Common Efforts of the Community Orchestra and the School Music Program in Providing Listening Experiences for School Students

Abstract

and school music teachers have in common an interest in developing music appreciation in young people. The school music faculty is interested in music appreciation because appreciation is an important purpose of music education. The community orchestra off;cials are interested in good listening by young people because the orchestra will benefit eventually from the training given this future audience. Thus, music educators and those concerned with community orchestras have much to offer alld to gain from each other, providing, of course, that each group realizes its opportunities and enters into a cooperative working relationship with the other. In an effort to determine the extent to which music education and the community orchestra movement have established relationships for their mutual benefit, a study was made of the situation in six Michigan communities supporting community orchestras. Specifically, an attempt was made to find answers to three general questions: (1) What is the present status of cooperative efforts? (2) What ought to be the status of the efforts in this area? (3) VVhat specific factors seenl to account for cooperation,