With many school concerts taking place around this time of year the issue of what music should or should not be played is a concern of many music teachers, students, parents, administrators and community members. A recent article in the Boston Globe about holiday music at school concerts takes a neutral look at some of the issues without delving too deep into them. MENC, the National Association for Music Education is currently conducting a survey of music educators regarding concerts in December and music selections for those concerts. While you can take a look at some of the survey results, it would be interesting to read what people wrote in the box that asked for any other thoughts or comments on the topic.
Besides raising the issue of inclusiveness when dealing with religious or cultural representation in the classroom and in public performances this subject might cause some to think about what criteria one uses to select which music will be worked on in the classroom. What should the criteria for selecting music be?