To create, one must first imagine; to imagine, one must first learn to see, to listen, to feel, to perceive. Music and the arts are the cornerstone of education in the broadest sense. They open our eyes and ears, develop and transform us personally, connect us emotionally with others, and offer a universal bridge of understanding in a troubled world. Music and the arts play a lifetime role as a child develops into adulthood. They help us integrate body, mind, and spirit, and help us forge bonds with others. The arts encourage us to explore who we are and what we stand for, inspire us to discover our “better angels” as individuals and as societies, and help us overcome barriers of language, generations, and geography to assert our essential humanity. The arts are a beacon of freedom and common cause, and have been the “movers and shakers of the world forever, it seems,” reasserting the universal rights of the human spirit whenever and wherever they are threatened.

From the first soothing sounds of a mother’s lullaby to the bright colors and comforting touch of a favorite blanket or toy, the miraculous world of infancy begins to open up. Babies react to sights and sounds around them, connecting emotions and meanings to what they see and hear. Soon they interact with the outer world as they enter a creative phase of imitating external sounds, rhythms, movements, smiles, gestures. They are, in effect, hooked on the elements of art that surround them: the lines, shapes, textures, colors, patterns, movements, rhythms, expressions, and forms that connect them to their ever-expanding world. The arts help wire and integrate young brains for lifelong learning–energizing and connecting the body, mind, and feelings. An instinctive love of music, poetry, and dramatic play is fostered through nursery rhymes, singing, dancing, and rhythm games, just as the gloriously messy and colorful world of art beckons with unlimited possibilities in finger paints, play dough, bubbles, and blocks. Storytelling, tactile toys and books, pretend games, and games of hiding and discovery like Peekaboo and Hide ‘n Seek stir imaginations and add excitement in the fantastic fray of a toddler’s perceptions. But none of this is mere child’s play: early exposure to the arts lays a complex groundwork of mental, physical, and emotional connections that opens the door to a lifetime of curiosity, learning, experimenting, problem solving, understanding, and creativity.

The arts are at the heart of every child. And the arts must be at the heart of education. If we choose to ignore children’s basic instincts for music and art at early ages, or fail to nourish their innate love of the arts throughout their education as they mature, we will as a society have “missed the beat” and “missed the boat.” The ancient Greeks knew the value of arts in education. Aristotle thought the cornerstones of education should be music for the mind and spirit and gymnastics for the body. Centuries later John F. Kennedy expressed our need for the arts this way:
“The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation’s purpose. . .and is a test of the quality of a nation’s civilization.”

Music in Motion’s 2012 catalog hopes to be true to the spirit of both Aristotle and Kennedy, by presenting the best in music and movement education for all ages, along with complementary art, dance, and creative dramatics, to redirect the arts “to the center of a nation’s purpose,” where they belong. The arts, like the heart, pulsate at the center of our common humanity. They are, simply, our life blood.

These are hard times, especially in nearly bankrupt California. But are we content to see the California legislature gut the heart (i.e., the arts) out of education? The arts and foreign languages are fundamental to education, especially in the world we live in today. If creative thinking and global communications were ever needed in this world, we need them now. And the beleaguered California legislature chooses to eliminate these high school graduation requirements for what reasons? Is there really much money to be saved by going after educational fields that are laughably underfunded to start with? According to the author of this legislation, “the intent … is to increase high school graduation rates, which is an ever-pressing issue.” Is he serious? Is the goal of “graduating” more students overriding the goal of educating them? But this unfortunate piece of legislation passed the California Assembly 76 to 0, and is now headed for the state senate. Email them a copy of our Declaration of Music and the Arts to remind them of all the ways that the arts are essential in education.

Take the LA Times poll on whether California should drop arts and language requirements for high school graduation. Read more about bill AB2446 then send a message to the politicians who are playing with our kids’ education, which seems to be getting dumb and dumber. Even if you are not from California, this is a dangerous trend in education that is not confined to that state. Everyone should rally and send a loud and clear message, like we did in Texas: “Don’t mess with our arts.”

