MENC: The Natinal Assciatin fr Music Educatin The Schl Ensemble a Culture f Our Own Authr(s): Steven J. Mrrisn Surce: Music Educatrs Jurnal, Vl. 88, N. 2 (Sep., 2001), pp. 24-28 Published by: MENC: The Natinal Assciatin fr Music Educatin Stable URL: http://www.jstr.rg/stable/3399738 Accessed: 02/10/2008 12:36 Yur use f the JSTOR archive indicates yur acceptance f JSTOR's Terms and Cnditins f Use, available at http://www.jstr.rg/page/inf/abut/plicies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Cnditins f Use prvides, in part, that unless yu have btained prir permissin, yu may nt dwnlad an entire issue f a jurnal r multiple cpies f articles, and yu may use cntent in the JSTOR archive nly fr yur persnal, nn-cmmercial use. Please cntact the publisher regarding any further use f this wrk. Publisher cntact infrmatin may be btained at http://www.jstr.rg/actin/shwpublisher?publishercde=menc. Each cpy f any part f a JSTOR transmissin must cntain the same cpyright ntice that appears n the screen r printed page f such transmissin. JSTOR is a nt-fr-prfit rganizatin funded in 1995 t build trusted digital archives fr schlarship. We wrk with the schlarly cmmunity t preserve their wrk and the materials they rely upn, and t build a cmmn research platfrm that prmtes the discvery and use f these resurces. Fr mre infrmatin abut JSTOR, please cntact supprt@jstr.rg. MENC: The Natinal Assciatin fr Music Educatin is cllabrating with JSTOR t digitize, preserve and extend access t Music Educatrs Jurnal. http://www.jstr.rg
THE A SCHOOL ENSEMBL CULTURE OF OUR OWN Schl ensembles are ntjust classes rperfrmance grups, butguardians f their wn specific culture, a culture that infrms and enriches the lives f their members. f any ne idea has taken center stage in cntemprary music teaching, it is "cntext." N music exists in a vacuum. All music cmes frm smene and smeplace, at sme pint in time, and fr sme purpse. n any musical interactin, the fullest rewards are reaped when the experience is centered within a chrnlgical, stylistic, cultural, and gegraphical framewrk. Much attentin has been given t these cntextual matters, as ur prfessin has sught t expand its teaching repertire t include music frm the wrld's vast array f cultural traditins. Unfrtunately, there are limitatins t the experiences that ur students draw frm this glbal repertire. Students may explre the unique sunds, fascinating histry, and ften stirring ideas behind the musics that they encunter while remaining turists t these traditins, never able t truly live within them and make them their wn. At the same time, ne f ur gals as music educatrs is t teach students "t meet significant musical challenges in teaching-learning situa- tins that are clse apprximatins f real music cultures."l The questin arises: "Hw can a real music culture be apprximated in the rehearsal rm?" Surprisingly, a real musical culture already exists-nt nly exists, Steven J. Mrrisn assistant prfessr f but thrives. By recgnizing schl music educatin the University f Washingtn music prgrams as real musical culin Seattle. tures, educatrs may better articulate Schl ensembles inspire individual excellence in a grup cntext, frming bnds that create a unique and enduring culture. the value f perfrmance in students' develpment, better understand the prgram qualities that students value, and better chse future directins fr an ensemble prgram's structure and cntent. An Overlked Culture t is tempting t cnsider rganizatins s histrically rted and tradi- i i m 2 a 24 MUSC EDUCATORS JOURNAL
tin-laden as the schl band, rchestra, r chir as "utmded," as nt in step with new emphases in music teaching. Hw can rganizatins with such a narrw, albeit rich, histrical lineage accmmdate the needs f tday's diverse schl cmmunity? Hw can real musical cultures be clsely apprximated within the cnstraints f current schl perfrming ensembles? These are imprtant questins, but they may verlk ne f the greatest strengths f schl ensembles: these perfrmance prgrams are themselves real musical cultures. Surprisingly, a real musical culture already exists-nt nly exists, but thrives. Orchestra is a perfrmance ensemble. Band is usually ne cmpnent f a schl music prgram. Chir is ften a class. Each f these traditins is a musical wrld unt itself. Fr example, take the band prgram. Michael Mark, in his thrugh explratin f the histry f American music educatin, bserved, "t is ne f the irnies f histry that the prfessinal band, nw a thing f the past, is recreated and emulated in schls, while the symphny rchestra, which is held in esteem by sciety, is nt as prevalent in the schls."2 t is easy t see hw Mark reached this cnclusin. Schl bands have, ver time, drawn significantly frm the great prfessinal bands f the past. These great bands prvided guidelines fr instrumentatin, fstered a