)......they are excited, it's the first time they've held
their All State in a hotel instead of a high school, and they're hoping it'll be a big success so
as to entice more members from across the state to participate in future years.

MENC also had a visitor from China last week, who had come to the states to make a presentation
on the role of music in patriotism in China. She and the professor of the U.S.
university where she made her presentation had a good look around MENC headquarters,
and even came across a rehearsal of the MENC Recorder ensemble, the (staff) members of which
graciously impromptu performed a new piece for the visitors, percussion and all!

And yes, the MENC tree (see EWL's blog below) has looked lovely since December,
and now some industrious MENC staff have already donned it for the Centennial -
vintage photos from last 100 years music education,
miniature instruments ornaments, and party blowers!
And kudos to JR, who monthly has knit a miniature sweater
with some symbol of that month's decorating theme to ornament the tree!

I nearly forgot!I Tomorrow I pass my 8 year anniversary at MENC! (3/29)
wow. Some folks have been here 15 - 20 years!
was a real stroke of serendipity (? can you say that?!)
I found MENC... and thanks to EWL for hiring me!

In the news:
The AP reported last week that Italian musician, Francesco Lotoro, has, for the last 15 years, been independently (on his own time and dime) seeking, collecting and preserving the "lost" music of the Holocaust...music written in the death and labor camps, from Europe to Japan. His work will have a permanent home at Rome's Third University in September 2007, and feature 4,000 papers and 13,000 microfiches including music sheets, letters, drawings and photos. He is also rearranging and recording many of the pieces to produce a collection of 32 CDs, five of which have been published already. Even officials at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington have lauded the work and said it is groundbreaking. I have not found any public website for this work, yet.... but to get an idea of the type of material Lotoro has collected, see the collection at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum: Music page

BEAUTIFUL VOICE! For Idol Fans, and even non-Idol fans: listen to SHADA, one of 4 contestants remaining in the "Star Academy" reality show out of Lebanon; Shada is Iraqi, age 25. Her voice, singing a song from the 60's from the Middle East, is mesmerizing and heart breaking. This show follows contestants 24/7, and viewers call in via cell to vote - a la American Idol. ON NPR

RESOURCES of the WEEK
American Composers forum
Composers Datebook
Arts Education Partnership
Good resources/tech and lesson plans
Cool careers (middle school level)
PBS teachers guides on line

AROUND the WATER COOLER
Speaking of British invasion..... (see EWL's Water cooler item below) -
isn't it amazing (to those of us who are of a certain age) that many of this year's American Idol contestants admitted they hadn't a clue about the British music invasion of the 60's? Okay, it was 30 years before their time, but still!
And did you notice NO ONE sang any Beatles? (click to see review)
And for those who are real Idol aficionados, check out Michael Slezak's reviews
each week; "spot on" and most entertaining! Almost better than the show!

Interesting article from Smithsonian Magazine on the Real Dreamgirls: How Girl Groups Changed American Music

My cousin's son just got accepted into three colleges, and is
waiting to hear from #4. He's a marching band/jazz guy... and he wants to teach music!
So he's chosen some programs with great jazz programs and great
music education programs....way to go, Andy!

SEE YOU NEXT WEDNESDAY! SR

Last Week of MIOSM

We’re about to start one of the nicest times of year to work in the MENC building. We are located in a wooded area of northern Virginia with many beautiful spring-flowering trees, and it’s a pleasure to drive up the road to the building in the morning when those trees are blooming. Daffodils, crocuses, Virginia bluebells are already making appearances. If you’ve never been here, here’s a photo of springtime at MENC. We should be seeing these blooms soon.

Now check out these recent photos of our front lobby. You may wonder why there appears to be a Christmas tree in the front lobby in March. Well, thanks to a particularly enthusiastic MENC staff member, we had a lovely tree in December -- and then everyone was too busy to take it down and put it away, so we decided to make it a year round tree. In February it was bursting with Valentines, and this month it’s full of green decorations for St. Patrick’s Day. Next month it will be dedicated to our Centennial (the official date, in case you’ve forgotten, is April 12!). MENC staff members have taken their own time to produce special ornaments for the tree – I’ve seen a few handknitted items among the many creative paper cutouts. It is certainly a friendly conversation-starter for our visitors.

