A parable

It is hard to see all that we have lost, and all that we are certain or likely to lose even under the most wildly optimistic ecological scenarios, and not lose heart. It can be difficult to enjoy or appreciate what is still here knowing that it may not be for long.

Last week I made a preliminary visit to Miller’s Run School in Sheffield to get a sense of what the student ensembles can do in anticipation of writing a piece for us to perform together this spring. As I related here, a few years ago Miller’s Run initiated a compulsory instrumental program in which every student receives instruction on violin, beginning in the third grade. After a couple of years, they have the option of continuing on violin, switching to cello, or taking up a wind instrument and leaving the string ensemble for the band. One way or another, every student in grades 3-8 is studying an instrument and playing in an ensemble.

When Principal Patrick Ham was lobbying the town and school board to initiate this program, people expressed concern that it might not be sustainable. The launch depended heavily on a 5-year grant to support the increase in musical faculty and instruction time. What would happen, parents and citizens wanted to know, if the program had to be discontinued after the grant ran out?

“Then,” Principal Ham responded, “for five years, all our children will have had music instruction.”