Contributors: Angela Ammerman • Tiffany Barton • Laura Black • Annamarie Bollino • Joseph Frye • Rita Gigliotti • BettyAnne Gottlieb • Angela Harman • John Kilkenny • Rob Lyda • Warren Mize • William Prentiss • Tevis Tucker • Christopher Vaughn

Successful music educators from rural, one-light towns and bustling cities provide innovative methods for recruiting and retaining students. From elementary ukulele ensembles to high school bands, orchestras, and vocal ensembles, the strategies within these pages will greatly assist in building a successful music program from the bottom up. The ideas in this highly engaging text will have your program bursting at the seams with eager and dedicated student-musicians.
 

In August, we started with five members. By the end of the school year our enrollment had skyrocketed to thirty band members.

—Christopher Vaughn
    Kingston Springs, Tennessee

Just a year after being hired as a part-time teacher, I was informed I would be full-time at one school because my enrollment numbers were so high . . . and from there they grew even more.

—Angela Harman
    Spanish Fork, Utah

I believe that our most important recruiting and retention tools are our everyday interactions with students. How do you connect with students in the car line, at recess, in the hallway during transitions?

—Laura Black
    Rocky Point, North Carolina

While the students should always be at the center of your recruiting and retention effort, you must also recognize the power you have to generate excitement around music education and to create a community of supporters.

—Annamarie Bollino
    Stafford, Virginia

Programs that fail to have a clearly articulated mission and vision will always be scrambling for students. . . . Defining what you are, what you offer, and WHO YOU SERVE is as important as anything else.

—John Kilkenny
    Chattanooga, Tennessee

Current students or others who are aware of your program may also have the opportunity to engage in informal conversations with prospective students. I consider these people ‘program ambassadors’ and discuss how to encourage their support of your efforts!

—BettyAnne Gottlieb
    Cincinnati, Ohio