At the All Shore concert, Dr. Smith spoke about a scary situation that could affect us all. I just read Lefty's post in the All Shore Forum and thought this would be a good topic for discussion. This doesn't just affect All Shore, it affects all of our schools.

Dr. Smith really hit the nail on the head, so to speak! It's a very scary trend to see the dropping numbers. As an example, look at the dramatic difference in turnout from Northampton this year. Considering the situation, Mr. Henry is doing a great job. I think we owe him a debt of gratitude for helping keep their program alive. Imagine what would happen if he were not there to help?

One of my main concerns is our feeder programs. It seems that so many middle school students don't continue into music once they reach high school. I think we should reach out to them more. Invite them to our functions, invite them to play, invite them to our celebrations.

So, the questions I pose to all of you. What are the problems? What are some possible solutions?

Also attached to this post, you'll find Dr. Smith's speech from All Shore. Please give a listen!

*edit* - Fixed the broken link to Dr. Smith's speech

Please don't mention any names. I don't want this to get hostile. We're trying to bring about a positive change. Please be descriptive of what you see as a problem, but please don't say names.

sorry hmm...maybe it the peeps over at the middle school.

Maybe we should play like 1 easy song for every concert and invite some middle school people to play with us for that one...they might really like it and feel important or something.

I think it's important that we include the middle school. Here's another idea. Let's try to make a concerted effort to attend their performances. They had a concert this past Thursday night. I was sick at the time, but had planned on going. If we show our support for their endeavors, it might help them feel more welcome when they "move on up", so to speak.

Does anyone know when their Spring Concert is? On a similar token, let's try to make an effort to attend other school's performances. How often have we had a concert only to find our families in the audience. As musicians, we all have a stake in its survival. The more we work together, the happier we'll be. (Wait..isn't that a kid's song?)

Let's keep the ideas coming!

That is so weird, I was thinking the same thing. I would love to go to other schools concets. Also, we should check the newpaper for local performances. For example, The Virginia Symphony is coming to Nandua on May, 20 @ 2:00 pm. Alot of art events happen at Nandua and Palace Theatre in Cape Charles.

Excellent news! I added the VA Symphony to our Calendar of events as a reminder for everyone. You also bring up a good point about local newspapers. We should try to get more publicity for arts events on the shore. Especially school sponsored ones.