Children who grew up playing music and continued playing into high school are estimated to be a full academic year ahead of their peers, according to the American Psychology Institute. These students scored better on standardized tests across math, science, and English subjects. The link between music and academic performance undoubtedly exists, but its connection is fraying with the removal of orchestra as a class at BSM.
The decision to cancel orchestra class stemmed from the dwindling numbers within the program. The minimum number of students needed to keep a class afloat is nine, but with numbers remaining dangerously small for second semester, administration cut the program for cost reasons. “There weren’t enough [students]. There were only, I believe, six who said they wanted to take it…There were other students who wanted to play in the orchestra but couldn’t fit it in their schedule,” Senior High Principal Stephanie Nitchals said.
Students interested in continuing their musical careers will have the opportunity to join orchestra club. However, this change from class to club still poses a challenge for orchestra teacher Emily Chmielewski and students. In moving rehearsals to before school, practice times will be cut in half and students originally in the class may have conflicts that prevent them from participating in the club. “It will be a little harder for us to pull some stuff together, but I’m optimistic that maybe with this change, we’ll get more people who have experience in the past who maybe were unable to fit the class into their schedule,” Chmieleski said.
This changed format for an art offering has never been done before, raising concerns about its sustainability long term. “I feel like it is really going to make those numbers [for orchestra] even smaller because it’s one thing to have a designated period during the school day to come and have a music class, and it’s another thing entirely to have to get up early and come to school early,” band director Josey Gruba said.
The music department, including orchestra, continues to struggle as a result of changes brought about by COVID-19. Many students opted not to take music classes when they entered high school because of limited playing opportunities and mask requirements. In the absence of musical opportunities, students explored other elective opportunities, many of which grew at the expense of orchestra, band, and choir.
“Music in general took a big hit in COVID, and a lot of students haven’t come back to music since then. And there’s also a lot of other opportunities that students were able to continue through COVID… [unlike] playing an instrument, [which] wasn’t possible for that one year or playing it through a mask wasn’t very effective,” Nitchals said.
The music department has faced significant turnover since COVID as well; the teacher with the most seniority has been with BSM for three years. New faculty members find it difficult to build strong, sustainable programs when there is student turnover every semester.
“I feel like a better comparison would be a sports team. Because it is not [that] you take one class, you’ve learned then you move on to the next. It’s you work on the same concepts every year, but the longer you stay within the team as it were, the more deeply you can delve into these things. I mean look at the basketball team…With as many members as they have returning, they bring a lot of what they’ve learned in previous years to the team to build on that. I feel like that’s the same concept with music programs, and so it has been very hard with high turnover in the ensembles here to keep that going,” Gruba said.
Scheduling emerged as one of the greatest barriers facing student participation in music. With more required classes and elective opportunities added each year, students’ time becomes stretched thin. Unlike at larger schools, the number of periods courses are offered remains limited, forcing students to sacrifice certain courses despite interest. As of late, these sacrifices seem to affect the music department the most significantly.
The music department is attempting to address this turnover by fostering a stronger musical base with younger students. “This year [we] have sent out with the eighth graders, since they only get music first semester, a little question and answer sheet of: ‘how can I fit music into my schedule at BSM? What does that look like? Why should I keep music in my schedule?” Gruba said.
Those who chose to stay in orchestra found a welcoming, supportive community. Junior Amelia Lynch has been playing violin since first grade, continuing their musical career at BSM as early as seventh grade. While they continue to play in the recently introduced club, they struggle to fit it into their schedule with previous commitments before school competing for their time. Lynch was aware that with dangerously low numbers at the start of the year, the program could be cut at any point, but the blow was disappointing nonetheless.
“Everyone likes music, and it’s fun to learn about different types of music, and apply it when you’re playing… The community and atmosphere of orchestra were really fun, and it was one of my favorite classes because Ms. [Chmieleski] was such a fun teacher and all of the people in the class were nice to be around,” Lynch said.
Lynch isn’t the only one who finds music a beneficial part of their education. In addition to the academic benefits studied by the American Psychology Institute, Gruba added anecdotally that music helped her prepare for college. She explains that while it is a less traditional approach to college preparatory education, music cultivates many of the skills needed in higher education.
“I grew up in rural North Dakota [at] a school that didn’t really offer AP classes, and I really do credit my involvement in music with helping me prepare for college. …For me, it enforced leadership skills and work ethic and all of those things. And there are a lot of places [where] students can grow those skills. but I feel like they are all very natural fit to music classes,” Gruba said.
Chmieleski remains hopeful that despite the setback, positives could result from the changed format. The club offers students who opted not to participate in the class for scheduling reasons an opportunity to play outside of school. Lynch similarly noted that many orchestra members continued to participate and some new members joined.
Performance opportunities remain up in the air, but Chmieleski remains dedicated to providing opportunities for students to showcase their talents. “There will be [orchestra at Mass], but it’s going to be less of an emphasis. And we’re going to focus more on doing other community activities and performances,” Chmieleski said.
Within the broader scope of musical decline, Nitchals affirms that BSM is seeking to foster the arts, but direct actions have been mostly a grassroots effort. “The music department is putting together a video for registration and orchestra will be part of it… Mike [Jeremiah] gave a speech at the Christmas concert, just encouraging kids to be part of music…We would absolutely love to have music be stronger here,” Nitchals said.
The brunt of addressing the issue falls on the music department. Teachers continue to encourage students to spread the word about music. They have discussed zero-hour classes where music programs offered outside of school could count toward academic credit. Nonetheless, the new format is uncharted territory, and the question of its sustainability long term will be answered with time.