Speaking of which, tomorrow Kent Summers of the National Federation of State High School Associations will be here meeting with John Mahlmann. I’m going to try to catch him for a quick interview for MENC’s podcast, Notes from the Clef. Meanwhile, the week will be full of Web projects, membership promotions, press outreach, and member communications, plus I need to record new messages for our “music on hold,” so I better get moving on all that.

One more thing though -- something different that might interest you: 2007 Toyota International Teacher Program to the Galapagos Islands. A special chance for educators to visit these remote islands, the inspiration for Darwin and home to unique ecosystems found nowhere else on Earth! Open to grade 7-12 classroom teachers of all disciplines who teach full time in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Twenty eligible applicants will be selected in May to participate on this fully funded program. Application deadline is April 23, 2007.

EWL

PS Around the Water Cooler -- American Idol British Invasion night last week was a blast. That’s one of my favorite eras in pop music. Some of my colleagues are talking about “Dancing with the Stars” but I refuse to get sucked into another reality show … though I do find myself intrigued by the “stars” appearing on the aforementioned show … must resist.

Welcome Back to My World

Good Monday Morning to you! Weekend went way too fast - before I knew it I was sitting right back here at work kind of like a Twilight Zone episode. I am like so into the Sci-Fi Channel and Dr. Who, Dresden Files, Stargate, Jericho, Medium, Most Haunted, The Unexplained, Ghost Hunters. . . I know you get my drift -- once again I'm paddling upstream but I know it! When I'm off and out of this office, one of my passions (besides playing tennis and watching Thriller Chillers) is making greeting cards, scrapbooks, altered books, collages, and journals. One of my favorite books I made recently was for past national president June Hinckley last November.

When I found out in October that June had been diagnosed with cancer (Stage 4), I was very stunned as were many of you out there. Well, anyway, that weekend I went to a "crop" at my local Recollections store and forgot to take my photos I was working on to put in a scrapbook. Like hello - why was I going to the crop? Well, being in a quandary, I decided to make a small collaged book for June. I had a great time working on it and it ended up being very therapeutic for me. I sent it to her around Thanksgiving hoping that she and her family would enjoy the photos of when she was president of MENC, 1998-2000. She loved it and called me to let me know. It was a good day for her and we talked for a while.

I have worked on a one-to-one basis with fifteen National Presidents and have been privileged to know seven others who were presidents before I came to MENC. That's a lot of history. As you walk through this life you learn how precious our goodbyes are. The last time I saw June was in April 2006 at our Salt Lake City national convention -- who knew a few months later June would be fighting her courageous battle against the cancer that was ravishing her body. It (cancer) was never able to beat down her spirit! She fought a good fight and in the end joined the heavenly angels sent to take her home.

My brother is a professional musician and wrote a song entitled "God Knew Your Name." It is a beautiful song and has been performed at many functions across the country. His song begins, "Before the light of day, shined on your little face, God knew your name." It ends with this verse: "As you gracefully grew old you know you had been told, God knew your name. And one day when you died and your friends and family cried, God knew your name. And the angels carried your soul to me and I said 'Welcome home!' You were one of mine, I loved you for all time, I knew your name." You can see all the lyrics at www.godknewyourname.com


I sent June his CD along with the altered book I made celebrating her. I heard that they shared this book at the visitation at the funeral home when her friends came to say their last goodbyes. I feel honored that they chose to share this book with others. I was not able to go to the funeral since we had a National Executive Board meeting going on at the same time. We (NEB and staff) knew that June would understand why we were not there. I was fortunate enough to be able to say my goodbye earlier. I left a message on her cell phone a week or so before she died telling her she was in our hearts, our prayers, our thoughts and we loved her very much. One of the last pages in her book focused on a poem I really love. I used several figures of dancers and wrote out the poem: "God danced the day you were born. You are a gift to all...His gift of love..." Yes, June was a marvelous gift to us. Wow, what a spirit and love of life she had. Remember --Always say your goodbyes! Have a great week -- life is wonderful and such a fun ride. May we live it with zest and listen to the whispers of our heart!

Ain't technology grand?

Hello blog-readers! It is a pleasure to "meet" you and welcome to the MENC blog!

I want to talk today about the fascinating world of technology. Technology is supposed to make things easier. I appreciate that. The problem becomes when technology turns on you. And that's what happened to the Government Relations department last week.

