TV's 'Glee' sparks students' choral-music interest
BY World's Editorial Writers
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
4/12/11 at 4:15 AM
"Glee" has become a TV phenomenon. Even people who don't watch the Fox network prime-time teen soap opera know about it.
For anyone who just got off the bus from Mars, "Glee" deals with the triumphs, trials and tribulations of a high school glee club - spiced with lots of singing and dancing.
A story in Saturday's Tulsa World by staff writer Sara Plummer details how the TV show has inspired a renewed interest in glee clubs at Tulsa and area high schools.
Glee clubs historically were a little less formal - more for fun - than other choral groups, so they tended to attract students who made up with enthusiasm what they might have lacked in musical training and experience.
That seems to be happening with this renewed interest - new glee club members represent all walks of student life, not just those who've always been involved in choral music.
This trend is encouraging. Fine arts - vocal and instrumental music, speech and drama - often are first on the chopping block when schools must deal with dwindling student numbers or drastic budget cuts. Either of those or a combination of both can mean fewer teachers in those areas, teachers having to double up in, say, band and vocal music and smaller talent pools to draw from.
Anything that increases musical opportunities for students and increases their interest in music is welcome. A cause for glee, you might say.
Original Print Headline: Gleeful
