Reply to Loiderman vs North Bethesda

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Again, folks...

You can't expect school instrumental music programs at _any_ school to substitute for private study.

And you therefore can't expect school ensembles to be on par with county or all-state ensembles.

This is, in fact, why such competitive festivals exist: to give the most skilled youth musicians in a given area the opportunity to perform at a much higher level _than_they_do_at_school_.  This is also why auditioned youth orchestras exist, along with the many other opportunities that are available to music students who have had the good fortune to be able to invest time, effort, energy, and expense to develop their talents.

But for students who did not start in preschool, or whose families cannot manage private lessons, school instrumental programs can be an important bridge to something they might not otherwise be able to access.  Or they can allow students who (for example) have already had several years of piano to start trumpet, or to learn to play in a jazz band.

The case might be made that in a catchment area where more families have been engaged in private music study, the school band and orchestra are likely to be better.  That is true.  But again, the most committed youth musicians will not be depending exclusively on school ensembles for their development.  If anything, they may have skills sufficiently far beyond their peers that their playing in the school band or school orchestra might be construed at least partially as an act of service.  That this exercise has value is witnessed by the fact that most state music educators' associations actually won't let students audition for all-state if they do _not_ play in their school ensemble.[/quote]

No need to belabor the point, PP. The reality in this area is that families have a lot of resources to pay for private music lessons, which means that schools can't keep up. The music kids tolerate school band/orchestra/choir just for the All-State opportunity. I'm a music parent of an All-State kid, and we all think that. Loiederman cannot elevate their music department because they don't have the resources for private instruction, which is what would be needed.

So I guess the take away from this thread is: if you have a generally academically-unmotivated kid who loves theater, Loiederman might be a good fit. Otherwise, stay at North Bethesda, which has a stellar academic reputation. [/quote]

Its more complicated than that.  You need warm, friendly welcoming teachers who teach.  Many music teachers come MS and HS don't teach and kids have to learn instruments on their own to progress.  Its not like elementary where its seperated into instruments and they get a lesson on that instrument.  This teacher doesn't care (though most we have experienced with music do the absolute minimum but there are a few great ones).

For theater, its very competative as lots of kids want theater and few spots.  You are better off at your home school for theater and doing a private theater.[/quote]

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