Classrooms Are Alive With the Sound of Music Again

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It may be a bit cliche, but the classrooms are alive with music again at the elementary school level in Framingham.

Three years ago, budget cuts eliminated free in-class, during school hours, instrumental music lessons for fourth and fifth grade students at the elementary schools.

Prior to the budget cuts, more than 800 fourth and fifth grade students participated in the instrumental music and elementary band programs, said Framingham Public Schools K-12 Fine and Performing Arts Department Chair Donna Wresinski.

Over the last three years, the Performing Arts Center of MetroWest in Framingham stepped in and offered a fee-based before- and after-school instrumental music lessons program. 

Last year, there were only about 150 students, across the district, taking musical lessons, said Wresinski. Reasons for the low participation included both the cost and the time of the lessons.  

But this month, Framingham Public Schools is returning part of its former program back to its eight elementary schools.

Fifth grade students are being offered free, in-class lessons in clarinet, flute, saxophone, trumpet and trombone and the opportunity to participate in elementary band.

Lessons in viola and violin are not being offered and the program is only for fifth grade students. Students interested in string instruments, will have to wait until the middle school level, said Wresinski.

For the past two weeks, elementary students have participated in an instrument petting zoo, where they had the opportunity to try two or three of the five instruments offered. (Editor's Note: Patch attended an instrument petting zoo Monday at Brophy. Attached is a video clip with photos.)

The school district is also offering three instrument vendor fairs, in which parents and students can try out all five instruments and make arrangements to rent an instrument for class. Families who can not afford an instrument rental are asked to talk their child's music teacher.

The first of the three instrument vendor fairs is tonight at Walsh Middle School from 6:30 to 8:30.

There are also fairs at Cameron Middle School on Sept. 18 and Fuller Middle School on Sept. 25. Parents can attend any of the three fairs.

"This is a start," said Wresinksi, who was delighted to see the smiles on fifth graders' faces at Brophy Elementary Monday morning, as fifth graders were able to make music come from their instruments.

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Editor's Note: First posted at 1 a.m. Sept. 11 Updated with information that parents may attend any of the three vendor fairs.