SUNDAY FOCUS : Double the music !`` With a second high school, Rogers has plenty of music options in the district.
Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sunday photograph by Charles Fowler Heritage freshman Molly Manning played the Timpani during halftime at the Oct. 6 game against Rogers in Mountie Stadium.
ROGERS - Like everything else at the secondary level in Rogers schools, the music programs changed this year. The district went from having one big band to two big bands, said band director Bill Rowen at Rogers High School. There are also double the number of orchestras, jazz bands and choirs. Everyone is slowly settling into new roles.
The two high-school bands are made up of students from ninth through 12 th grades. There are also four middle-school bands for grades six through eight. That makes a busy schedule for the secondary music teachers who have classes at multiple buildings.
Rogers has had an orchestra program for more than 25 years, RHS Orchestra Director Jerry Lane said. It's one of only seven in the state, and it begins in the sixth grade here.
"The only flaw in our system is, that choice is available only in sixth grade," Heritage High School band director Doug Blevins said. If students don't join band or orchestra in the sixth grade, it's difficult for them to catch up with their peers.
Occasionally, a student will switch from band to orchestra, but that almost always means learning to play a new instrument, and that can be a problem, Blevins said.
"There's plenty of kids to go around," he said about students choosing their activities. "I've let some talented kids go, but as long as they will continue to sing or play the violin for the rest of their lives, I don't want to stop them."
"Sometimes kids have to choose," Rowen said. "We want them to do every single thing they want to do, but sometimes that's not possible. We're all about letting kids have all the opportunities. The more they can do now, it will help them become better people later."
It can be worse if students don't chose, he said.
"They're spread too thin, and they let their grades drop," Rowen said.
Both band directors want to see their programs grow, but they don't recruit students. Usually, fourthgraders have a chance to see all the high-school music groups in concert in the spring. It's really up to elementary-school music teachers to let the students know what's available in middle school, Lane said.
Heritage orchestra director Greta Burdick doesn't think that's enough. She wants fifth-graders to hear more about their options for middle-school music classes. Orchestra at Heritage inspires When the Heritage orchestra had a float in the school's first homecoming parade, Burdick said many area residents were surprised. They never knew there was an orchestra. They see the marching band at football games but never see or hear the orchestra.
At Rogers High School, Lane will probably follow that lead. Unless the weather is bad, the RHS orchestra will probably march in the homecoming parade on Oct. 24. It will be a first for them.
Lane hopes to bring more attention to the orchestra programs by hosting a concert by the internationally known group Barrage in November.
The group's Web site describes Barrage as "a high-octane fiddle-fest that features an international, multi-talented cast performing an eclectic mix of music, song and dance."
The students will play with Barrage for part of the program so the public will have a chance to see orchestra students in action.
"Only parents hear our programs," Lane said. Most high-school orchestra concerts are open to the public, but he knows most of the audience is related to the performers. There are six or seven programs a year, including competitions, that may involve individuals or small groups. Like the band, the orchestra will take part in one "reward trip"toward the end of the year - probably to Branson, Mo.
Lane believes he has a good cross-section of the school. At some schools, orchestra is reserved for the more affluent families, but not in Rogers. Many Hispanic families are interested in string instruments because they're familiar with Mariachi bands.
Orchestra also attracts Indian and Laotian students, Blevins said.
"It just naturally happens," Burdick said. "They just all morph together."
"I have all kinds of kids," Rowen said about the RHS band," I have kids with 4. 0 's and kids who are struggling. I have about 50 percent girls and 50 percent guys."
At Heritage, Blevins plans to work with Burdick to develop a Mariachi group. He also pushed to offer a separate class for the jazz band, so they no longer have to be members of the marching band.
Marching, he said, isn't for everyone.
"It's hard and it's hot, and you have to have some serious dedication," he said about the marching band. He's also working on a plan that would allow members of the marching band to earn some credit in physical education. His students asked for that, he explained.
Fall is the busy season for marching-band directors. Because there are no longer junior-high bands to play at ninth-grade games, the highschool bands were asked to perform on Thursday nights, as well as at high-school games on Friday. There are also competitions to prepare for.
"We have as many performances between August and November as the rest of the school year," Blevins said.
Rowen compares band to football. Like a football coach, a band director spends a lot of time with his students over the course of several years. The students develop a loyalty, he said.
In music they learn team work, commitment and responsibility, he said. "So many positives come out of the discipline, just like football. You have to think about the team."
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