When busloads of middle school students with the Mater Dei Music Academy pull up to Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm, motivated young musicians disembark, ready to perform and have fun. 

Socialization is typically a by­product of a music program. However, in one music class at Parkway Central Middle School in Chesterfield, Missouri, socialization is the goal. 

In 2016, the wind ensemble at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, Tennessee, performed on the main stage at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival. 

The best recruiters for music programs are our current students. When re­taining music students from middle and elementary schools, your current students serve as the best public relations for your program. 

When Kathryn Greene began teaching orchestra at James Cashman Middle School in Las Vegas in 2006, she may have been in over her head. 

Nestled between the city's homeless corridor and a cemetery near the historic Fremont District of Las Vegas, Rancho High School might not seem like the ideal home for a successful performing arts program. 

In a sprawling state like Texas, it might be easy to overlook the small town of Roma that sits along the Rio Grande on the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Every spring, Denison (Iowa) High School hosts a fiesta, including a taco truck, chips and salsa, and parents' homemade desserts. But the main attraction is the Denison High School Mariachi Band. 

When Daniel Berard walked into his job interview at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2004, he had a clear vision of how to start the band program from scratch. 

One of the hallmarks of successful music educators is their desire to continually seek out ways to "build a better mousetrap." 

Janis Stockhouse's confidence was high on her first day as director of bands at Bloomington High School North in Indiana. Then her jazz students showed up. 

At O'Fallon (Illinois) Township High School, when school ends, music can still be heard drifting through the halls as high school musicians guide middle schoolers in after-school private lessons. 

The halls of Robert McQueen High School in Reno, Nevada, are buzzing with excitement and anticipation for the summer. It's not the typical end-of-the-school-year eagerness that has these teenagers bouncing in their seats.