Links

Below are some useful links for parents, students and educators.These include sites for music advocacy as well as important regional, State and National organizations .

American Music Conference (http://www.amc-music.com)
"A national non-profit educational association founded in 1947. AMC is dedicated to promoting music, music making and music education to the general public. AMC currently supports a variety of programs highlighting music's benefits for Americans of all ages. AMC members include the entire music community, and individuals and organizations who understand the importance of music and the other arts."

Does Music Class Help Children Learn? (http://edreform.com/parentpower/99nov/99nov1.htm)
W henever a school budget is under the axe, it is presumed that music will be among the first of the budget items to be cut, as if there's no fat in the budget elsewhere. For a long time, communities did not know how to justify why music was important to getting children a solid education. It just somehow made sense. Does music make a difference in the life of a student?"

The National Association for Music Education (MENC) (http://www.menc.org)
"To advance music education as a profession and to ensure that every child in America has access to a balanced, sequential, high-quality education that includes music as a core subject of study." Includes resources and advocacy.

MusicFriends.org (http://www.musicfriends.org)
"There's a lot of new research that suggests that studying music has a lot of scientifically based benefits. Actively studying music has been linked to boosts in math and language skills, increases in spatial I.Q.—the foundation of engineering and science, and enhanced brain function." See especially "The Facts" .

Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts (http://www.arizonaacademy.org)
"Arizona Academy of the Performing Arts is a non-profit organization comprised of programs that provide and promote a continuum of life-long educational and performance opportunities in the area of music, movement, and dance."

Arizona Music Educators Association (http://www.arts.arizona.edu/amea/amea.html)
"The Arizona Music Educators Association was established in 1939 as a cooperative effort of music educators. Since that time, the association has become affiliated with the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). Special interests in the Association are represented by four constituent organizations; The Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA), The Choral Directors of Arizona (ChoDA), The Arizona Society of General Music (AZSGM) and the Arizona Collegiate Music Educators (ACME)."

Blast! (http://www.blasttheshow.com)
"BLAST! is an explosion of sound and color featuring an incredibly energetic cast of 68 playing percussion and brass instruments like you've never seen before. Be thrilled by kaleidoscopic movement, split-second timing, spinning, high stick rimshots, and HUGE BRASS SOUND!! All this performed by the very best young musicians from across the USA. BLAST! promises to be an incredible evening - exciting, innovative, breathtaking, moving and spectacular. An art form in its own right, BLAST! will change your VIEW of music forever!"

Drum Corps International (http://www.dci.org)
"Drum Corps International (DCI) is a non-profit youth organization servicing the world's junior drum and bugle corps and related activities."

Marching Arts Directory (http://www.marchingarts.com)
Lists Drum Corps (DCI, DCA), Bands of America (BOA), World Association of Marching Showbands (WAMSB), and Guard International (WGI) headlines, scores and repertoire as well as repertoire of selected high school marching bands throughout the USA.

Marching Bands Online (http://www.mchsband.com/mbonline)
"The most detailed database of marching band links on the internet. MBonline now includes web sites from drum corps, college, high school, guard, and percussion."

marching.com (http://www.marching.com)
"MARCHING.COM is a one-stop source of scores from high school marching band competitions, a calendar of parade and field contests, and a directory of links to marching bands on the net."

Percussive Arts Society (http://www.pas.org) and the Arizona Chapter AZPAS (http://www.pas.org/chapters/arizona)
" The Percussive Arts Society (PAS®) is a not-for-profit service organization. Its purpose is educational, promoting drums and percussion through a viable network of performers, teachers, students, enthusiasts and sustaining members."

School Band Links (http://www.schoolbands.com)
"Student concert bands, marching bands, jazz bands, orchestras and drill teams are all represented on this school band links page!" Includes high school and college levels as well as an extensive list of links.

Winter Guard International (http://wgi.org)
"Sport of the Arts: [WGI] exists to foster positive life experiences for all who participate, by promoting education, creativity and freedom of expression through the unification of Pageantry and the Performing Arts."