Fundraising

SBO Survival Guide

Survival Checklist

ACTION ESSENTIALS

Director’s Resource Guide

From the Trenches: The Parent Trap

From The Trenches: The Parent Trap

by Bob Morrison

There is an emerging trend that, until recently, had been isolated to California ( Redwood City, Concord, and dozens of others). This trend has now started to pop up in school districts across the country. I call it The Parent Trap.

To explain this phenomenon, here is an e-mail we received from someone after they watched the "Dr. Phil Show" episode, The Power of Music that illustrates the point:

Did you see what just happened? In a two-step move the school district has now shifted the responsibility to fund a core subject, music, from the school board to the parents.

Marching Band’s Place in Music Education

By Stephen Pratt

Dear Mr. Smith,

I am enjoying my first year here at Central State College. I just wanted to write and let you know how much band meant to me in high school. I?ll never forget all of the hard work, all of my friends, the thrill of competing against the other bands, bad times when we didn?t win, but also the great times when we did! You helped teach all of us how to work hard to be the best we can be, to set a goal and strive to accomplish it.

If you ever put together an alumni marching band at Chathom High, be sure to let me know. I?ll be right there with my marching shoes on and my lucky reed in place!

Running a Junior High Band by the Book

By Stan Garber

I enjoy the unique opportunity and privilege of visiting school bands all across the country. Over the years it has been interesting to observe that the best bands - which play fantastic concerts and consistently receive division I ratings - all possess a high degree of organization. One example of a highly successful and organized ensemble is the Walter R. Sundling Junior High School Band in Palatine , Ill. Director Jeff Zilke puts together a Band Handbook each year to assist him in running an organized junior high program.

Setting Objectives

The primary responsibility of any leader, be it the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the director of a school band, is to set objectives. Too many directors attempt to narrowly define objectives for their band in terms of tasks or activities, such as performing a particular piece of music or taking a trip during the school year. True objectives are much broader in scope.

Bruce Edmiston: A REVERSAL of FORTUNE

Youth Symphony Orchestras

What The National Anthem Means To Me”

This month launches our fifth annual music student essay scholarship program. We have selected the theme, "Tell Us What The National Anthem Means To You," in concert with The National Anthem Project sponsored by MENC, to help celebrate America's heritage and support music education within our schools. The Project is a three year undertaking to renew national awareness of the patriotic traditions within the USA and will include major singing celebrations at schools, professional sporting events and local venues. The program to get America singing will culminate with the world's largest performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" in the Baltimore/Washington area.

The essay contest will award ten $1,000 scholarships to students ranging from grades four through twelve with equivalent value music products to the student's school music programs by co-sponsors Alfred Publishing, Hershey's Fundraising, Yamaha Corporation of America, and Avedis Zildjian Co.

A four-color poster, suitable for display on your school bulletin board, is available with this issue of SBO. The entry rules and application are also available on our Web site, www.sbomagazine.com, click on "Essay Contest 2005."

SBOSurvey: Fundraising

One of the biggest challenges facing music educators is securing adequate funding for their program. Upcoming performances, projects, and trips all come at a price and oftentimes even the costs associated with the “basics,” such as instrument acquisition and maintenance, exceed the allotted school budget.

Music directors turn to fundraising as a means to subsidize their programs, choosing from a wide array of options and approaches available – the trick is selecting the strategy that best matches a given course’s needs.

SBO recently contacted over 1,200 of our readers to learn what fundraising methods have been meeting with success, how fundraising compares to outright requests for donations, and if there are any new trends that are making an impact.

Travel Preparation: Planning a Successful Trip

By Amy M. Knopps and Tim Greenwell

Traveling together and making music is an outstanding combination to offer your ensemble. The decision to take a major trip can provide your students with the opportunity of a lifetime. This opportunity includes performing music at a high level, traveling to far-away destinations, staying in hotels, swimming in pools, shopping and sightseeing - all while creating long-lasting memories that will be cherished forever. No matter how much our students love playing their instruments and being a part of our ensemble, once we uttered the words, "Holiday Bowl" and " San Diego," students immediately asked, "When do we leave?"

Planning for a successful trip is no easy task. It involves countless hours of work and dedication through many challenges. It can, however, be a much more rewarding experience if the trip is well thought out in advance collectively by your staff, parent organization and students. In this article, we will share our journey to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, Calif., and identify elements needed to plan a successful trip with your ensemble.

SBOSurvey: Travel Planning

Traveling to an exciting destination in order to perform and/or compete can be an incredibly rewarding experience for both music students and their instructors. In addition to providing opportunities for growth as musicians and basic “tourist fun,” these trips allow children and young adults to gain a greater understanding of the world and their place in it. However, arranging a tour, regardless of scope, means wrestling with a number of logistics and sometimes even the best-laid plans go awry.

SBO surveyed over 1,500 of our readers to fi nd out how many music programs incorporate travel plans into their academic year and of what sort. We asked educators to describe the types of trips which they fi nd to be most successful and to offer advice and feedback on what perils to be on the lookout for when organizing student travel.

Up Close: Teaching “The Real Thing”

By Christian Wissmuller

For the past 17 years, Sarah
Fitzgerald has been a string
orchestra teacher in Charleston
County, South Carolina. The
Charleston County School of
the Arts (SOA) High School
Orchestra, which she currently
directs, is an acclaimed group
made up of extremely driven
students who have chosen
strings as their art major and
who receive 100 minutes of
instruction on their instrument
every day.