Will a new Lab BENEFIT the COMMUNITY?
- YES! Part of the new lab will include an actual Recording Studio!
- There will be opportunities to record within the music department for all Holliston Public School ensembles.
- The studio would also be available for non-departmental performers such as free-lance student bands and soloists and any musicians or musical groups from the community.
- Students may record material for college applications or other types of auditions.
- Students who have been trained through the curriculum will serve as recording engineers
- Performers will be able to make actual demo recordings.
- Income from recording services will be used for continued lab maintenance.
- It is our goal to make the Music Department one of the most dynamic programs in our area of the state. Such an exemplary program could act as a model for other schools, raise the stature of our program, and encourage improvements in music education for students everywhere! This would be a source of pride for the town of Holliston for years to come.
- Strong schools help to create a more vibrant community which attracts families and business to the town and helps maintain and even raise property values.
What would the Lab mean to those who are USING IT?
From a student’s standpoint, having this technology available to them in the music classes will make each class more effective and enjoyable and will allow students to learn and achieve musical goals in ways not possible with the equipment we have available now.
It is important to remember that the underlying issue of this project is that it is about the students – real people who will be using real equipment. To underscore the personal side of the project, here are some thoughts from students who had taken several of the electives in the program, some of the staff who taught them and Dr. Brad Jackson, Superintendent of the Holliston Public Schools.
From a student’s standpoint, having this technology available to them in the music classes will make each class more effective and enjoyable and will allow students to learn and achieve musical goals in ways not possible with the equipment we have available now.
It is important to remember that the underlying issue of this project is that it is about the students – real people who will be using real equipment. To underscore the personal side of the project, here are some thoughts from students who had taken several of the electives in the program, some of the staff who taught them and Dr. Brad Jackson, Superintendent of the Holliston Public Schools.
On the subject of the need for new equipment:
“While the Holliston High School Music Program is blessed with wonderful, dedicated teachers and passionate and talented students, it is perhaps most limited by its lack of technology. In many of the classes that I took it was a daily struggle for students to use the computers and pianos. This turned the usually joyful but challenging experience of writing music into an experience that was more frustrating. The number of workable pianos and computers is a major limiting factor in the number of students and the quality of the class.”
– Grace Ballenger, 2013 HHS graduate, currently at Xavier University
“While the Holliston High School Music Program is blessed with wonderful, dedicated teachers and passionate and talented students, it is perhaps most limited by its lack of technology. In many of the classes that I took it was a daily struggle for students to use the computers and pianos. This turned the usually joyful but challenging experience of writing music into an experience that was more frustrating. The number of workable pianos and computers is a major limiting factor in the number of students and the quality of the class.”
– Grace Ballenger, 2013 HHS graduate, currently at Xavier University
On the subject of having an improved lab featuring up to date equipment:
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“It is the responsibility of any music department to bring students face to face with current technology. We must show our students how to use it to explore the creative nature of music. Students then have the tools they need to not only connect with the music they are most drawn to but to explore that music which they have no idea even exists. Students are then free to make up their own minds about future interaction with music. It will be a better lesson if they discover it on their own with the tools we give them.”
– Stuart Britton, HHS Choral Director since 2003 |
On what the new lab experience could offer to any student in their post-secondary education and subsequent careers:
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"A 21st Century Music curriculum should offer our students the opportunity to create their own music using state-of-the-art tools and to demonstrate their understanding of [the material]. Also, creating music requires students to build and expand all of skills that employers are looking for in future employees -- communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking.
All of this requires students to have access to the latest in software tools -- tools that just won't work on our current equipment." – Dr. Brad Jackson, Superintendent - Holliston Public Schools |
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