Our department (CW and I) went to Arts Advocacy Day on March 13 which is hosted by Americans for the Arts and MENC is a National CoSponsor. They have all sorts of fantastic events on Capitol Hill including a breakfast where they invite Hollywood stars and Congressional leaders who support the arts. There was also a hearing held after the breakfast on the importance of the arts and funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

As I also do the MENC Legislative Memo, I thought it'd be great to take pictures and put them in the next Memo so both CW and I took our...wait for it...DIGITAL cameras. And this is where technology takes a turn. We have ONE and I mean only ONE picture that came out. Look for it in the March memo. (Shameless plug--sign up now!) What's more, we've realized that both of us were so mesmerized by the great, the fantastic Wynton Marsalis, that neither of us took a picture of him at the breakfast.

So here's what most of the thirty-some-odd pictures look like. On the right is the legendary Jane Powell of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers fame. She's the one at the podium if you can make it out. See how fuzzy and dark it is?

Then there's this picture on the left. That's the Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Committee Norm Dicks (D-WA). Not only is he a great speaker, but he's also a very powerful Congressman that supports the arts. Yet another unusable, blurry photo from the breakfast.

After the breakfast we headed over the hearing that Chairman Dicks was having on the arts featuring many of the same folks that were at the breakfast. As the hearing was held in a small room, all of the members of Congress and the speakers were seated around a conference table. The room was filled to capacity and they would only let new people in as others left--and I'm talking fire code full, not chairs full. And the picture reflects that. CW and I had to stand in the back huddled with about ten others. I have put in "nametags" to try and help sort through which people we care about. This IS one picture we got of Wynton--well the back of his head. Did I mention how eloquent he is? You can also see the back of actor Chris Klein's head. (He was in Election and the American Pie movies). If only I'd been one of the four photographers shown in this picture--I'd have gotten a better shot.

So while I appreciate technology, I have to say that sometimes I just wish I still had my film camera.

Around the Water Cooler: One thing about me that you'll definitely learn--I'm from Indiana. That means I have basketball in my blood so March Madness is a very important time of year. Since there aren't a huge number of sports fans here, I started my own NCAA March Madness pool. This is the third year running and after last night's close call wins by Memphis and Ohio State, a fellow blogger is tied in FIRST with SKJ and AW. Unfortunately I'm in second, but I'm not out yet! Having won the last two, I'm looking for a three-pete. Will keep you posted...

Thursday Interlude

Hi All,

Ok. I have one short comment about American Idol last night. Stephanie (sniff, sniff) left way too soon. I knew I should have voted Tuesday night. And Stephanie, Darlin', I have two words for you: Jennifer Hudson.

Now, a disclaimer of sorts. My background is in journalism—newspaper reporter, magazine writer and editor. I have not been a music teacher, nor have I played one on TV.

I am, however, an editor who loves music. My musical tastes run from Mary J. Blige to Yo Yo Ma to Buckwheat Zydeco to Charlie Parker to (I can’t believe I am telling you this) Barry Manilow.) And I love Show Tunes. I know all the words to musicals like “My Fair Lady” and "Cabaret" and I have been known to sing them at the top of my lungs while vacuuming. And even though I was a church choir soloist, I would be too embarassed walk down the hall singing here at the offce. A number of my co-workers here at MENC are formally trained singers.

I am also a lapsed clarinetist (three years in elementary school, four years in high school) and marching band geek; the daughter of a retired Kansas City mailman who was a jazz musician back in the day and still composes; the granddaughter of a beloved church choral director, who also played in jazz bands before he found, um, the right place to be on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings.

I am the mother of Matt, a 13-nearly-14-year-old who loves sports (baseball and basketball and football), but also loves music. He plays saxophone (in part for the cool quotient) but now wants a guitar. He likes hip-hop music but that is ok because one of his favorite movies of the past couple of years was “Ray” and he really likes jazz, as well as rock music from the last century— the Stones and the Beatles and Pink Floyd. My husband is gratified by Matt's diverse musical interests, too.

As MENC’s managing editor for news, I write and edit stories, and lay out pages for "Teaching Music" and "Music Educators Journal." I have been here just over three years and thoroughly enjoy my work . One of the things I enjoy most is talking to music educators. You guys and gals are so dedicated and it is nice to chat with people who like kids, like their jobs and know that they are making a difference. Music teachers rock!

