And The Band Played On…

Councilwoman Melinda Katz recently paid a whopping sum of $45,000 to hear a band play. After learning that Music Masters, a Saturday morning program of School District 28 which gave children the opportunity to try different instruments and learn how to play them, lost its funding and was forced to disband when the city schools reorganized under the Department of Education (DOE), Katz tuned in and tapped City Council Speaker Gifford Miller for the funds to get the program up and running again.
"Kids in our public school system deserve the opportunity to be exposed to the arts and culture that New York City has to offer," said Katz, herself an musician and vocalist, announcing the return of the program. "Its part of what makes our city great, and to deprive them of this would be to deprive them of an intricate part of their education."
It was June 26 of last year when students in Music Masters learned they had played their swan song. The music program, which gave two callow students from each school in the district the opportunity to learn an instrument, was not being renewed the following school year because of budget cuts.
"We thought that when we switched from a district to a region, the program would be expanded to the high school level," said Ida Messana, a parent whose daughter Johanna played the flute in Music Masters, not expecting the program to be completely cut.
When she and other parents of students in the program got wind of the bad news they began a petition drive and sent letters to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein over the summer, still holding out hope that Music Masters would continue at its normal starting date of October.
"In September, when we contacted the new heads of music in the region, they simply said forget it," said Messana. "We were treated like orphans. We were displaced persons."
Though the program disbanded, Messana kept the parents organized, and they and their mini-maestros staged a protest in the early fall in front of PS 99s annex, where the three-year-old program held its practices. They also called on elected officials to intercede.
"I think the only way to get things done is for politicians to put pressure on them [DOE] to do whats right," said Messana.
She said the program, which involves a diverse array of students from Forest Hills to South Jamaica, makes a difference in childrens lives and gives many the self esteem to excel in music and in school.
"The reason this program is special is because it is an opportunity for children who dont have experience and who dont have an instrument to learn," she said.
Music Masters gives students the opportunity to try out all the instruments until they find one they are comfortable playing. The program also provides the instruments that the fledgling musicians use and can take home to practice. Schools that have band programs, like Russell Sage Junior High School, require that students have at least a years worth of experience and their own instrument. Students must also audition. Messana said that Music Masters gives students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to gain practice they need to go on and join other bands.
The Music Masters program will still be administered by the Department of Education. The councilwoman said she hopes that the DOE will work to continue the program beyond June and possibly expand it.