From Third Grade Strings to Avery Fisher Hall: The Case For Keeping Instrumental Music In the Schools

As a second grader, I watched in open-mouthed amazement as the Liberty Corner School string orchestra performed "Jingle Bells" and "Simple Gifts." Listening to the cello section play a solo, I decided right then and there that I would play the cello. (In retrospect, I don't know if I was inspired more by the beautiful sound of the cello or by the fact that the section got to play alone in front of the whole school.)

Happily, at the end of second grade, I had the option to choose which instrument to learn the next year. Four months later, I plucked out my very first song on a cello almost as big as I was—it was probably "Merrily We Roll Along."

Ten years later, I still play the cello. After taking lessons and playing in the school orchestra all through middle school and for the past two years of high school, after countless hours of practice at home and in school practice rooms, I have truly grown to love the cello. And this year, with the Ridge High School Symphony Orchestra, I had the opportunity to perform at Avery Fisher Hall, the home of the New York Philharmonic and a venue for numerous professional concerts.

For me as well as many members of the Ridge orchestra, playing an instrument has become an important part of our education and of our lives. Music allows artistically talented students to excel at something other than academics, and allows academically talented students to finally challenge themselves in something which may not come naturally to them.

I can't say that prestigious colleges accepted me and my peers simply because of our instrument playing, but being in a school orchestra or regional orchestra certainly demonstrates dedication and perseverance to colleges looking for characteristics which make an applicant stand out. And outside all of the ancillary benefits of practicing an instrument, simply playing in an orchestra allows students to truly appreciate music—after all, I do not know many high school students outside of the orchestra who listen to and enjoy classical music.

Tonight, the Bernards Township Board of Education will debate cutting funding for third and fourth grade string programs. I believe that discontinuing these programs will be extremely detrimental to the third and fourth grade students as well as the district as a whole. Honestly, if I had not begun to play cello in third grade, I would probably never have started: by fifth grade, students have other activities, homework, and pre-teen hormones to provide a million and one excuses not to take up an instrument. Allowing younger students to try out instruments to see if they enjoy playing and to test out which instrument can set some children on a pathway to lifelong success that they would not have had otherwise achieved.

Currently, Bernards Township has one of the best music programs in the country. Each year, the middle and high school sends multiple students to Regional and All-state Orchestra, Chorus, and Band. Beyond performing at Avery Fisher Hall, the middle and high orchestras often win first or second prize in the annual Music in the Parks competition. Members of the orchestra and band play in youth orchestras across the state, and eventually attend some of America's most prestigious colleges. Most of all, they learn to succeed at a skill completely unrelated to academics or sports, something which they will keep with them for their entire lives.

Of course, Bernard's Township's music program will continue to excel for a few years after eliminating third and fourth grade strings and band. But why take the risk of damaging this important and enriching program by destroying its foundation? For me and for many of my fellow orchestra members, third grade music truly did change the course of our lives.