So, last Saturday I was driving to work (ok, I occasionally work on the weekend when I have a deadline looming and the May issue of "Music Educators Journal" was staring me in the face) and listening to National Public Radio. Then, Hello! Once again I was reminded how much I love NPR. And how much NPR loves music.

Did you hear the story about the high school choral festival held at Carnegie Hall this week? If you didn’t, use this link to listen to it.
http://%20http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8932670
I was excited to hear the story, reported by Jeffrey Lunden, because I love hearing music stories, but also because it featured an interview with Craig Jessop, music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The story concerned the prestigious National High School Choral Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Jessop conducted the concert on March 19.

Last year the MENC National Biennial Conference in Salt Lake City featured a concert by the the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and I can still hear those glorious voices.

Anyway, the NPR story also highlighted a rehearsal of the Bentonville (Arkansas) High School Chamber Choir preparing to play its first concert at Carnegie Hall. Students in the radio piece said they were used to working hard in music classes but were particularly excited to tackle such sophisticated music for the festival. Jessop traveled to northwest Arkansas to rehearse with them.

MENC member Terry Hicks directs the Bentonville choir, one of four chosen to perform in the choral festival. Photos and audio of the rehearsals of Poulenc's "Gloria" can be found at the Web link above. This coming weekend Morning Edition will post a story about the actual concert.

Now, I know music teachers are busy during the day, and probably not listening to the radio. No problem, on the NPR Web site you can hear search for and listen to stories anytime you want.

For example, I found another story this week. “Bringing Brahms Alive with Little Fanfare,” notes, “With virtually any mainstay of the classical repertoire, like the three masterful violin sonatas Brahms composed in 1879, 1886 and 1888, it’s possible to find sparkling performances from lesser-known but artistically mighty interpreters. This recording, by Czech violinist Josef Suk and American pianist Julius Katchen, provides an excellent example.”
Visit http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9020703 to hear the story and three sonatas.

NPR offers a variety of music stories, all genres, educational, commercial, little known artists, big stars. NPR, it is obvious, loves music and considers it an integral part of the human condition. Explore the Web site, www.npr.org and enjoy.

See you next Thursday.
RF
Public Relations and Marketing

Midweek Meanderings & Miscellany

HAPPY First Day of SPRING!
"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."***

It's the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach!
According to The Writers Almanac (3/21/07) (Garrison Keillor's soothing morning ode)
"Members of his congregation were annoyed by his habit of improvising while playing hymns, which made it difficult for people to sing along." "Bach earned a decent living in Leipzig, but he had a grueling workload. He had to write a cantata every month, so in order to get ahead of the deadlines, he wrote one every week for the first two years. In addition to serving as organist and musical director at church services, he had to teach a boys' class in Latin and music, and he was continually frustrated by his undisciplined students and the inexperienced musicians he had to work with."


IN TOUCH WITH THE FIELD
It's that time of year again - music program cutbacks, as administrators think about the upcoming school year. In the last week, we've received 7 - 10 requests from members asking for help because their administration was either cutting music, drastically changing the schedule (from in school to after school, or changing the day rotation from 5 days to 6); reassigning the teachers to different grades, or generally minimizing the program. We've also heard from several grad students (one doing a survey on student behavior in the classroom, one needing elementary teaching resources, one needing advocacy info), a British musician who is immigrating to the States and wants to teach music here; a music teacher from Spain who is working with the National Organization of Blind People, looking for the best practices from the US regarding teaching music to visually impaired/ blind students; and a writer working on an article re: jazz competitions. Plus several students and parents seeking career and school report info!


IN THE NEWS - Something Different!
The Australian Federal Government will form a music advisory group to raise the national status of music education in Australia. This in response to a report released by the Education Minister of the country. The report called for a national music curriculum for ages K - 10 and better training for music teachers, as well as up to date resources and overall support for the field.