fundatin f public supprt, frmed the training grund fr many pineering band instructrs, and generated an imprtant early bdy f perfrmance literature. Thugh many f the schl band's structural characteristics are directly reminiscent f ld prfessinal grups, schl bands have lng since mved away frm re-creating r emulating the perfrmance medium that was s ppular in the past. Schl bands, alng with schl rchestras and chirs, have created their wn perfrmance traditins. Within this current, nging traditin is the realizatin f much present philsphical thught. The term "culture" prbably des nt immediately cnjure images f a middle schl chir in the midst f vcal warm-ups. Certainly schlensemble culture is very different in size and scpe frm grups traditinally rganized by natinality, ethnic backgrund, r gegraphic prximity. Hwever, as music educatr Keith Swanwick has bserved, "Any grup f peple sustained by a cmmn interest r a set f shared values... will develp custms, cnventins and cnversatinal manners f a mre r less specialized kind, creating a sub- culture."3 Wh can deny that the schl band, chir, and rchestra have their wn custms, cnventins, and cnversatinal manner? Nted ethn- musiclgist Brun Nettl suggested that "ne significant way t cmprehend a culture is t find dminant themes that exhibit themselves in a variety f cultural dmains and behavir patterns."4 Cultural Themes n light f Nettl's remarks, it may be fruitful t lk at several cmmn cultural themes and cnsider hw they manifest themselves in the familiar wrld f the schl ensemble: dentity. Students take math. Students enrll in science class. But stu- dents becme members f the chir; they jin the band; they are in the rchestra. Students take wnership f the ensemble experience in a unique and persnal way. Participatin becmes an aspect f students' self- identity. Membership in ne r mre f these ensembles may cntinue fr the better part f an entire primary and secndary schl educatin, ften under the cnsistent tutelage f a very small crps f music teachers (smetimes nly ne!). Over time, this identity grws and strengthens until, by high schl, a particular grup f individuals is identified as being the band and nt just being in the band. Perhaps it is the cmprmise f this persnal wnership that is at the cre f the distress many music teachers exhibit ver such refrm effrts as blck scheduling r all-arts curse fferings. Part-time perfrmers cannt be full participants in an ensemble culture. Thugh the mst frmal manifestatin f ensemble membership ccurs at cncert perfrmances when members dn their unifrms and take the stage, identity surfaces at ther times and places as well. Custm-designed shirts r jackets may prclaim a student's perfrmance affiliatins. Schl letters adrned with clefs, ntes, and lyres may be wrn with all the pride f their equivalents representing athletic endeavrs. And the schl yearbk invariably preserves the membership f the perfrmance culture fr future generatins. Wh can deny that the schl band, chir, and rchestra have their wn custms, cnventins, and cnversatinal manner? Transmissin. Thrughut the wrld, musical traditins are ften passed dwn frm generatin t generatin by respected elder music masters. Yung nvices develp their skills SEPTEMBER 2001 25
under the watchful eye f the expert. Similarly, the schl ensemble traditin is passed n by music educatrs wh themselves were brught up in the band, rchestra, and chir ensemble culture. t is rare t find a schl music teacher wh came t the prfessin withut serving an apprenticeship as a student musician. University music educatin prgrams are filled with students wh have had particularly pwerful experiences in their wn schl perfrmance prgrams. Even amng practicing teachers, there is a tendency t identify first as a band, rchestra, r chir directr and secndly as a music educatr. Yes, the schl ensemble directr is a musician and teacher wh clearly fills the rle f "culture bearer"-a senir practitiner wh passes n accepted practices, values, and traditins t a yunger generatin. The ensemble directr is nt the nly culture bearer. Schl perfrming grups are multilevel rganizatins. The yungest and ldest members f the student cmmunity may sit side by side in the rchestra. A freshman wh has never sung in a chir befre may find herself standing alngside the spran sectin leader. Directly and indirectly, the student elders in every ensemble see t it that less experienced members knw what is expected f them, bth musically and scially. Students take wnership f the ensemble experience in a unique andpersnal way. Scial Dimensin. An ensemble is very much a scial unit. As students sn realize, becming a member f the band, chir, r rchestra requires a sizable time cmmitment. With s much time spent tgether, a clear scial structure sn develps amng the participants. This scial structure ften extends