Posted by An. on June 01, 2003 at 14:02:06:
In Reply to: extravagant student ensemble trips posted by js on June 01, 2003 at 13:09:25:
As a music student, I agree 100%. High school instructors need to realize that not everyone wants to persue music as a career. Not all students are wiling to put in the time and $$ it takes to become a professional, nor do they have that desire. I think that music educators need to do more to help their students enjoy music. (That is their job -- to educate people about music and how to enjoy it.) With the recent posts about orchestras closing as evidence of the trouble music is in, we need more people who simply enjoy it. These expensive trips do not help because 1) many parents do not like to/are unable to spend that kind of money, and then pressure the child to get out of music, and 2) the students become agitated with the extra rehearsals and time it takes to prepare such a trip when they don't want to do music as a career in the first place.
Sure these trips are attractive at first, but for the reasons given above, I believe they are more harmfull than helpful.
- My own personal opinion -