Across the State, Music Is Sounding a Little Sweeter

With grant funding from TMEA, more than 400,000 students across Texas are enjoying more meaningful music-making experiences.

O ver 400,000 elementary music students across Texas are having a more enriching and rewarding experi-ence in their music classes now that they have new music, technology, instruments, and other instruc-

tional materials. TMEA recently awarded nearly $500,000 in grant funding to elementary music programs across the state. Over 630 elementary music teachers who applied received grant funding, and TMEA completed the entire application process in two months so that teachers could purchase instruments and other educational supplies before year’s end.

TMEA offers its gratitude to the sustaining members who offered our members discounted supplies and free shipping to help them stretch their grant dollars.

We asked grant recipients to share their perspectives about what it means to their programs to have received this funding and how it has affected their students. Hundreds of teachers replied, and their responses underscored the impact of this very impor-tant program. What follows are just a few replies illustrating how important high-quality music-making is to students as they begin their musical journey.

Ricardo D. Moreno, Runn Elementary, Donna ISD: My district brought back the elementary music program this year after being without it for more than a decade. I was one of the lucky few students to have benefited from having elementary music when I attended school in this district, and now I’m excited to begin this new music journey with my students! When the school year began, there were no instruments in my room or in the school for that matter. The only instrument was my own portable keyboard. Now that we’ve received instruments through this grant, the

atmosphere has changed in my classroom. Students always ask me if they’re going to be able to play with the instruments today. They’re always eager to come to my class and learn more about music. We can only keep growing and moving up from here.

Barbara Day, Tomball Elementary, Tomball ISD: Ours is one of only three elementary schools in our district with accommo-dations for developmental and severely disabled students. These students remain in their classroom most of the day but do attend music with mainstream classes. We have not had any way of allowing these students to experience playing instruments other than those small enough to be held on their laps. With this grant, we purchased six large tabletop stands. Our students who are unable to sit or kneel on the floor to play the larger instruments can now play any of them with ease. They can now play the “big instruments” like everyone else!

All students can now enjoy playing instruments at Tomball Elementary.

Runn Elementary studentsshow off their new instruments.

55Southwestern Musician | February 2014

Jamie Homburg, Teague Elementary, Pasadena ISD: The stu-dents’ knowledge and love for music has grown by leaps and bounds since having added the Quaver program to our class-room! They have found that music class is the place to be, and they cannot wait to come experience music—that is exactly what the TMEA grant has allowed us by integrating the online Quaver curriculum into our classroom. Music is not just a class, but an experience going beyond the students’ expectations each time

they enter my room.Becky Keisling, Elkhart Elementary and Intermediate, Elkhart

ISD: Before we received the funding, students were playing on broken instruments that had been used for a long time, and there were not enough instruments for each student in the class to use. We’ve used our new materials for the last two weeks, and the students’ reactions have been nothing but extreme excitement. It has been a completely different atmosphere in my classroom. The students have changed from coming in the room discouraged because of the broken instruments to coming in very excited and ready to use the new instruments.

Cheryl Hammer, Dublin Elementary, Dublin ISD: We are a small rural school, and this has given students the best oppor-tunity to play any kind of instrument before joining band. The students who were in my class after the instruments arrived were so excited when I opened the boxes of instruments. I explained to them what TMEA is about and what it stands for. I told them I had applied for a grant and received the new instruments when our campus was awarded the funds. They couldn’t wait to be the first to play them! I included them in our rotation of instruments and most of my students have now played them. Now each stu-dent has an instrument to play instead of having to share with one or two others. This has also cut down on behavior problems because they are too busy making music to make trouble.

Kiaran Milam, Borman Elementary, Denton ISD: This grant allowed my students the opportunity to learn about cultures around the world and perform music on percussion instruments that would be used in that culture. This is the first time my fifth-grade drum ensemble has had the opportunity to play on

Students enjoy using new softwarein music class at Teague Elementary.

- Lawrence Feldman (Lead Alto Barbra Streisand Orchestra, Bob Mintzer Big Band, Tony Bennett)

- Jesse Davis (Saxophonist/Composer)

INSTANTLY IMPROVE THE INTONATION OF YOUR SAXOPHONE SECTION!INSTANTLY IMPROVE THE INTONATION OF YOUR SAXOPHONE SECTION!

