In tough economic times, music lifts spirits. This was the thinking in the 1920s and 1930s when the first all-state honors ensembles were organized in the United States.

In a recent article in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Phillip M. Hash describes in detail the history of the National High School Orchestra (NHSO), a project of the Music Supervisors’ National Conference (MSNC), the parent organization of MENC: The National Association for Music Education.

In those early days, Joseph E. Maddy chaired a committee that worked to make this prestigious group of high school musicians a reality during an economically challenging period in America. The National High School Orchestras in some years were more than twice the size of a typical professional symphony orchestra, and their quality was exceptional.

What are the implications of this 20th-century effort for music educators today? Hash offers the following thoughts in his summary:

• “The NHSO was organized for the annual meeting of the MSNC in Detroit, Michigan, in 1926 to highlight the growing interest in instrumental music education in the United States. … Maddy overcame the logistical challenges of the project by developing an elaborate organizational plan that divided the work among several committees and numerous individuals from all over the United States.”
   
•  The ensemble served as an advocate for music education “through appearances at educational conferences, radio broadcasts, and concerts” nationwide.
   
• Such groups today could perform for administrators and decision makers, allowing these stakeholders to “witness the full potential of music education.”
   
• “Performances from state and national music educators’ conferences could also be broadcast via television, radio, or podcasts on the Internet.”
   
• “Perhaps a weekly or monthly public radio program could feature outstanding elementary and secondary performing ensembles, just as From the Top showcases young soloists and chamber musicians.”
   

For a full copy of Hash’s article, “The National High School Orchestra: 1926–1938,” see the April 2009 issue of the Journal of Research in Music Education, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 50–72.

MENC member Phillip M. Hash is an assistant professor of music education at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

For information about a 21st-century honors ensemble your skilled high school musicians might like to apply for, check out the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band at http://www.menc.org/v/band/u-s-army-all-american-marching-band.

--Ella Wilcox, April 8, 2009, © MENC: The National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org)