Notes from the Field

Abstract

NOTES FROM THE FIELD John J. Dawson, Montclair, N. J.: Music with us takes a very subordinate place in the curriculum since it is not required for promotion. This does not mean that our people are indifferent to good school music, but that the accomplishment of results has been left largely to the supervisor's own devices. Recognizing this as a more or less constant condition I decided that it was necessary to devise some means by which, or through which, the interest of the pupils as a whole would be stimulated to a high degree of effort. I finally hit upon the plan of having a competitive examination in the elementary grades of the whole town and awarding a banner to the class of each grade which stood highest in accomplishment. The Superintendent warmly supported the idea and requested that the list of aggregate credits be supplied to him for his files. This plan began in I913 and has continued ever since; certain changes and improvements have been made as suggested by experience. It only remains to say that this plan has worked wonders for us, and produced results in interest, effort, enthusiasm, and spirit which we thought impossible some years ago. We have been vitalized-both pupils, teachers and principals have rsponded to it, and even many parents have shown their interest. We may not be making musicians as such but we are making our pupils like music through the personal making of it themselves. I shall be glad to send to any of my fellow supervisors who are interested, complete details of my plan together with specimen examination papers. Will Earhart, Pittsburgh, Pa.: All of us are using Old Folks at Home and its companion songs, so we are all interested in the movement described below in a letter which our Pittsburgh Musicians' Club has recently sent out. To Pittsburgh Music Lovers: To conserve the Foster name and tradition in his home town the Musicians Club has established the Stephen C. Foster Memorial Fund. To raise money for this fund the Club will present the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, conductor, with Benno Moiseiwitsch, pianist, in Carnegie Music Hall on the evening of Tuesday, February Ist. The Musicians Club has secured this unique attraction upon a basis which makes it possible to realize a very generous sum of money for its Foster Memorial Fund.