TED KLUM VERSITONE ACOUSTIMAX ALTO MOUTHPIECETED KLUM VERSITONE ACOUSTIMAX ALTO MOUTHPIECE

www.tedklummouthpieces.comPlease visit us at booth # 2948!

Superior intonation!

Superior resonance!

Virtually unbreakable!

Superior intonation!

Superior resonance!

Virtually unbreakable!

56 Southwestern Musician | February 2014

full-sized drums. I work at a Title 1 school, and my students couldn’t believe that someone would donate that much money for our drum group! We opened them together, and I could tell the students felt like it was Christmas for them!

Kindra Garcia, Trevino Elementary, Edinburg ISD: This tan-gible support validates the often overlooked roles of elementary music education, elementary music educators, and elementary-aged musicians. It is proof that TMEA recognizes, values, and cares about elementary students and elementary programs.

Receiving this funding makes it possible for more students to be able to participate more fully by having the opportunity to play various instru-ments in class and in afterschool programs. This will help students succeed and hopefully con-tinue in music courses when they leave elemen-tary school.

Sunnie Schuler, Webb Primary Center, Austin ISD: This is our second year since the opening of a brand-new campus. Thus, we are still gath-ering resources to enrich our campus. We didn’t have a single drum that was appropriate for our students’ ages. With the grant, we were able to buy many different drums for our students. Our administrators were pleasantly surprised by this grant to learn that our music educator commu-nity is indeed eminent. The instruments have already been used and were introduced to the public at our Christmas concert.

Emily Modlin, Rufino Mendoza Sr. Elementary, Fort Worth ISD: Because of the generosity of this grant, we now have multi-cultural instruments representing people from all over the world. One of my goals is for my students to engage in musical styles outside of their normal exposure, and the variety of instruments we were able to purchase (a gong, agogo bells, talking drums, a shekere, and many more) will help accomplish just that!

Sara Yancey, Hodges Elementary, Lubbock ISD: We debuted our newly acquired instruments at the second- and third-grade

Webb Primary students in action with their newly-acquired drums.

58 Southwestern Musician | February 2014

Meyer Elementary students display their new supplies.

PTA program in December. Here is a glimpse into what those instruments have meant for us: One of our special-needs students was able to play an instrument at the program because of the new bass bar. He had tried playing xylophone but struggled with play-ing only one note, and there was no time to take them all off and put them back just for him. The bass bar made it simple for him to play. Just to see his face beam while he was playing this instru-ment was so worth it! I can’t wait to start using the bass bar with my kindergartners as a means for developing their beatfulness as well. The temple blocks have been a great hit, and when students played the wind chimes during the program, the response from the parents was amazing!

Erin Evans, Polk/Lundy Elementary, El Paso ISD: With this grant, I will be able to expand the music program at both of my campuses by incorporating more cross-curricular influences through some of the materials I purchased. It also means that my inclusion students, special education students, and AIM students will be able to be involved with their classmates and learn about music in a more hands-on approach. The curriculum acquired through this grant will also assist me in creating meaningful les-son plans and will ensure students get the maximum involvement and results from each lesson. This will enable them to continue in their education having a sound foundation in music through their elementary school program.

Teresa Kile, O. H. Stowe Elementary, Birdville ISD: By add-ing two more xylophones to my room, this allows more students additional chances to experience music. When I first received the xylophones, I immediately revised my lesson plans. I found an

old harvest festival song, “Hag Shavuot,” and I taught students the rhythm on the xylophones. I then began selecting students who had the rhythm down. The competition became fierce in their effort to have a turn playing the xylophones. It was amazing how fast their learning has progressed, and the students are very respectful of the instruments in their care.

Phyllis Janke, Meyer Elementary, Lamar Consolidated: Our students thought Christmas had come early when they saw our new handbells and Boomwhackers. They simply love to experi-ment with these instruments and cannot wait to come to their music class just to see what we will be doing next! 0

Lamar University 2014Music Auditions

Saturday: December 7, 2013 • March 1, 2014 • April 26, 2014

Contact Scott Deppe to schedule your audition.

scott.deppe@lamar.edu

www.lamar.edu/music

P.O. Box 10044 Beaumont, TX 77710

(409) 880-8144

For more information, Contact Lamar University

Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music

For more information, Contact Lamar University

Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music

P.O. Box 10044 Beaumont, TX 77710

(409) 880-8144

59Southwestern Musician | February 2014