By MEREDITH M. GRIFFITH
Staff Reporter
It turns out there’s good reason to encourage melomania among the local youth.
As Orcas musician Ken Speck likes to tell audiences, “when I was in high school, I played both football and music. Fifty years later, I’m still playing music, but I’m sure not playing football!”
Speck, and other musicians like him, want to share their lifelong love of music with island students.
Every spring Orcas Island’s Music Advocacy Group (MAG) puts on a gala concert featuring island musical groups in order to raise funds for the public school music program. This year’s concert will be held in the gym on Sunday, March 7 at 3 p.m., and feature the Orcas Community Band, the Island Sinfonia, the Orcas Choral Society and the High School String Ensemble. Admission is by donation and all proceeds go towards funding the needs of the public school music program.
Eighty-eight-year-old Joyce Burghardt, MAG president, said she started singing 80 years ago, and still enjoys singing today. So when Speck talks about football, she said, “everybody chuckles because it’s so true – all of us that were in orchestra, band, choral in our school days can all keep doing that. We had a great music program in the school I attended in Seattle. It’s sad when you see music programs being removed from schools when they are such an important, integral part of education. It’s definitely not a frill; it’s such an important part of brain development. It’s a proven factor that children who participate in music programs do much better academically.”
Musician Virgil Cleveland, now deceased, dreamed up MAG 13 years ago.
“Virgil was my saxophone teacher for several years. During that time he taught me much more than the mechanics of a musical instrument; he instilled in me a sense of music appreciation that I will always carry with me,” said former student Mikael Anderson, now 29. “And as if that were not enough, he modeled exceptional strength of character to which I can only aspire.”
Orcas is replete with generous, talented musicians like Cleveland, who carry on MAG’s legacy, whether they are technically members or not.
“The adult musicians on the island are really great; a lot of (them) tutor in the school and assist the teachers,” Burghardt said.
Speck and his wife, Karen, are among those volunteer tutors because they are passionate about giving the gift of music to local students.
“That’s something they will always have, no matter what they end up doing for work,” said Speck. “Pat Muffett, who owns Eastsound Excavating, is the finest trumpet player I’ve ever worked with.”
From MAG’s inception in 1997 to 2007, MAG grants paid for sheet music, instruments, software, and equipment, helped keep school instruments ship-shape, and helped music teachers to meet a variety of needs, providing roughly $20,000 to the school music program during that period.
But the past two years’ MAG contributions, totaling $18,800, have instead been directed towards sustaining a music teacher position otherwise slated for annihilation by budget cuts. MAG has committed $7,700 further for the current school year. Unfortunately, these allocations have reduced MAG’s regular support of the music program.
In addition to that direct support, MAG has met its goal of building a $50,000 music fund held by the Community Foundation for long term support of the program. That fund suffered during the current economic slump; however, it is back up to $45,000 and growing.
Speck encouraged community members to attend the concert.
“You should show your support for what’s happening in this community in the music program; everybody needs to get behind it,” he said.
