For the past 25 years, I have been trying to get music into the regular curriculum of the public school system. It seems that I’ve been banging my head against a brick wall. The “powers that be” always promised me that it would happen, but only once did they keep their promise, when they put a music program into the tenth grade, which was obviously far too late, and then, quite soon, withdrew it. Each time I approached the schools to advocate for music in the curriculum, I was told that I only had inconclusive data for doing so–when we all know that introducing music as early as kindergarten does not present inconclusive evidence! It is all too true that children who receive these music programs write better, perform better in math and are measurably better equipped to grasp the fundamentals of an academic curriculum.

There are some excellent music programs, but they are randomly distributed and dependent upon the largesse of the citizenry. One such program in Opus 118 in Harlem, directed by Roberta Guaspari, who has done more than wonders in providing music education to inner city school children by reaching out to various schools with her string programs. The River East School is one recipient of her outreach efforts. When I visited the school one day with fellow music education advocate Matilda Cuomo, the young musicians that we heard perform were doing much more than playing “Rock-a-bye-baby!” Their faces solemn, they headed to their places and raised their instruments. I could not hold back my applause. Not only had these children learned how to play an

instrument, they had also learned the discipline and cultivated the self-esteem that will allow them to function successfully in today’s world. This performance was subsequently featured on the Today show, hopefully lending credence and giving exposure to the importance of music in the schools and the gifts that it bestows upon those children involved.

As far as I’m concerned, I would be nowhere today if it weren’t for music, but then I had advantages that most of the city’s public school children do not. My mother had the financial means to provide me with music education and train my voice. I even had the great fortune to receive some of this instruction in Europe.

I knew that it wasn’t possible to provide all of this to public school children, but the thought of them going through these formative school years without any kind of formal training whatsoever seemed absolutely reprehensible!

As the newly appointed chair of the New York State Council on the Arts, I was able to win my first battle at a hearing in Albany in front of a packed house. My interviewer asked me why public assistance should be given to music students, since I myself had not had it. The blood rushed to my head. I burst out, saying, “But that’s just the point! I had help from my mother, but I want every kid in the state of New York to have the same opportunities that I had.” Everyone in the room applauded, and my interrogator smiled at me and said, “That’s one up for you, kid!”

Perhaps, yet we still have a long way to go and much convincing to do in order to provide our children with what they deserve: a well-rounded education that must include music.#