Acalanes Instrumental Music Boosters

In light of all the tradeoffs kids have to make these days when thinking about college admissions, music can make a big difference:

1. The College Board, the administrator of the SAT Test, identifies the arts (including music) as one of the 6 areas that students should study in order to succeed in college.
2. University admissions officers clearly state that students who participate in arts classes continually through high school have an advantage over students who do not when applying for high-end schools.
3. During the admissions process, colleges and universities look for students who "stand out" and who have something to offer to the campus.  Music students who have played for at least 3 years in high school ensembles are automatically placed in this category (assuming they have met all other requirements).
4. Continuous enrollment in music is valued much more highly than extra years of foreign language classes.  Students having to choose between music and extra language classes, especially at the Junior High level, should always choose music according to admissions officers from several universities.
5. Playing an instrument well can help a student get into a university if they are willing to play in the university's ensembles.  Students do not have to be a music major to take advantage of this.  All universities have to have enough musicians on each instrument to feature high-level performing groups. University band and orchestra directors will find a way for a talented student/musician to get into a school.
6. Having music on a student's transcript all through high school shows that a student has developed skills in group work, multi-tasking, spatial reasoning, mathematics, leadership, community spirit, and many other areas.  These types of skills cannot be found all together in any other class.

Also check out this related article - Why Take Music?

Sources:  NAfME-The National Association for Music Education “Music Education Facts and Figures” 2002 & www.schoolmusicmatters.com

CONGRATULATIONS to John Kirkland (clarinet) and Spenser Tejada (horn) for being selected to this year's California All-State Honor Band! It's the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a high school musician in California. The 2013 All-State Honor Bands will convene in Fresno from February 21-24 with a culminating concert on February 24th. John and Spenser will represent Acalanes High School and the Lafayette community with pride and distinction! GREAT JOB!

CONGRATULATIONS to the Acalanes High School Jazz Ensemble for their wonderful performance today at the San Ramon Valley Invitational Jazz Festival in Danville. The college adjudicators scored us with a 97-96-96, for an average of 96.3 (a little higher than the 95.7 from the College of San Mateo Jazz Festival in November). It was again among the top scores at the festival. All four adjudicators (only three adjudicated but since we were the first group, all four listened) came up to me that morning to tell me how superb the students performed and how impressed they were! The Jazz Ensemble represented the Acalanes and Lafayette school community with honor and distinction, and I am extremely proud of the students. I know we're all looking forward to our joint Winter Jazz Concert Thursday night with Albany, El Cerrito, and Homestead High Schools. That should be a fun and relaxed evening as we share our music with each other. As I have said many times, you're a very special group of students at a very special school in a very special music program! - Mr. Dea