Music Department Instructional Leader Andy Bennett came prepared with data to prove that point with his annual music department report at a recent meeting in the library of Fredonia High School. Bennett made the Board and the audience laugh when he said that offering his annual report to the Board is his favorite night of the year, aside from his own birthday.

Despite a decline in enrollment at the district to the tune of 583 fewer students since 1999, the enrollment in music programs at Fredonia is at an all-time high. Bennett shared that more than 80% of the district’s students are enrolled in music courses at Fredonia, accounting for more than 1,100 of the 1,401 students in the district.

Fredonia also boasts 872 students who participate in curricular performing ensembles, including 71% of students in grades 2-12, while 495 students are participating in extracurricular music activities in grades four to 12. The Fredonia summer lesson program has also continued to grow, with more than 80 students working with 12 teachers in 2023.

For the 11th straight year, Fredonia has been named a National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Best Community for Music Education. Bennett called the recognition “a true honor for all of us” when Fredonia received the same designation a year ago.

OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Andy Bennett, Fredonia Music Department Instructional Leader, presented an annual report to the Board of Education at a recent meeting.

Fredonia also had 244 students perform solos in 2023, whether at the county level through the Chautauqua County Music Teachers Association or the state level through the New York State School Music Association.

Between the county and state levels, Fredonia placed 194 students in ensembles, as well. Six ensembles performed at the New York State School Music Association Majors, with all six earning Gold or Silver awards. The Fourth Grade Select Chorus also brought home a first place award from the Darien Lake MusicFest.

Among the most heralded music students at Fredonia were Miriam LaBarr, an All-State musician, and Ellie VanDette, a state alternate. Bennett explained that only the top 100 students in the state are selected in the “incredibly competitive” selection process.

“We’re so happy for Miriam,” Bennett said. He also highlighted her mother in the audience for a round of applause. Bennett also added praise for VanDette.

Fredonia offers a rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) music course for students to receive up to nine college credits. In 2023, 90% of the students enrolled in the course who took the AP exam received college credit, which is 28% higher than the state average and 30% higher than the national average.

Additionally, 25 new students were inducted as members of the Tri-M Honor Society in the current 2023-2024 school year. The new inductees brought Fredonia to a school record number of 54 students in the Tri-M Honor Society.

The district also has more than 30 students representing the music department through regular performances at the Next Chapter Bookstore in Fredonia, organized by Fredonia student Owyn Darrell-Sterbak. The Symphonic Band performed at the Village of Fredonia’s Halloween Trunk-or-Treat event; the Hillbilly Harmonics fourth graders performed at venues throughout western New York, including the Chautauqua Institute and at Buffalo Bisons games; and high school students performed at Fredonia Place for its residents.

“I’ve never seen such a big crowd for one of these events we’ve done,” Bennett said of the Fredonia Place performance. “It was really a wonderful thing to observe.”

Bennett also spoke to enhanced relationships with SUNY Fredonia and its renowned School of Music. The district also welcomed musicians from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the eGalitarian Brass Quintet to work with students.

“The students really seemed to enjoy that,” Bennett said.

Additionally, Fredonia’s concerts in 2023 were streamed by more than 2,000 viewers, enhanced by American Rescue Plan Act funding.

“It is nice to hear that grandparents and relatives far away have a chance to experience those concerts in real time,” Bennett said.

But as strong as the program’s performances were, the most memorable impressions the department has made continue to be through its peer mentorship programs. The district’s string, chorus, and band “buddies” programs featured more than 60 students participating, where High School students serve as mentors for the younger students in the district.

“We believe here at Fredonia that students should not just learn to be good musicians, but good people, so we try to instill as much character education as we can in our instruction,” Bennett said. “We’re very grateful for our high school and younger students who were willing to sacrifice their time to learn.”

The district has also seen an increase in its school instrument usage program, designed to eliminate a cost barrier for students who receive free or reduced lunch and wish to play an instrument. When the program began, 20 students benefited from its impact. Now the figure is at an all-time high of 127 students, up from 99 students a year ago. Bennett called the program “vital to ensuring equal access to families who are unable to financially support securing their own instruments” for their students.

“We have become kind of a role model for schools in our area,” Bennett said. “… I appreciate you helping these students in giving us an opportunity to make this dream come true for these families.”

“The one thing I get most impressed with, it’s not the music, it’s the way that the whole department has reached kids,” Aldrich said. “The students have a relationship with the music department, and with that relationship, there is more than just a learning of music.”

Bennett stated that he “can’t wait for next year’s report” because participation has already increased throughout the year.

“It goes without saying, but it’s worth repeating. We are very proud of our students and grateful to our district and community,” Bennett said. “This is a wonderful place to live and work, and I’m just so grateful that we support music and that there is such a desire for it.”

Aldrich commended Bennett’s work with the program, and in doing so, he stated the program is so successful, it cannot possibly improve. Bennett then refuted that point and spoke to how he strives to get even better by focusing on the relationships he is able to maintain through music.

“A gift that I have is that I will know my students from fifth grade to 12th grade. I will develop relationships with their families; I will check in with them after they graduate. I was very lucky to have music teachers that did that for me,” Bennett said. “For me, this was my thing that saved me; I have no problem saying that. If I can do that for one kid, if my colleagues can do that, then we’ve done our jobs.”