I wonder how something like that would go down here in the States? When music educators/researchers/students from overseas write to MENC, asking about the US Music curriculum, they are frequently suprised to learn that the US does NOT have a national music curriculum or system. Would having a national curriculum make your life easier, or harder? Would you love it or hate it? On the one hand, I suppose, having a nationally mandated curriculum would mean the government would have to back it with funds, schools would HAVE to have regular music classes, and sufficient number of music teachers. On the other hand, might having a nationalized curriculum restrict some of the (relative) freedom music teachers currently have? (although some of you may feel you actually don't have much freedom in your particular teaching situation!) What do you think? Write to info@menc.org; thoughtful/interesting responses may be shared here in coming weeks!


SIDE NOTE
A coworker told me the other day that she played both the trombone AND piccolo in her high school band, as the band did not have anyone assigned to those instruments (her HS graduating class had only 31 students). She noted, "It was particularly challenging on the days when the music called for both instruments in the same piece!" (I'm sure she didn't mean at the same time!) Talk about being a versatile musician!


RESOURCES OF THE WEEK
(note: MENC does not "endorse these sites/articles.... just thought these were interesting....)
Orchestras and Diversity
Genes may play a solo in pitch recognition
Music Ed website of note
Music Ed Blog of note


*** Margaret Atwood
See you next Wednesday! SR
Content provided by the Info/Research Dept of MENC. Part of this department's mission is to provide MENC members with resources regarding advocacy, teaching and all things music education. The dept. also answers questions from, and provides resources to, the general public, the press, administrators, parents, students, MENC staff and MENC leaders! This blog will share some of the more interesting resources discovered during the course of day to day business, in addition to providing some insights into this department's activities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

March Madness

I can’t believe March is suddenly more than half over (and that 2007 marks my 16th Music In Our Schools Month as a staff member at MENC)! March is always very busy for the MENC PR/Marketing staff. We get a lot of inquiries from the press about MIOSM, and this year, there was the Music In Our Schools Showcase to promote. We also released our Why Music? PSAs in a new format – online instead of on CD. The National Anthem Project Road Show won a hugely prestigious public relations award – PR Week’s nonprofit campaign of the year. Tomorrow night we have another installment of our Webinar series – this one called “Getting Mileage Out of the Media”. I attended the Eastern Division Conference in Hartford week before last. There’s a podcast in the works featuring an interview with NSBA executive director Anne Bryant. There’s also membership promotion, Centennial celebration planning, news pages being written, Web site updating. And oh yes, we launched this blog!

There are other things going on to distract us from all this. American Idol has finally gotten serious -- down to the last eleven contestants. (I like Blake and Melinda … and have been joyfully revisiting my Pat Benatar LPs since Jordin sang “Heartbreaker” a few weeks ago.) Also, some of us are following the NCAA tournament. (So far, I’m not doing too well in my predictions. Possibly something to do with not knowing much about basketball. I did pick Georgetown to win, and they’re still in it. I think.)

Thought I’d mention that HBO is featuring an interesting program right now called “The Music In Me: Children’s Recitals from Classical to Latin, Jazz to Zydeco.” They asked young musicians to send in videotapes of the music they play, and it looks like what’s airing throughout this month is the first of three documentaries that will be made from the videotapes. The kids are amazing. There’s not much about teachers, but it was still lots of fun to watch.

Happy MIOSM! -- EWL

Welcome to My World

HEY everybody, "Welcome to my World!" It is a scary world sometime, but oh so worth the ride. Last week I worked on the draft board minutes from the March 2-3 meeting. A footnote or two: (1) When I first started working right out of college at a children’s hospital, I didn’t have a clue what it meant to “take minutes.” About a year into the job, one of the auxiliary ladies, who took their board minutes, could not make it. Bingo! There I was thinking – OK just like taking notes in college…. After that experience I decided I never wanted to take minutes again in this lifetime; (2) Now let’s fast forward to my second job at the arts and humanities council in Oklahoma. Oh boy, no minutes. Life, at times, toys with us. The executive director’s secretary did not show up one Monday morning after an all-weekend board meeting and on my desk were audio tapes (you see plural as in tapes and tapes) with a note – minutes need to be taken. Yes, life toys with me; (3) So here I am at MENC 27 years later -- 80 NEB meetings later -- 79 minutes later -- contemplating my world. I only missed one NEB meeting in all those years because I had to have heart valve surgery – not a bad record. Yup, Welcome to my World! This week at MENC in my world we will be having the Strategic Plan Writing Task Force in town. It will be fun to see some old friends! More about it next week - stay tuned. MJL