Judy Rogers, who chairs of Arkansas activities for Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®), said ArkMEA’s annual state capitol concerts are popular with music teachers as well as students.
“This is our 14th Annual Capitol Concerts event. Former governor Mike Huckabee was a strong proponent of music. While he was in office, he came to this event each year and proclaimed March to be Music In Our Schools Month in Arkansas.
“Through the years, among others, our other speakers have included a member of the singing group Point of Grace, a symphony conductor, a barbershop quartet, a television personality, a recording artist, a legislator who lobbied for and got a law passed in Arkansas that all elementary students would have music and art taught by teachers certified in music and art.
“This year we have Mrs. Arkansas 2010, Michelle Flake, and a middle school assistant principal who was honored this past November by ArkMEA as our administrator of the year. Arkansas members are very enthusiastic about this program.
“We started with just one day of concerts, now expanded to two days. This year we have about 400 students coming [March 16 and 17, 2011], and I have had to turn down several schools because of limited space in the performing area.
“For many of the students, it is their first trip to the Arkansas capitol building, so their schools see at it as an opportunity for a field trip that also involves state history. “The Secretary of State’s office provides tours of the capitol,” she said.
The concerts are a thrill for students, too. The students “love the concerts,” Rogers said. “They like the songs and they enjoy the sound of hundreds of voices singing together. They are in awe of the capitol building and the guest speakers. And, since they are kids, they especially like having a day away from school.”
Arkansas activities and other state MIOSM activities
News stories about state MIOSM events
—Roz Fehr, March 18, 2011. © MENC: The National Association for Music Education
