A Survey Of Instrumental Music Instruction In Public Schools Of Second Class Cities Of Kansas

Author : Bryce Turville
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (329 download)

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Download or read book Elementary Instrumental Music in the Public Schools of Kansas City, Missouri written by Bryce Turville and published by . This book was released on 1962 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early days of the nineteenth century Westport Landing, later known as Kansas City, Missouri, was experiencing growing pains, hoping to prosper and become more than just another trading post, attempting to estrablish itself as a thriving metropolis. Likewise the public schools of Kansas City, following the Civil War, were undergoing continued scrutiny and experiencing changes. New emphases were being made in the curriculum as new ideas from other communities infiltrated the thoughts of the educators. In the midst of this educational bustle came the growing awareness that music had more than just an incidental or occasional place in the schools. In 1870 with the appointment of Mr. S.K. Whiting as special instructor in music the field of endeavor seemed to spark only to be short-lived. The sources of information on the history of music in the Kansas City schools namely the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Education Annual Reports, files of the Music Department itself and newspaper accounts from the "Kansas City Star" and the "Kansas City Journal Post" indicate that it was not until the turn of the century that the place of music gained imetus and significance. All too often in the early years the courses of study were merely well-written self-expressions of the aims and objectives of the special teacher in music at the time. There was little accomplished toward the attainment of the goals as set forth on the printed page. Although the teaching of band and orchestra instruments was authorized in November 1916, a few elementary school orchestras has been organized by classroom teachers in 1910. The program grew rapidly until it was interrupted by the first World War. Under the directorship of Miss Mabelle Glenn, the music program took on impetus and began to expand and flourish in all directions. Music appreciation and children's concerts on the intermediate and upper grade levels became definite parts of the program. Piano lessons were initiated, band and orchestra instruction was given during school hours and thereafter gained in importance throughout the city. After 1950 with Mr. Robert Hilton's appointment as Director of Music upon the retirement of Miss Glenn, the music program in the Kansas City schools continued to expand. Again the instrumental music division which suffered a reversal during a second World War regained its position as a significant part of the total music program and Mr. Roy Tharp was appointed Supervisor, Elementary Instrumental Music. The All-City Elementary School Orchestra and Band were reorganized and the summer program for teaching instrumental music has grown steadily. Instructors in instrumental music became regular contract teachers instead of hourly-paid employees. Music as an integral segment of the curriculum in the public elementary schools has expended considerably since it first was introducted as a separate subject but it has only begun to scratch the surface in its potentialities for the enrichment of the lives of the boys and girls attending the schools of Kasnas City.