We must overtly prove that our music program is an integral, indispensable, and important part of the community. Whether that is by performing for the PTA, the Lion’s Club, at the start of a School Board Meeting, or for a local children’s hospital or senior center, those performances by large or small ensembles, or groups of students, not only shine a beacon on the music program, they also indelibly show how woven the music program is into the very fabric of the community. And then getting those activities into the local newspaper (with approval and help of the school administration!) will cement how active and vital music is in the community. Can we do this all the time? No. But we can do as much as possible confident in the knowledge that it will come back to benefit our efforts many times over.

Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America

About the Author

Dr. Boonshaft, Director of Education for KHS America, is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. He was honored by the National Association for Music Education and Music For All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education.” Dr. Boonshaft was selected for the Center for Scholarly Research and Academic Excellence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where he is Professor Emeritus of Music.