ity that this demise was a major systemic disease which

threatened
future.

the very root system of America's

This posed an important

serve as an instrument

question:

musical

Was NARAS to

to merely rally the arts community

and industry to action? Or should we become a proactive

CHARTING
AMERICA'S ARTS

investigative agency to develop the case, compile the data,

and chart the course of action?
There was no question that the answer was all of the
above.
NARAS, NALV1M& MENC came together
precedented

in an un-

union to lead the charge. Many battles have

been won, but the war to return music education

lives of our children

remains

to the

volatile and the ultimate

victory is still very much in question.

I am most pleased to report that

AGENDA

the activities of the National

tion for Music Education
a fundamental

Today' s victories signal

Coali-

have led to

shift in attitudes

and

national policy. If you will recall, 14

months ago the Academy brought to
the world's attention the omission of

tomorrow's challenges

the arts and music in the goals of the

America

2000

education

initiative.

And once again, on this past Grammy

Awards presentation we used our forum to remind the world of the importance

BY MICHAEL
President,

GREENE

of the arts in the effort to

heal our society and reinstill hope in

the lives of children.

The Recordi n q Academy

Less than one month later, Secres amazing as it may seem, this month marks

fifth year as President

emy. These

my

of the Recording Acad-

years have been a marvelous blur of

professional
satisfaction.

grow1:h and extreme

personal

mental shift in federal policy. At that time he stated: "We

have plenty of information but sometimes not much
wisdom. '0/ e need the arts as a path to understanding."

In the late '80s, we devoted ourselves to setting a new

course for the Academy.

One of the hopes we all em-

braced was that NARAS would become

voice of creative and technical

the respected

music professionals

and

For those who have worked long and hard to return

music and arts education

to America's

those words came as both a tremendous

for renewed commitment.

that our agenda would become increasingly relevant and

nied by the promise

interactive, responding to the changing face of America's

dynamic cultural environment.

competency

From this very optimistic and fertile soil grew programs such as MusiCares, Grammv In The Schools, The

public schools,
victory and cause

This statement

that President

was accompa-

Clinton

will make

in the arts an integral part of his education

reform legislation package.

Citing the Harris

Poll which

shows 9 out of 10

Grammy High School Jazz Bands, Archive & Preservation

Americans think arts education should be a required part

of the school curriculum, Riley's comments suggest an

programs and the

ational Coalition
tion, just to name a few.

a national level. "Some argue that the arts are a luxury for

for Music Educa-

Identifying the needs which exist in our industry, and

responding

to these needs, has become the hallmark of

important

change in how the arts are being prioritized

our schools,"

he continued.

on

"They say that in a time of

fiscal crisis and budgetary restraint that arts programs are

our national organization.

Early in the process, the T rust-

expendable.

ees and I were surrounded

on all sides by a most frighten-

of the experience

ing cultural nightmare

the demise of music and arts

in 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' or spending an

afternoon discussing an African-American or Hispanic art

education

tary of Education Richard Riley made

an important speech before the March meeting of the
American Council for the Arts which signaled a funda-

in American schools, and the inescapable real-

I think it is a grave mistake to rob our children

of Beethoven's

Ninth Symphony, acting

exhibit

at a local art museum."

While other

subjects

provide data, Riley said, the arts offer understanding.

Gathering at the Shrine Auditorium to celebrate the
35th Grammy Awards, only blocks away from the site of
last year's riots, I was struck by the profound connections
between the music we celebrate and the society that fills
us with both wonder

and dismay. Music speaks to our

hopes and dreams, and it can also uncover the inequities

work is all about.

For the last 15 years, while simultaneously

gutting

music, art, dance and creative writing from the curriculum of America's schools, our government has been doing
next to nothing for the arts within our society at large. One
need only look at our arts spending policy to see just how
quickly America is becoming

a cultural wasteland.

