Recognizing Students/Recognizing the Significance of Music Education in Their Lives

Each year, our small rural school (roughly 225 students in PreK-12), hosts an award assembly in which teachers have the opportunity to recognize students in grades 7-12 for more than their GPA. We each have the opportunity to select three students for various reasons: achievements in our subject areas, personal and academic dispositions, friendliness, humor, perseverance and grit, or whatever else strikes us as being significant and noteworthy in their growth throughout the year. These students do not have to be at the top of their class; we are not tasked with the presentation of academic awards based on objective measurements of acquired skills and/or knowledge. I would say that the relationships formed throughout the year in particular classroom settings are really at the heart of this kind of recognition.

Here are my three award presentation speeches. These took some time to craft. I experienced some real emotion while reflecting and writing and felt such pride in each student award recipient and their teachers during the ceremony. I was also moved by the fact that there are so few teachers on staff; that we, the few of us on stage, are responsible for their entire academic, social, artistic, and even to some degree, spiritual growth while in school. We are helping our students develop a social consciousness, an empathetic regard for others, an appreciation of this beautiful and complicated place we call home and for others, whom we do not know and who live very different lives, elsewhere on this earth through each of our disciplines. We are coaching them through some very deep psychological waters while learning to swim through these changing times ourselves.

So, my hope is that nights like this resonate for a long while, that they affirm for each student that we do indeed pay attention, and that we're also learning on the job and trying our best to evolve so that we might one day catch up to them.

Middle School Music Award: Practice Makes Progress

The recipient of this award embodies the musicians’ spirit in all that they do. They have made the most of every possible offering here at school: Band Lab, Chorus, All-County, and General Music. As a percussionist in Band Lab, this student has played just about everything we have asked of them: snare and cymbals, cajon and floor tom, vibraslap and ultimately- the drum set!

This student has managed the complexities of the ensemble environment by being friendly, high-energy, super fun in class, and earnest in their efforts. They are generous and adventurous on and off the stage. Everyday is a gig for this student and they’re always willing to share the spotlight! This award- and this Bon Jovi wig- are presented to ...

Serious Treble: the Music Theory Award

The language of music, contrary to conventional opinion, is not universal. Social norms, economics, politics and the prevailing culture of a given place and era determine what kind of music is created, who gets to hear it, where it gets heard, and who gets to learn it. In the case of music theory, or the study of the rudiments of music, our learning is bound to a very specific time, place, and tradition. The foundation of music literacy in the western music tradition- as taught in elementary school through college- comes specifically from a 250 year period of European classical music (from Bach to Beethoven). The theories developed within this historic context serve many musical styles of today but within somewhat limited parameters. This foundation serves us well enough as a place to start our own musical journey. With some very basic literacy skills in hand, the doors to a wide variety of musical experiences can be opened for almost any musician at almost every level.

The student I’d particularly like to recognize this year has a solid foundation in the introductory rudiments of music theory. They appreciate the tradition we’re inheriting from past masters while being open to innovation in digital literacies and more abstract and inventive interpretations of symbol and sound as you can see in their classwork and on display in the music classroom hallway.

This award is presented to ... with pride.

High School Music Award for Excellence in Music Education and Performance

I’d first like to acknowledge the journey that our award recipient has made during their time here in our school:

Elementary school brought general music, drama club, a handful of sweet but not entirely successful flute lessons, and the start of private piano lessons.

Middle school brought All-County Chorus and Concert Band, private voice lessons, NYSSMA Solo Festival, Drama Club, and the National Children’s Chorus at Carnegie Hall.

High School brought chorus, music theory and history, All-County, Area All-State, leads in the school musicals, summer theater productions, online lessons during a pandemic, highest honors in both solo piano and voice at NYSSMA, Conference All-State in Rochester, the Essex County School Music Association Scholarship Award, the Ithaca College High School Gospel Festival, Piano By Nature CODA Concerts, trial lessons with college voice teachers, and then came a most strenuous college audition season. The demands included learning new repertoire in German, French and Italian, pre-screening videos, and travel to live auditions. All of this plus a devotion to their academics, service to her community, and of course, basketball!

This student has survived the trifecta of three very intense, dedicated, loving but critical music teachers since they were 8 years old. There is no getting around the fact that teenagers on this path must spend hundreds, if not thousands of hours alone in their studios practicing, perfecting, reinforcing, and honing their skills to compete once they leave the comfort of their own community. Serious students (and their families) make serious sacrifices to obtain their goals so that as professional artists, they may one day make meaningful contributions to our lives- and even then, success is not guaranteed. But we know, for sure, that this student has everything they need to handle the rigor of a professional career on the stage if they so choose. And if that is not where they want to direct their talents, their teachers and their school community will still be here to support them all the way!

And with that, I proudly present the Award for Excellence in Music Education and Performance to ...