Save the Music Program at Westinghouse High School

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Comment by Michael Sciomacco on November 17, 2009 at 8:25pm

We have plenty of instruments in the Pgh schools and a repairman who is fantastic ! If there may be an instrument to be donated it can be gone over by our in house repairman ! All these posting are great, BUT the right people in the school district need to be contacted. Right now, we do not have a music supervisor, but we do have a music teacher who is over seeing music department activities.

Comment by CWR (Fan of Culture) on November 17, 2009 at 8:16pm

Man, Frank, that is a great idea. Maybe work with a local music store to donate the repairs needed. I know I have seen hundreds of instruments stored away for given to junk stores(my favorite haunt.)

A little love and a little pride is all it takes.

Comment by Frank B. Greenlee on November 17, 2009 at 6:49pm

I had written that many folks have instruments sitting in attics, closets, under beds and in corners. Why not have a 'Take an old instrument out for a walk.', at some venue so they can be played and/or donated to a worthy cause like the Westinghouse Music Program". It might be fun too.

Comment by Kevin Hurst, Sr. on September 12, 2009 at 2:53am

All too often parents wait to when their kids lose interest to talk to those who have played for a while. A 40-something who admitted his 'credit was so bad he could not finance a $500 trombone' rented one and his son played 3 weeks. I asked him name a bone player who gets paid to do it.He could not name one! I told him the guy who played with James Brown is name Fred Wesley. Nathan Davis came to Pgh. because he was asked by jazz musicians in Europe to teach jazz history. He choose Pgh. because of its legacy and Kenny Clarke whom he played with over there. In his class he has a section on Pgh. artists, maybe this should be taught to all in the schools BEFORE they consider playing. Harold betters, Roger Humpries, etc. are still kickin' and attest to that excellence. Just like when our coach of the Steelers said they wanted to live up to the legacy of the 'city of champions' in football.- kev

Comment by CWR (Fan of Culture) on September 10, 2009 at 4:58am

Not backwards Ben, but maybe wrong ~wards.

Comment by Sky on September 10, 2009 at 1:44am

I think you're right, Kevin. It all boils down to priorities, doesn't it?

When I was a kid, I wanted to play in the school band real bad. My mother was playing music in a band on the weekends. She played guitar and sang. I wanted to play a brass instrument--mostly sax, but my parents couldn't fit it in the budget. I wanted to play piano since before I was 5, but a piano wasn't in the budget either. Since we had guitars scattered around the house, I learned to play guitar instead. I'd still love to learn to play piano and sax, but I'm still playing guitar. With 6 kids, it really ISN'T in the budget for me. My 3 older girls (who have graduated high school and live on their own) were all in band tho--one plays flute, one plays clarinet, and yes, one plays sax. I've got 3 more at home still, and I'm trying to encourage them to play. I'll find a way to fit their instruments and lessons in the budget. Its worth it.

Comment by Kevin Hurst, Sr. on September 10, 2009 at 1:00am

I guess young folks today have so many things they can do on their own i.e. video games etc.. We forget before cable TV( Pgh. area probably had it before smaller towns), etc. young folks practiced instruments. In sports after practice one went home but in band you have to practice individually. Video games bring kids together after they want to learn how to play better but band is more interactive. Instruments were always expensive but the instruction was more the big ticket item and were not equal. It is sad music has to compete with so many things. Parents are the key as they should expose their youth to a variety of things without bias towards any one thing. Jazz, blues, gospel etc. is America's thing and should be taught that to the youth. No one should have to 'give up' anything yet a comparison can be made to how much a case of beer, sport utility vehicle, pair of sneakers etc. cost to an instrument and lessons cost. Why expect youth to want to play music when they listen to music that has no horns, maybe a drum machine, or sequenced phrases. Band is just academic and not functional in their everyday lives. Working class folks spend on what they want, 5 years of $100 sneakers would buy an instrument a child might play 3 yrs and you have a constructive activity, you got your money back if you did not have to pay for lessons. Anything longer is a blessing!

Comment by Sky on September 4, 2009 at 11:21am

Wow. Tragic really.
Support for band really starts early. Here in NE Ohio, the kids start learning to play recorders in 3rd grade Music class. They have a "concert" at the end of the year each year. This contiues until 5th grade, when they can start playing in band. I think the early involvement is most important to foster support for band at a high school level.

Next, the cost of instruments is a big problem for alot of working-class parents. If your school could somehow contact a local musical instrument dealer or music store and offer some discounts for the school, it also may help.
There are some schools who purchase lightly-used instruments and do rentals themselves.

Another thing about band--even tho there are only a few members, maybe talk to band instructors at neighboring schools and see if you can "borrow" the necessary pieces and players to perform in all the local parades until enrollment is up again. Maybe do a "trade-off" with them.

My older kids were part of the Revere Marching Band--one who had an "excellent" rating and placed nationally.
One daughter played flute/piccalo and the other played clarinet.

Music is absolutely essential for many kids. It helps them to become better-rounded adults and stimulates abstract thinking skills. I wish you the utmost luck in keeping your program together. I hope some of these ideas may help.

Comment by Ben on September 3, 2009 at 9:01pm

I'm pretty far detached from the Westinghouse high school area, but my roots in the Peobody high school experience and also close excellent musician friend who passed away recently played in the Band at Westinghouse and knew many musicians from the area. We're losing the very thing that preserves the future of the Arts and helps Human Relations to the utmost by losing such a program....Priorities play a role, but even thousands of years ago Music was a priority in the ancient world...Are we going backward?

Comment by CWR (Fan of Culture) on September 3, 2009 at 4:09pm

Who cares what has happened to this program, who cares where the blame sits, what can I do to help make it of interest, to help it come back. Look it's not that I do not care the hows and whys, look around everything is in the gutter. Its our job as citizens to stop and reverse this decay. if not us , who will look after the children. So what can i do to help?

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