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More of a good thing Photo by Steve Johnson Eighth-grader Steve Thomas plays the alto saxophone at McLoughlin Middle School. He is part of a burgeoning band program at Medford schools. North Medford High School band director Steve Thickett says studies conclude that students who study and practice music get higher grades all around. High school bands boom with support for music By VICKI GUARINO When band director Steve Thickett arrived at North Medford High School in 1990, he had 40 band students. The problem then: too few kids. This year, Thickett leads 150 students. And based on band enrollment at Medford's middle and elementary schools, Thickett is predicting some 300 band students at North in another eight years. McLoughlin Middle School, for instance, fields five bands. Sixth-grade band enrollment throughout district elementary schools is bigger than ever, as is band membership at South Medford High School. The problem now: too few instruments, uniforms and funds to outfit so many students. "I call it a band explosion," Thickett says. In all, about 1,000 kids play musical instruments in Medford schools -- so many students in so many bands that the district now has to split its all-schools music festival into two events. "We couldn't get them all into one gym any more," says Gary Lovre, district music coordinator. As rewarding as the growth has been to music teachers, the costs are becoming a worry. Concern for the future of the burgeoning program is prompting teachers, students, and band booster clubs to conduct a districtwide fund-raiser for band equipment. In the past, clubs and students have raised money for tours and competitions -- not for the band program overall. To raise money, the district is selling a compact disc of Christmas songs recorded by an international assortment of orchestras. The disc is being sold for $10 and the district will keep half the money. Music teachers will get together at the end of the fund-raiser and decide how to spend the money. To purchase a CD, call any Medford middle or high school. Also, an order form is being printed elsewhere in today's Mail Tribune. Proceeds from the CD sale would augment what has been a record investment in the music program this year by the district itself. For the first time that district leaders can remember, the school board made a special $50,000 allocation for purchase of musical instruments. More typically, annual funding ranges from zero to $10,000, says Lovre. "That was a one-time thing," Lovre says of this year's investment. "And at that, it was half the mount we needed to put an instrument in the hands of every student this year." Store rentals and private purchases have filled in the gaps. Outfitting a bunch of bands is a pricey enterprise. Clarinets and flutes cost several hundred dollars each, and tubas, French horns and the like cost $3,000 to $4,000. Financing next year depends on the level of public school funding set by state legislators in the coming session, says Superintendent Steve Wisely. "It really depends on how much they provide for the total education program," Wisely says. "But it would sure be nice to put some extra money in to support this effort." For several years now, Medford music teachers made special efforts to recruit and encourage youngsters -- to improve both their own programs and students' academic performance. Thickett notes studies concluding that students who study and practice music get higher grades all around. "Tests are showing that kids who play a musical instrument score higher on SATS," he says. Elementary schools have been shifting programs to make band part of the daily class schedule for sixth-graders. Youngsters no longer have to get in early or stay late for band practice. Also, says Lovre, band leaders make a point of having their older students perform for younger grades. The encouragement, he says, has a big impact on enrollment. "What happens at the sixth grade determines the numbers throughout the program," Thickett agrees. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA