Do You, Norristown, Take the Arts. . .?

Norristown High School Marching Band

I'll admit I have no formal training in town planning--just what I've read on the subject, and what I've observed in other towns where I've visited (which may actually be more experience than some of our elected officials have).

Where the arts are concerned, though, I feel at home. Besides being a writer, I have a couple music degrees, and I put in enough hours at my college theater to earn an invitation into the theater fraternity. I've taught music in the Norristown schools, and I've done various music and theater performing all my adult life.

Yesterday, I said Norristown has to overcome one major obstacle before we can flaunt ourselves as an arts destination. Before anyone else can take us seriously as an arts community, we--and I mean everyone in town--MUST make a commitment to the arts. Currently, I don't even see interest in a casual relationship, on any level.

Take the schools--not long ago we had a thriving dramatics program in the high school and middle schools (which gave us John Doyle, artistic director of the Iron Age Theater at Centre Theater). Now when you Google images for "Norristown high school drama" or "theater," you get photos of basketball.

When you Google images for "Norristown high chorus," you get a photo of last year's PMEA choir, hosted at our high school (did that even get a mention in the Herald or Patch?). You also get photos of basketball. No kidding. No photos at all of our chorus. Do we even have one?

As for the band, well, we used to have 60-plus kids in the band. Less than a year ago, the school board voted to yank the funding for the band program, due, they said, to lack of interest. Two teachers (working a lot of extra hours at no pay) and the students themselves managed to swell the numbers of the band enough that the board did finally give them funds, but just enough for the program to barely survive. Last I heard (as of April), the board was only planning on giving the band a third of necessary funds for the coming year.

Why the lack of interest? The kids in our elementary schools LOVE the arts. They enter kindergarten wanting to sing and dance, paint and sculpt. They want to CREATE. They're thrilled at assemblies featuring actors or musicians. The music ensemble I'm in performed at one of the middle schools two years ago, where we sang for 90-100 students in each of 2 workshops. The kids sang along with us, and asked great questions. By the time they graduate high school, though, Norristown students develop an ambivalence, if not an active dislike for the arts. That has to stop, if Arts Hill is going to have a future.

In the rest of our community--many of our churches used to host concerts. Free concerts, or pass-the-plate affairs, accessible to everyone. A few churches still do, maybe more than I know of, but if so, our local media has stopped reporting on them. You don't need to bring in high-priced musicians. I've been in at least a dozen of our churches, and I know we have homegrown talent. I also know of many professional musicians willing to donate their time, or who'll take free-will donations. Choral groups like Norristown Chorale, or one of our gospel choirs, or my own living history music ensemble, would probably be glad to perform. Just ask them.

I can think of lots of other ways for Norristown to embrace the arts. What about displaying the paintings and sculptures of our high school art students in Municipal Hall, or in the theater lobbies? Lunchtime concerts at the Public Square in nice weather? More murals? Shakespeare-in-the-Park each summer (a partnership between our theaters, sponsored by local businesses)?

If you look at the Norristown website, under Arts & Culture, there's 2 pathetic paragraphs that won't inspire anyone to seek out the arts here. Why aren't we trying harder to promote the arts? When people ride through Norristown, our commitment to the arts ought to be evident. Arts events, in the community and in our schools, need to be publicized by the borough, and in the Times Herald and Patch, and on every Norristown Facebook page.

Our council and school board need to lead by their actions AND their own examples. Let's see more elected officials at performances around town and at our schools. If our officials don't embrace the arts in Norristown, VOTE THEM OUT. (I'll say more on this closer to this year's election.)

I should add that the theaters are already doing their part in bringing the arts to the Norristown community, with childrens' programs, summer camp, and pay-what-you-can performances. Take advantage of them.

Do you know of arts events in town that everyone should know about? Or, do you have an idea how we can bring more arts to our community and, especially, to our kids?

What's Special About Us?

At least once a week, I want to highlight something that's unique about our town. I can last quite a few weeks just drawing on my own experience, but I'd like open it up to anyone who lives, works, or otherwise comes into Norristown for whatever reason. Leave a comment here (or on my Facebook posting for this blog), and tell me your favorite unique thing about Norristown. I'll either publish the comment as is, or save the topic for a future blog post.

Today's unique thing is

THE VERDI BAND

Norristown has had a tradition of immigrant music groups since at least the Civil War, up to and including our newest Mariachi musicians. The Verdi Band is Norristown's oldest active brass band, and is still going strong.

You'll find a couple county concert bands in southeastern PA, and one church band that I know of, but bands associated with a town are rare, especially with music education dying out in the schools. The Verdi Band is special in that they've been playing at Norristown events for nearly a hundred years.

They were founded in 1920 as an immigrant band, to provide music at Italian festivals and march along with church processions. After World War II, they began giving more and more public concerts, and marching in public parades. You may have seen them marching in the Independence Day Parade last week. They play all over the region, including an occasional Phillies games, but they're still OUR band, and we ought to boast about them.

This Sunday, you can hear them in a free concert at Elmwood Park's band shell at 7 pm. Bring a blanket or lawn chair and come on down. More info at verdiband.com .