Lynn schools music program awarded

LYNN – Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. awarded two citations to the Lynn Public Schools Music Department Tuesday night, continuing what has been a successful year for the growing program.The first citation was presented to Fine Arts Director Joseph Picano in honor of the district’s recognition in the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Foundation’s annual top 100 list of Best Communities For Music Education.The second went to members of the Jazz Octet, who brought home a silver medal from the International Association of Jazz Educators Competition held last month at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.Each year the NAMM Foundation, which represents music merchants in an effort to strengthen the global music products marketplace, surveys 110 school districts from across the country, looking for the top music programs based on specific criteria.Hundreds of teachers, school and district administrators, school board members, parents and community leaders, representing communities in all 50 states, participated in the Web-based survey. The districts were measured across a variety of program support, curricular and programmatic criteria.Participants in the survey answered detailed questions about funding, enrollment, student/teacher ratios, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, private music lesson participation, and other relevant factors in their communities’ music education programs. The responses were verified with district officials, and the sponsoring organizations reviewed the data.”This award is a result of having strong support from an administration, from the mayor’s office down, that believes that “The Arts ” are a serious part of our students’ total education,” said Picano. “Proof being that several of our seniors go on, not only to music colleges, but this year 90 percent of our band members went on to college. Two of them will attend Harvard.”Picano, along with the teaching staff at each school, have helped bolster the Fine Arts Program in recent years, winning several awards and forming a partnership with the Boston Symphony Orchestra that allows for unique instruction from orchestra members and the opportunity for students to perform at Symphony Hall.”I want to give credit to the teachers who respond to the arduous demands that I ask them to take on, not just musically, but they also are asked to collaborate with other academic areas in order to improve their school’s academic curriculum. This is another reason for the award,” he said. “As far as being recognized nationally, I am thankful that the efforts of this department have been recognized so honorably. It is proof that with an incredible amount of hard work and strong cooperation from the administration and staff, Lynn provides an education for our students that many affluent communities do not.”The Fine Arts Department has several events planned in the coming months, including the middle and high school band/orchestra concert scheduled for May 15 at Breed Middle School.Students will also participate in Memorial Day activities throughout the city, as the high school band will march in the parade and a select group of students will perform at the pre-Memorial Day Veterans Program at City Hall on May 20.The annual all-city art show opens tonight at Lynn Arts on Exchange Street, and features works from students of all grades from across the school district.