THE ISME-GIBSON INTERNATIONAL AWARDS 2010

THE ISME-GIBSON INTERNATIONAL AWARDS 2010 WERE AWARDED ON THE 29th ISME WORLD CONFERENCE IN BEIJING

Professor Jiaxing Xie received one of the Awards for the project Teaching children to sing songs of the home area which is aimed at minority children in Guangxi in the western part of China where the loss of traditional music is very serious. The aim is to restore the local musical traditions by training and promoting local folk singing of music teacher in the area so that more children will be able to learn these musical heritage.

The second Award went to Mr Bin Wu, Vice chair of the Chinese Society for Music Education, for the project Music education in Chinese schools with special focus on the Western regions, which deals with the situation of music education in the Western part of China where there are certain minority groups. The aim is to provide the music teachers and children there with information, teacher training and teaching materials. Thousands of children are estimated to benefit from this project.

ISME has its own calendar

ISME has its own calendar. Within ISME we don't count years but "biennia", that is periods of two years. Now one biennium has ended and another one has begun. I thank the out-going Immediate Past President Liane Hentschke for work for ISME over several years and I welcome and wish good luck to the new ISME President Graham Welch and the President Elect Margaret Barrett.

I have experienced an intense and greatly rewarding biennium as ISME President. ISME is a continuously growing organization – not only in numbers, but also in perspectives and in activities. So when we now move into a new biennium we do this with our most urgent aims spelled out in a strategic plan. The intention is that this will increase ISME's efficiency in leading and supporting music education worldwide.

The 29th ISME World Conference in Beijing that finished on 6th August attracted nearly seven thousand participants and contained a wide number of presentations, workshops and concerts and a large exhibition. This conference adds a new chapter in ISME's history and in the history of music education. It will have a long influence inside China as well as internationally.

With this conference the name 'Beijing' has taken on yet another meaning and so has the name 'China'. One feature of the ISME calendar is that we tend to refer to previous conferences by the hosting city's or the hosting country's name. In the future we will not call this as the 29th ISME World Conference in Beijing 2010. People will just say: "Do you remember Beijing" or "China! That was great!"

Thanks to all who made this conference a living manifestation for music education!

Håkan Lundström
Immediate Past President

10: Why Study Music?

10: Why Study Music?

Don Hodges

Institute for Music Research, University of Texas at San Antonio

Soccer, computer classes, scouting, and on and on—today's children have so many activities to choose from, it often seems as if their days are programmed from dawn to dusk. In the midst of all this, why should parents make certain their children are engaged in musical activities? Is there anything special that music has to offer? Participation in music instruction has many benefits and outcomes. Musical activities may help students develop leadership skills, enhance self-esteem, promote esprit de corps, or foster a work ethic and dedication to excellence. But, as valuable as these outcomes are, they can also be attained through other experiences. Joining a chess club might, for instance, provide many of the same benefits. What can be said, then, about music that is unique, and is there anything about it that would make it necessary for all children to have the experience?

As a starting place, consider that a musical experience cannot be replaced by any other. Just as reading a novel by Dickens cannot be compared to viewing a painting by Van Gogh, so watching a ballet cannot replace hearing a symphony by Beethoven. Even if a novel, painting, ballet, and symphony were all concerned with the same idea, what one gets from each experience is unique. Or, imagine going to a funeral. At some point words will be spoken in the form of a eulogy and there will also likely be music. The words cannot express what the music does, nor can the music substitute for the words. Both are unique expressions of that which is shared among the mourners.

Suppose one admits that music is, indeed, a unique experience but contends that that alone does not make it necessary for all children to have a musical education. After all, bungee jumping is a unique experience and we don't say everyone ought to experience that. Furthermore, nearly all children engage in music outside of school (e.g., watching MTV, listening to favorite CDs with friends, playing or singing in a "garage" band or church choir) so why should it be included as part of a school curriculum? The short answer is that "music provides unique and invaluable insights into the human condition." To unpack the implications behind this short statement requires two brief digressions—to define education and to look at modern conceptions of human intelligence.

What is the purpose of an education and what do we want our schools to do? Because answering these questions would entail another series of essays, let us begin with the following simple definition: "The purpose of an education is systematic development of the mind and capabilities of every child." In practice, our educational system has focused on the specific mental capabilities of language and mathematics. This narrow conception of human intelligence is reflected in curricula, standardized tests of academic achievement, and intelligence tests.

Recently, psychologists and others have begun to decry this myopic view and have argued for an elaborated view of human intelligence that more fully encompasses a broader range of human potentialities. One list includes linguistic, musical, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal (access to one's own feeling life), interpersonal (ability to notice and make distinctions among other individuals, especially their moods, temperaments, motivations, and intentions), and naturalist (sensitivity to flora and fauna) intelligences. (A ninth, spiritual intelligence, only partially qualifies as it does not meet all eight of the specified criteria.) In this conception, each intelligence provides a unique and equally valuable way of knowing.