beynd the music rm. As students invest in membership in an ensemble, the culture f the ensemble infrms their identity and shapes their interactins with each ther and the larger schl cmmunity. -( s D CL Grups f ensemble members may be fund staking ut their wn table in the schl cafeteria, keeping up n gssip in the crridrs, cruising the lcal mall tgether, r checking ut the latest mvies. Many f the same scial divisins evident thrughut the larger schl ppulatin als emerge within the ensemble. Thugh the terminlgy may vary, there are always the brains, the scialites, the athletes, and s n. But, whereas in the wider schl setting these students' paths may nly ccasinally cnverge, the schl ensemble demands regular and exten- sive interactins-shared experiences and gals-amng its members. We might even say that the time spent with "thers" is far greater in the perfrmance culture than in many ther aspects f real life. Practical and Persnal Bundaries. On a grup level, fr nearly all ensemble members, participatin is nt limited t class time. n sme cases, ensembles d nt even meet during a frmal class perid; they hld rehearsals befre r after schl r during lunch. Cncerts, festivals, and ftball games bring members tgether at times and in settings well remved frm schl. Summer camps may require students t spend full mrnings, afternns, and evenings wrking with their ensemble clleagues. n the case f trips and turs, students may live exclusively as band, rchestra, r chir members remved frm the familiar cnfines f the rehearsal rm fr days r even weeks. Such a wealth f shared expe- rience nly strengthens the bnds and fcuses the identity f this culture's members. On an individual level, the realizatin f schl ensembles as a culture rather than a class may suggest why participatin in ur prgrams s rarely expands beynd a "critical mass." An ensemble's identity within the larger cmmunity is exactly what many participants value abut their membership. Hwever, fr a schl ensemble t prvide that identity f "within," there must als be a "withut." Fr students t take n the identity f the ensemble within the larger schl ppulatin, then part f that ppula- 26 MUSC EDUCATORS JOURNAL
tin cannt be ensemble members. Organizatinal Hierarchy. Unlike many ther schl rganizatins, and certainly unlike ther academic classes, perfrmance ensembles ften pssess a frmal internal pwer structure. Remarkably, this structure is nt necessarily cnstructed alng musical lines. Students may be elected t rles such as president, secretary, treasurer, r drum majr based mre n persnal characteristics than strictly musical achievements. Psitins such as sectin leader r rehearsal assistant may represent mre frmal recgnitin f a student's musical leadership. As the years pass, students cnstantly mve int and ut f ensembles. Yet the rganizatinal hierarchy ften remains, supprted thrugh fr- mal bylaws r even a cnstitutin. All classrms have rules, but in the culture f the schl music grup, these rules take n a depth and breadth that g well beynd the simple maintenance f gd discipline. Since ensemble culture exists thrughut the cuntry, ex-perfrmers frm different gegraphical backgrunds quickly discver that they share a wealth ffamiliar experiences. Traditinal Sng. Nettl wrte, "A sciety has a music, r at least a principal music, that cnsists f a set f rules and principles that gvern ideas abut music, musical behavir, and Ensemble culture is passed n by the student elders in an envirnment that is mre clearly defined by experience and expertise. musical sund... There is talian music, Chinese music, Arapah music, and Ewe music."5 And, wuld add, there are musics fr schl band, rchestra, and chir. With the pssible exceptin f the mst advanced wrks, the schl ensemble's literature is its wn. ndeed, an entire branch f the publishing industry has grwn up t serve the specific needs f the schl perfrmance cmmunity. Even amng the mst advanced musical cmpsitins, nly the lder wrks are shared with ther histrical perfrmance traditins-the prfessinal wind band, the church chir, r the symphny rchestra, fr example. The schl ensemble's central repertire appears mst frmally in the state cntest r festival list. Teachers acrss the cuntry demnstrate strng agreement n the crnerstnes f the repertire, the yardsticks fr perfrmance achievement, and the mst prmising new wrks. Usually, there is als a mre lcalized repertire including fight sngs, alma maters, and traditinal student favrites. Thugh the specific cntents f this lcalized list vary frm schl t schl (r even ensemble t ensemble), the general characteristics f the list are remarkably cnsistent. Cmmn lcal traditins include nt nly literature but als such peripheral activities as warm-ups, technique exercises, and chralesactivities that are ften as ritualistic as they are pedaggical. Traditinal Perfrmance