For immediate release:
For information: Deborah Bertling
pasfsb@pasfsb.org
(Santa Barbara, CA. February 2024) – Music teachers from across the Santa Barbara region gathered Feb. 10 for a luncheon organized by the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation (PASF) to discuss ideas for supporting local music education.
The event at the La Cumbre Country Club drew representatives from dozens of schools, colleges, and music education groups as well as private teachers involved in training junior instrumental, adult instrumental and adult vocal students. PASF, a nonprofit that supports music education and scholarships for local students, hosted the luncheon to gather input on how the organization can better serve young musicians in the Santa Barbara community.
Attendees worked in small groups led by PASF board members to outline both strengths and challenges facing local music education, and to brainstorm solutions to some of the most common obstacles. Difficulties cited included lack of student access to music education due to extreme variation in the availability of music classes at different school districts. Teachers also called for more musical programming in elementary schools to get students interested early.
Courtney Anderson, a music and theater teacher at Dos Pueblos High School said that kids need to have the opportunity through music education to “make big mistakes! Make them loud! Make them better! Focus on the process. Celebrate the process, not just the product.”
Other challenges discussed were difficulties finding places for ensemble rehearsals, music classes, and private lessons in Santa Barbara due to expense and lack of available space; lack of funding for musical and theatrical programs; instruments that are “endangered” such as the viola, French Horn, and double bass, because few students are learning them; difficulty recruiting students into university-level music programs; and a lack of recognition of the value of music education among some school administrators.
Participants also highlighted several bright spots in Santa Barbara’s music education sphere such as a private lesson scholarship program at the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, a program at Dos Pueblos High School that teaches vocal students how to audition, and a private vocal coach who offers lessons on a sliding scale to make them more affordable for lower-income students.
Proposed solutions that could benefit from PASF support included continuing to offer Encouragement Awards to give students valuable competition experience and feedback; creating a central hub for connecting instrument donors to needy students; a potential vocal scholarship program to help pay for lessons for students that teachers feel have real potential; providing year-long masterclass opportunities to potential scholarship applicants so they can gain feedback and help with audition preparation; and assistance with publicity and grant writing for teachers.
Deborah Bertling, PASF president, said the feedback from the luncheon was invaluable and the foundation is now reviewing notes from the session. The input will be used by PASF to develop new strategies for supporting and cultivating music scholarship into the future.
Established in 1982, the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation encourages young musicians to strive for excellence and supports them in their growth as performers. The foundation hosts an annual music competition and supports music educational outreach in Santa Barbara. Scholarship applicants range in age from 10 to 30 and the competition pays out up to $35,000 annually in prizes and Encouragement Awards. Recipients say the competition provides a support system that has served as a bridge to their professional careers.
