The school must yield to the pressures of the people - the taxpayers - who do not always know what is best. In this case, the purpose of choosing the repertoire is not education, but evangelization. Although the roots of these schools of song remained religious, musical study of the famous composers of the time was common (Birge 11).
Near the end of the seventeenth century, a new method of church music had developed: "rule and art." In this method, the better singers in One of Mason's greatest advances in public music education came with his creation of the musical convention. Mason's development of the Music Education Conference helped the national movement encourage a focus on teacher qualifications and standards.
This focus on the educator led to the establishment of the National Education Association in 1857, which was soon followed by the Department of Music Education in 1884. Partly as a result of the Child Study Movement, national interest in education had been on the rise since the late 1800s. The first few years of the 1900s built on this existing interest, and music education flourished.
As one music teacher from this era put it, American music teachers “conformed to whatever seemed to stand for the complete philosophy of the schools” (Woodford 2015).
Legal Rulings Concerning Sacred Repertoire
The choice of sacred music for a primary school choir group does not require that the music teacher himself be religiously neutral. Historical, musical and cultural significance must exist in order for sacred music to be taught without a religious bias. The students were given the opportunity to opt out of the performance, but the court still ruled in favor of the parents.
In addition to Chief Justice Burger's question-asking guidelines, music teachers should also consider the existing three-part Lemon Test for choosing sacred repertoire. The Establishment Clause of the Constitution creates the legal justification for banning certain religious activities in public schools. In 1989, a group of sixteen different groups came together to address sacred music in schools.
Also, some religious festival texts can easily be taught in their original language instead of English – leaving some of them outright. Along with the Lemon test and the use of questions developed by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, there is a definitive method that a music educator can use to have a legally protected sacred music repertoire.
The Establishment Clause of the Constitution was a nativity scene that was displayed in front of a town hall in Rhode Island. Along with the legal aspects of choosing sacred music for a public school choir, community expectations must also be considered. Tim Drummond in a 2014 issue of the Music Educators Journal suggests "having a general idea of the religious background and cultural norms surrounding your upcoming performance." Christmas-themed holiday concerts, in particular, are one.
A music educator is legally able to choose sacred music for his or her public school choir if he or she retains the ability to provide a legal defense for those specific selections. Sacred music within the repertoire of a public school must have a secular, educational purpose, must not endorse any religion, and must not reject any religion. Music education should always benefit the students and the community, even through the medium of sacred music.
Music Educator Interviews
Eastern Division - Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland/DC, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont. Southern Division - Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee. The survey was fifteen questions long and took participants very little time, about five minutes.
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. The style of the survey allowed participants to remain anonymous to protect them from any negative reaction from their school district or These survey questions were designed to identify four different factors: the location and length of the participant's teaching career, the existence or nonexistence of conflict regarding the sacred music repertoire and why, the participant's methodology for selecting sacred music, and any personal input regarding the use of sacred music in public school music program.
From the 35 participants who completed the survey, I have included ten completed examples in the appendix of this paper. These survey results highlight the full range of responses received and allow reference points for the following data analysis section.
Data Analysis
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Q7: Have you ever faced any conflict with the administration, community, or students regarding the use of sacred music in your music program? I wouldn't do more than 1 or 2 per concert because I wanted to make sure to educate the students and parents about different genres of music. Sacred music was one of the first examples of choral music, so many are aware of the importance of continuing these choices.
PAGE 1: Basic Information
PAGE 1: Basic Information
My administrators have consistently supported me in the appropriate use of sacred music in public schools. I'm not religious, which helps me maintain objectivity, but I've never told my students anything about my religious views, or lack thereof. While teaching high school, some Jewish parents were offended that we sang holiday music.
We also include Hanukkah songs, winter songs/poems, and sometimes things that have nothing to do with any of those things. I have had parents tell me they can really see the TEACHING happening and they appreciate it. I look at what concepts I try to make sure I cover and that I do a representation of various secular and sacred music.
I had an atheist family (VERY rare in our society) who became increasingly upset about religious music being performed at our programs. In middle school, I prefer to do a large variety of repertoire, including music from many different cultures. I am non-religious and that plays into the balance and variety I try to keep between performing sacred/secular music.
I believe that sacred music is historically important and often well written, so I program it. With the first sacred song of each year, I explain to my students how they can. The general argument was, "We can't use Christmas music, so why can we include 'Jewish music'?" The song in question was "Al Shlosha," whose lyrics, as shown in the piece, are secular and featured in a program that included classical sacred music and spirituals.
Spirituals and gospel are a crucially important part of American history and culture, and it is impossible/dishonest to separate them from their religious themes. Much of the "famous dead white guy" choral music is sacred because choral music was more likely than instrumental works to be sponsored by religious organizations rather than private patrons. If one wants to learn/sing music from cultures other than ours (North East US), one must be willing to sing sacred music of those cultures.
I talk to students about the texts and why it is important to build character in their lives and to encourage and uplift the audience.