President John F. Kennedy hit the nail on the head on the importance of arts in a nation:

“The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation’s purpose and is a test of the quality of a nation’s civilization." 

I am passing on this urgent alert I received today from the League of American  Orchestras:

Act TODAY to Extend the IRA Charitable Rollover

December 7, 2009, Washington, D.C. - Please contact your members of Congress TODAY! An important incentive to charitable giving is in jeopardy as 2009 quickly comes to a close. If Congress does not act before the end of this year, the IRA Charitable Rollover provision will expire on December 31. The IRA Rollover spurs new and increased giving to orchestras and thousands of other nonprofit organizations.

The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday, December 9 on extending a number of tax provisions. It is essential that your member of the House and Senators hear from you before Wednesday. Once the House completes action, the Senate will need to move rapidly to clear the extension before the IRA Rollover expires.

In this tough economy, every incentive for charitable giving is essential to supporting America’s nonprofit community. More than 30% of financial support for orchestras is derived from charitable giving. Without this support, public access to the arts would be greatly diminished. The IRA Rollover provision, which allows donors to make tax-free charitable contributions directly from their Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), was enacted in August 2006, expired in December 2007, and was reinstated in 2008.

The League has prepared an easy-to-use advocacy tool for your use, linked below. Please be sure to personalize the sample message with information about your orchestra. Thank you!

Contact Your Members of Congress Today!

Thanks to the support of all who called their state representatives and senators, the fine arts amendments to the Texas education bill were retained after the conference committee completed its work on May 31. Only the governor’s signature remains now. Without Sen. Florence Shapiro’s amendments, the fine arts in Texas would have been dealt a severe blow, and a message would have been sent to students that the arts are “frills” and not essential to a well-rounded education. Thanks to the rallying of arts organizations, parents, teachers, and concerned citizens, the Shapiro amendment survived. In addition to requiring fine arts credit in both high school and middle school, a campus will be able to aspire for a Fine Arts recognition of distinction (based on criteria to be determined), allowing for local communities and parents to push for excellence in arts education.

We have a strong tradition of the arts in Texas and in our schools, and the message got to the Texas legislature loud and clear. That unison message was “Don’t mess with Texas Fine Arts!”

See the final version of the bill that now awaits Gov. Perry’s signature (or else passes into law without it after June 21):  http://www.goarts.org/HB3toGovernor.html

Musicians, take heart even in a downturned economy. Music has always been about social connections, and all musicians who have ever performed know about that intimate connection between themselves, their music, and their audience. Music creates a human bond of listening and connecting in a wordless conversation of the soul.

We fret and worry that support for music in the schools may diminish. We know in our gut that short-term illusory fixes like “bailouts” are all about political theatrics in a dance between power-hungry  politicians and Wall Street. The arts usually receive patronizing praise and the short stick at best, and are totally left out of the conversation at worst.

But music will never disappear from the scene. The ebb and flow of a Beethoven symphony has a spiritual meaning, a permanence and a reality that will always outperform the jagged lines of a Dow Jones stock chart that fluctuates daily with “sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

The need for music in difficult times is stronger than ever.  Confucius summed it up precisely, “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature  cannot do without.”  So musicians, stay tough: keep playing, keep teaching, keep communicating. Our music is more resilient, more truthful, more enduring, and more important than the cacophonous voices of Washington politicians, Wall Street “divas”, and the echo chamber of the wailing media.

But job loss is real, times are tough, and musicians need to balance these contemporary (and temporary) trials with a network of mutual support.  Attend concerts, support the musical organizations in your community, advocate for music and the arts in schools, and communicate, communicate, communicate. For those whose jobs have been lost in the maelstrom, this networking site for posting and finding jobs in teaching and in the music industry may be helpful.

And if you need further inspiration, don’t fail to read The Soloist by Steve Lopez and to see the new film release of the same title. It is the inspiring, true story of a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, whose life is changed by the redemptive power of music and the friendship of someone who cared.