By Christian Wissmuller
School Band and Orchestra’s sixth annual music student essay contest attracted the most entries since the launch of our program, with well over 13,000 submissions. This year’s topic, “How Music Education Has Made Me a Better Student,” spoke to the far-reaching benefits of music scholarship on young lives – a topic which has been covered at length in many media outlets, including this one.
Our participants’ stories reinforced and confirmed longstanding assertions made by advocates for music education. Among other things, students shared how studying music: leads to greater academic achievement in all areas; fosters self-confidence and social skills; provides a valuable emotional outlet; and strengthens organizational and leadership skills.
