Music is universal, cultural, and individual. It is with this understanding that the Music Department of Parkview Middle School believes that every student should have the opportunity to receive a high quality, comprehensive musical training in school, regardless of grade level, ability level, or background. The goal of this musical training is to help participants achieve a personal level of understanding, appreciation, and passion for music. It is undeniable that music has always been an integral part of human existence. Every culture throughout history carries its own musical traditions. In our culturally diverse society, music is one of the few common threads that links peoples and ideas together. Music education uses the artistic medium of musical sound to give insight into the universal human experience.

The primary goal of all band classes in Greater Clark County Schools is to heighten each student’s aesthetic awareness through the musical art. While there are many secondary objectives that are also set for the students, using sound as a means to communicate the feelings embodied in a musical work is always the ultimate focus.

Dedication and maturity are required to develop this uniquely human ability. Dedication because the skills needed to recreate music are both numerous and complex. Maturity because, once the technical skills are learned, a musician must be patient and open minded in order to understand and then communicate the essence of a composer’s work.

Many people go their entire lives without being aware of the power that art has to affect them. We believe that junior high students are not too young to begin delving into the meaning of music as art. We also believe there is no better way to accomplish that then to develop the ability to perform and take the creation of an artist and bring it to life.

At the middle level we attempt to develop the musical skills necessary to recreate meaningful music and listen critically to both ourselves and others as they perform. We emphasize the inappropriateness of expressing a value judgment on a particular work or performance unless one can articulate the reasons for his or her opinion and demonstrate an alternative. Criticism that is unsupported and non-constructive will not and should not be taken seriously by others.

It would be naive to suggest that such a lofty goal can be fully realized at the junior high level. We therefore strive to start young people down a path that will eventually lead to aesthetic awareness. We firmly believe that a person who is aesthetically aware will be better able to reap all that life has to offer and to share with others the wealth of his or her talent.

Develop strong musicianship and cultivate aesthetic awareness in the classroom through the preparation and performance of quality musical literature.

Provide curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for all music students that enhance their musical experience.

Facilitate opportunities for students seeking musical self-enrichment.

Create community on all levels: within our classrooms, our department, our school buildings, and our local population; as well as within the national and global community.

Enrich students' appreciation of the musical arts by attending fine cultural events.

Create the best possible learning environment for students to pursue an education in the musical arts.

Inspire students to become life-long learners and intelligent consumers of music.

Address the needs of students seeking a future career in the field of music.