Jazz band to return

By Matthew Bernat
Turley Publications Staff Writer

STURBRIDGE -They’re getting the band back together.
Christine Costello, fine arts curriculum supervisor for the school district, said the defunct Jazz band would be revived next semester. It was dissolved recently due to low enrollment caused by scheduling conflicts, she said.
“I truly feel we can make this successful,” Costello said about the effort.
Her announcement came during a broad presentation on the school’s music program. She spoke to Tantasqua School Committee members at their May 18 meeting.
The report, though optimistic, was in response to a resident petition challenging administrators to offer an improved instrumental music program for students.
Daniel Valcour, of Brimfield, gathered 89 signatures from parents supportive of a competitive high school instrumental program. Valcour, who is chairman of his town’s school committee, said he long had concerns about the size and quality of Tantasqua’s program. Those worries grew once his children reached the junior and senior high schools.
He noted the petition came after extensive meetings with teachers and administrators to seek a solution.
“The petition was motivated by historic low participation rates and high attrition in the music program,” Valcour said. Losing the Jazz band was another blow to the program, he said and likened it to a valuable recruiting tool.
“A Jazz band is an elite performing group within an instrumental program where kids play very challenging music…It’s exciting music that motivates younger kids to come up and take part in the program,” he said.
In her report, Costello touched on a range of initiatives taken up by the music program that included various community outreach projects, the success of the chorus, and increased attendance in music classes.
Valcour referred to the return of the Jazz band as a “positive development.” However, he said Costello’s presentation didn’t address the petition’s core concerns.
“The presentation highlighted the positives in the music program, but the focus of the petition is on participation and dealing with the high attrition rate. (Costello) didn’t really cover that in any great detail,” Valcour said.
He noted the problem lies with the school’s block schedule, which sees students attend four classes a day, allowing them to take eight classes in one school year.
That schedule, he said, forces students to choose between the arts and academic studies.
“The four by four block scheduling is inherently less flexible. It’s a very well established fact that schedule method creates a lot of challenges for instrumental programs and a lot academic classes as well,” he said. Valcour said administrators should re-think the schedule.
Senior high school Principal Michael Lucas noted some changes were made for next semester. Some courses will be offered on alternate days, which will create more options for students, he said. The four by four schedule would remain though.
“The impact is going to better allow our kids to choose their pathways and have better (class) selection. It should really alleviate the problem,” Lucas said.
He noted it would not be a cure all.
“It’s never going to be perfect. Kids at some point have to make decisions about what they want for their future,” Lucas said.