Music Matters Getting Ready for 2015

Music Matters (MM) had completed another successful year. A special congratulations to the KI Jones Music Matters Band who won first place!

" Congratulaons to our fabulous performers," MM Band Director Jack Hanes said. "Both groups received trophies of Excellence at the awards ceremony at DiscoveryKingdom. I thought they sounded really good and I know the judges were impressed."

The MM team is now focused on the 2015-2016 season. MM served a number of schools in the Fairfield Unified School District and one School in Vacavile.

Director Kevin Phillips is hopeful MM will see new growth in the upcomming year.

"Music is one of those programs that improve with numbers. A band that has 7 musicians is fun. A band that has 40 kids transforms the lives of participating kids and does amazing things for a school," Mr. Phillips said.

MM faces a number of challenges this upcomming year.

First, the Fairfield Unified School District (FUSD) is in a period of transition. It is redeploying a number of campuses and change the configuration of schools. Schools that once included children K-6 will now be K-5.

Rising 6th graders will be joining newly configured Middle Schools. YACM has recieved reports from some parents that 6th graders will no be elligible to play in the Middle School Bands.

"I do not know if these are rumors are facts," Mr. Phillips said. "Transitions are difficult. Principals and teachers may not know what they are actually dealing with until August."

If rising 6th graders are not permitted to play in Middle School bands, they are welcome to enroll in aany MM band that is most convinient for them.

Another challenge is that FUSD is seeing at least two transitions in leadership. When a new principal moves into a school, he or she has enough to do trying to understand their new organization without having to worry about a nonprofit music enrichment program.

Leadership change means that enlistment of new strudents may be difficult in the new year. Principals are the primary advocates of programs for familiies. Parent teacher organizations can help by continuing to be an advocate for MM on their campus.

A third challenge involves identfiying which campuses will receive MM resources. Creating a music education program that leads to meaningful outcomes is hard. The only way it works is when all stakeholders (parents, teachers. and administration) believe in the program and want it at their school.

"A principle that I try to live by is 'Do not be where you are not invited,'" Mr. Phillips said. "This applies to organizations and programs as well. When people partner together, great things happen. When they compete or quibble, no good can come."

The MM team will commit its resources where they are invited. YACM leadership is looking to MM parents, MM school administrators and teachers to support enrollment in their schools by helping to get the word out of the great things that happen when kids get together to play music together.