The

and injustices in the world, when given an unencumbered

Japanese government spends almost $5 per person on

arts. Germany spends about half of that, and Canada and

opportunity

Great Britain about $1.20 each. And where is the United

to do so. Music can serve as both an impor-

tant pressure release and a marvelous healing force for our

society.
It's been
300,000

estimated

that,

nation-wide,

more

than

kids will drop out this year. Yet when given the

opportunity

to study the arts, they stay in school. Children

who are given access to music education also do considerably better in both science and mathematics.
The fact is that, by making music and the arts curriculum requirements,

a number

of pioneering

schools have

turned the tide on falling grades and rising apathy. Take,

for example, rural Starkville, Mississippi, where required
courses in music appreciation,
and drama are giving students
skills, but also self-esteem.

art history, creative writing

States in this survey-what

are the arts worth to all of us?
Fifteen cents. One nickel and one dime.
Given this climate,

I cannot

claim to have been

entirely optimistic when I concluded these televised comments

by calling upon

propose

the Clinton

Administration

an arts policy that will redeploy

insure that the arts become mandatory

resources

to
and

core curriculum

for graduation. Yet Secretary Riley's promise

Significant step in that direction.

is a truly

Likewise, we can be proud of the fact that the National

Coalition for Music Education continues to make great
strides. Thanks to Coalition efforts, a two year program

not only higher learning

developing voluntary "World Class" standards for music

Or look at St. Augustine School of the Arts, a Catholic

and arts education is well underway, and in March the

Coalition sponsored a "National Celebration of American

grade school in one of the poorest

Bronx. In 1985, enrollment

areas of the South

was so low that the school was

about to close. But desperate

circumstances

called for

desperate action, so the school decided to make music and

art as important

a part of their curriculum

as reading and

math. And, 10 and behold, not only has enrollment

tripled,

but reading and math scores have improved dramatically.

The improvements

shown by students

at Starkville

and St. Augustine are beginning to show up elsewhere, in

the most rural and most urban environments, wherever
music and the arts are made available. Researchers

have

School Music" to focus attention

Recognizing

emphasize

the importance

improvisational

excellence
full funding
country.

So why is it that, in Los Angeles county, 99 percent of

all students
education
education

do not receive a comprehensive

cookie-

of cultural diversity, to teach

skills right alongside sight-reading,

and to

instructional approaches. At the same time, the standards

we're developing integrate these priorities into a vision of

in everything

students who don't take arts courses.

does not

monochromatic,

empower individual music teachers to employ innovative

between mu-

take music courses score an average of 20-40 points

higher on both verbal and math portions of the SAT s than

of

cutter approach to teaching the arts. We must continue to

sic instruction

from spelling and reading comprehension

to mathematics, motor skills and learning ability. In fact, students who

the need for these standards

mean resorting to an outdated,

shown statistically significant relationships

and positive performance

on the importance

these standards. Secretary Riley was there, and he heard

the message loud and clear.

which should facilitate the resurrection

of music

education

programs

and

across the

Today, we find ourselves at a very important crossroads. The window of opportunity to affect meaningful
change -

to make music and arts education

an integral

part of every child's education and to preserve the free

exchange and exhibition of artistic ideas - is beginning

K-12 music

to open for the first time in years. But it won't stay open

program. Why, on a federal level, does arts

receive about 3.5 percent of the funding that

long if we don't all pull in the same direction. The Harris

poll backs up our belief that the American people are in

science education receives? Is there no limit to the degree

tune with the current climate in Washington:

to which music and arts education

decisive change!
As parents, educators, artists and musicians, we must
make our voices heard in order to return the arts to

When all of our children -

can be devalued?

black and white, rich and

poor - are shown the beautiful tapestry of the roots of

American music, they are handed the keys to America's

children's

lives. "Human

cultural heritage. They take pride in the amazing contributions of their forefathers and mothers. And that pride

nor inevitable,"

instills hope, and that is what the Recording

positive action."

Academy's

progress

is neither

It's time for

automatic

warned Martin Luther King. "This is no

time for apathy or complacency.

This is a time for vigorous

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