Darien Schools are Alive with the Sound of Music

students performed in the All-Town Band Festival Concert Wednesday night and received rave reviews from their family, friends, and teachers. Every year, on a rotating basis, the Darien Public Schools Music Department presents a concert showcasing the musical talents of the elementary, middle, and high school choruses, orchestras, or bands. The intent of these All-Town concerts is not only to entertain but also to show the learning progression the students achieve from the elementary school to the high school.

As a parent of three children, I have had the pleasure of attending at least one of each of the types of All-Town concerts over the years and I am continuously amazed by the performances. The music teachers have not only taught our children how to read music and play an instrument but also how to enjoy and appreciate playing and listening to a wide variety of music.  

When I asked my sixth grade clarinet playing daughter what her favorite piece was from the evening, it was surprisingly not Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On a Prayer (always one of my personal favorites) but a piece performed by the high school band called Solas Ane by Samuel Hazo. My daughter said that, although her friends did not know the name of the musical piece, they all thought it sounded familiar and surmised that it might have come from a familiar movie’s musical score. She added that she and many of her friends guessed it was from Pocahontas. While I cannot find any confirmation that their guess was correct or near correct, I do believe that their appreciation for such a beautiful musical piece is directly related to the superior musical instruction they received over the years in the Darien Public Schools.  

This is further evidence in my opinion that our children’s well rounded education not only relies on the basic core courses like math, science, English, and social studies, but also on the extracurricular opportunities that enable them to develop into interesting and interested adults. We need the music and the arts, the community service clubs like Kindness Counts, and the life skills electives like wood shop and healthy living to complete their well rounded education. In these trying economic times, we must remember how important it is to fully educate our children by providing them with these necessary opportunities to learn and grow. 

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