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Student and middle-school orchestra teacher urge Somerville Board to establish full orchestra program
Summary
A seventh-grade student and the Branchburg/BCMS orchestra teacher asked the board to create a curricular orchestra at Somerville High School and expand string programming to keep students in district music education.
A middle-school violinist and the orchestra teacher for several feeder schools urged the Somerville Board of Education Thursday to establish a full orchestra program at Somerville High School and to consider a part-time strings instructor at the secondary level.
Seventh-grader Nicholas Eugene Nelbaro, who said he attends Branchburg Central Middle School and lives in Branchburg, told the board he has played orchestra since fifth grade and asked the district to provide a daily, for-credit orchestra class at the high school rather than only an after-school club. "Playing the cello is my life, and I plan to continue through high school, college, and its professional career," Nelbaro said. He told the board the middle school currently has roughly 62 orchestra students and that many of those students would take a curricular option if offered.
Regina Santangelo, who identified herself as the orchestra advisor and orchestra teacher at BCMS, told the board she runs an after-school club that meets once weekly and that middle-school participation typically ranges from 60 to 70 students. She said high-school orchestra enrollment drops to about 20–25 students in the after-school club, and that many students cannot participate because of sports, work or other after-school obligations. "An hour a week is really not enough," Santangelo said, and she suggested that a part-time position at the high school, possibly shared with middle-school programming, would expand access and strengthen the district's music offerings.
Santangelo told the board she has had 10–15 families over recent years explicitly say they are leaving the district or choosing private schools because of the lack of a strings program at the high school. She asked the board for clear enrollment targets or a plan so the program can be evaluated for possible staffing additions.
Board President (name not specified) thanked both speakers, called Nelbaro's comments "courageous," and said the board would ask at least one committee to examine the feasibility of adding curricular orchestra classes, noting that staffing, facilities and budget implications would need further review.
The board did not vote on a new orchestra position or program at the meeting; the board's next steps, as stated publicly, are to have committee members review the request and report back.