Practices. Mdels f utstanding perfrmance practice are drawn frm within the schl ensemble culture. Agreement n acceptable perfrmance characteristics is built frm within the schl perfrmance cmmunity-schl ensembles strive t emulate ther schl ensembles. A develping middle schl rchestra may take its cue frm an utstanding middle schl rchestra in the area. An utstanding high schl chir may set gals accrding t the standards demnstrated by the lcal cllege chral grup. The musical gals tward which schl grups aspire are regularly n display, lcally at the state largeensemble festivals and natinally at such events as MENC cnferences, the ACDA cnference, r the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. The Diaspra. Participatin in perfrmance ensembles ften ends upn high schl graduatin. s this because music educatrs have failed t instill a lve f music and music making in students? Prbably nt. t is mre likely that this milestne signifies the lss _ E CL SEPTEMBER 2001 27
An ensemble culture that is real and vibrant can create shared experience and traditins that live beynd graduatin. f a student's place within a familiar and reinfrcing scial structure. Even amng thse wh d cntinue t perfrm after graduatin, ne cmment students cmmnly make upn jining a cllege ensemble is hw different it is frm high schl. Mre than likely, althugh the literature may be mre difficult, they are respnding t a new and unfamiliar cultural dynamic. N matter what a student's subsequent perfrmance career, his r her identity as a member f a secndary schl ensemble des nt necessarily vanish after graduatin. Many schl music prgrams have active alumni rganizatins that, thrugh scializ- ing, supprting, and music making, regularly gather t celebrate the schl perfrmance culture. And, since ensemble culture exists thrughut the cuntry (and even thrughut the wrld), ex-perfrmers frm different gegraphical backgrunds quickly dis- cver that they share a wealth f familiar experiences. Other Areas. Additinal themes may include such items as indctrinatin: n hw many ensembles d new members have t pass sme significant milestne (band camp r the first cncert, fr example) befre being accepted as full-fledged members f the grup? Anther theme is lre: Every perfrming grup passes n stries f superlative mments r individuals frm the past, bth musical (that lead jazz trumpeter frm ten years back wh culd pick ff a high G n every try) and nnmusical (the time the entire chir had t push the bus ut f the snwdrift n the way back frm the festival). But, hpefully, by exam- ining even a few f these cmmn themes, the view f the schl ensemble as a real and vibrant culture emerges a little mre clearly. Directly and indirectly, the student elders in every ensemble see t it that less experienced members knw what is expected fthem, bth musically and scially. *??.?? m 91 0) cr s-2 X: Q A Wider Perspective Recgnizing the cultural dimensin f the schl perfrmance prgram allws us a much wider perspective n the value f ensemble participatin in ur students' lives. But it des nt allw us t say that ur wrk is already dne and that recent ideas abut the nature f music teaching can prvide us with nthing new. This perspective is certainly nt meant t take anything away frm the many exciting innva- tins in ensemble teaching that are develping in many schls acrss the natin. Explring the wrld's musical cultures has rightly becme a significant part f a yung persn's musical educatin. ndeed, the lng histry f success enjyed by student musical grups shuld push us t further explre the diverse practices that can thrive within the schl perfrmance prgram. But practices are nt a culture. Learning abut the wrld's musical traditins is a valuable, even essential, part f a student's musical and persnal grwth. Develping an appreciatin fr and understanding f "difference" ges a lng way tward a human educatin. But the sharing f musical experiences within a real cultural cntext-learning within rather than nly learning abut-gives an unmatched depth t a student's musical educatin. The diver- sity within ur classrms is created by what students bring frm utside. The unity that develps within ur classrm is created by experiences shared. Nwhere in the schl is the pprtunity fr celebrating bth diversity and unity greater than in the schl perfrming ensemble-a real, living musi- cal culture all ur wn. Ntes 1. David J. Ellitt, Music Matters: A New Philsphy f Music Educatin (New Yrk: Oxfrd University Press, 1995), 206. 2. Michael L. Mark and Charles L. Gary, A Histry famerican Music Educatin (New Yrk: Schirmer Bk, 1992), 264. 3. Keith Swanwick, Music, Mind, and Educatin (Lndn: Rutledge, 1988), 3. 4. Brun Nettl, Heartland Excursins: Ethnmusiclgical Reflectins n Schls f Music (Urbana: University f llinis Press, 1995), 6. 5. bid., 87.? 28 MUSC EDUCATORS JOURNAL