Playback - Fall 2008 - (Page 32)

MUSIC NOTES Support Music Tools Help Advocates Develop Programs in Latin American Communities NAMM MEMBER uSES ADVOCACy kIt FOR PRESENtAtIONS IN COStA RICA AND CROSSES BORDER tO CREAtE MORE MuSIC MAkERS tHROuGHOut tHE REGION presentation during Colombia’s International Band Seminar, with a focus on the Support Music initiative, its goals and its resources. An agreement was recently signed with the Ministry of Education in Costa Rica to develop many aspects of music education, including a recorder program in schools, during the next three years. Yamaha Music Latin America has since joined the SupportMusic Coalition, which now unites over 190 organizations in support of a complete education that includes music and arts education for all children. In addition to the U.S.-based coalition affiliates and the above Latin American organizations, international members include the International Society for Music Education, the Australian Music Association, the Coalition for Music Education in Canada and Educational Arts Ltd., United Kingdom. To learn more about the Support Music Coalition, write to info@namm.org or, for tools and resources for keeping music education strong, log on to www.supportmusic.com. The sounds of school music may swell throughout Latin America due to the efforts of NAMM Member Werner Bansbach and his work distributing NAMM’s bilingual Support Music Community Action Kits to Latin American advocates. Bansbach, a Support Music Coalition member, distributed the Spanish-language versions of advocacy materials to many institutions, teachers and the Minister of Culture in Costa Rica, along with Juan Guillermo of Yamaha Music Latin America, a board member of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. The latter organization works with musicians throughout Latin America. To help promote the importance of music education around Latin America, Bansbach was invited by Guillermo to make a School Band & Orchestra Magazine Names Eighth Annual Music Student Scholarship Winners IN tHEIR OWN WORDS, StuDENtS ExPRESS WHy MuSIC IS IMPORtANt tO tHEIR COMPLEtE EDuCAtION For the past eight years, students throughout the United States have entered the annual School Band & Orchestra magazine essay contest to share their thoughts about why music and music education are vital to them. This year, the assignment for the essay scholarship was: Dear Mr. President, I am writing to tell you why music is so important to my complete education…. Students in grades 4–12 from all over the country used their personal experiences to describe how music has helped them in many ways, among those were connecting with others, improving communication, providing stress relief, inspiring creativity, building self-esteem and improving performance in school. Ten winners received $1,000 scholarships with matching merchandise prizes awarded to each of their schools. Among the entries was one from a 13-year-old student named Luz, who wrote, “I speak four different languages and the more I play, the more I understand why music is the real universal language.” School Band & Orchestra magazine encourages industry advocates and educators to read these essays, posted at www.supportmusic.com/drjohn/archive/2008-07-01.mhtml, for new ideas to help defend local programs. Why not take the next step and send the essays to elected officials to bolster support for music education? For information about the 2009 School Band & Orchestra magazine essay scholarship, please visit www.sbomagazine.com. 32 PLAYback http://www.supportmusic.com http://www.supportmusic.com http://www.supportmusic.com/drjohn/archive/2008-07-01.mhtml http://www.sbomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Playback - Fall 2008

Playback - Fall 2008 Contents From the President NAMM Events Music in the News Voices of Our Past, Present and Future: NAMM Oral History Program Celebrates a Major Milestone Commercial Retail Reps in the Field NAMM@AARP New Domestic Members Washington Watch International NAMM Foundation Music Notes Resources Viewpoint

Playback - Fall 2008

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