Cognitive neuroscience is identifying neural networks in the brain that support each of these intelligences. Evidence from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and other related disciplines supports the notion that humans are endowed with multiple ways of knowing. These human knowledge systems provide a means for sharing, expressing, understanding, knowing, and gaining insights into one's inner and outer worlds.

If one assumes agreement with the foregoing—that music does indeed represent a knowledge system—it then becomes legitimate to ask: What does one know, understand, share, or express through music? Our society recognizes and understands what is to be gained through language and mathematics knowledge systems; the generally accepted notion that a "basic" education consists of reading, writing, and arithmetic is but one example. But what is gained through music? What follows represents only a few of the things we know, discover, understand, experience, share, or express through music:

1. Feelings. Central to any discussion of music as a knowledge system must be the idea of feelings. From one end of the continuum dealing with vague, unspecified moods to the other end dealing with crystallized emotions such as grief or joy, music is intrinsically connected with feelings.

2. Aesthetic experiences. All human beings have a need for beauty and to activate their innate responsiveness to the organized expressive sounds that we call music.

3. The ineffable. Precisely because music is a nonverbal form of expression it is a powerful means to express or to know that which is difficult or impossible to put into words. Two of the most common human experiences that are frequently known through music are love and spiritual awareness.

4. Thinking. Musical thought is just as viable as linguistic, mathematical, or visual thought. It can be a potent means of expressing ideas and of knowing truth.

5. Structure. Closely allied to the idea of thinking is structure. The human mind seeks patterns, structure, order, and logic. Music provides a unique way of structuring sounds across time, as well as a providing a means of structuring thoughts, feelings, and human experiences.

6. Time and space. Time and space are the "stuff" of the universe. All human knowledge systems provide ways of dealing with time and space. As indicated in number 5, music is a means of organizing sounds across time. Although music occurs in "real" time, it deals more with "felt" time. Music, in connection with dance (bodily-kinesthetic knowledge system), is a primary means of experiencing space in time.

7. Self-knowledge and self-identity. Music's role in intrinsic, and especially peak (transcendent, life-changing) learning experiences, provides for powerful insights into our private, inner worlds. Many gain their sense of self through a variety of musical activities and experiences.

8. Group Identity. Group identity through music is both inclusive and exclusive in that: (a) music helps cement the bonding of those members of a group who share common ideas, beliefs, and behaviors, and (b) music helps isolate and separate one group from another.

9. Healing and wholeness. From more specific applications of music in therapy and medicine to more general interactions, music has profound effects on human beings. Music provides a vehicle for the integration of body, mind, and spirit.

All nine of these, and the many others that could be listed, can be subsumed under the idea that music provides insights into the human condition (i.e., the condition of being human).

Although music represents a built-in knowledge system that allows human beings to know aspects of their inner and outer worlds in a unique mode, such knowledge does not come automatically. All the knowledge systems represent potential learning modalities. More than any other animal species, for whom many specific behaviors are pre-wired, human beings rely heavily on learning for built-in potential to be realized. Human knowledge systems will not simply come to full fruition through a natural growth process; a series of environmental interventions in the form of learning experiences are necessary to activate them. Full development of any knowledge system will only come as innate potential is realized in environmental circumstances. We must learn how to use language, how to think logically and use mathematical symbols, and so on through the list.

Many aspects of a knowledge system can be learned informally, by observation and imitation. However, formal learning experiences, primarily in the form of an education, are the real keys to unlocking and realizing full human potential. Thus, education ought to be concerned with the systematic development of human knowledge systems. An important implication to come out of this discussion is that human beings need to be educated in all the knowledge systems in order to achieve maximum human potential.

One can learn how to speak, to count, to run and jump, to draw, and to sing through informal means. But it takes systematic development, to become a novelist, a mathematician, a ballerina, an artist, a composer. In many education systems around the world great emphasis is placed on linguistic and logical-mathematical knowledge systems and very little on the musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, and naturalist knowledge systems. In terms of formal education as schooling, adoption of the notion of a variety of equally valuable knowledge systems carries with it the implication that the curriculum will reflect these knowledge systems. All students should have an opportunity to experience and develop their capabilities in all knowledge systems. Clearly this is counter to the prevailing back-to-basics emphasis on language and mathematics skills, but it is far more consistent with the current understanding of the human mind from a behavioral sciences perspective. To adopt this viewpoint would place music in the core of the school curriculum.

ISME advocacy program: a new partnership with Support Music Coalition

ISME has recently joined the Support Music Coalition (SupportMusic.com), a public service initiative that was initially established to support music education in local communities around the United States. Their advocacy efforts now unite over 130 international, national and regional organizations including parents and community leaders who seek to improve access and opportunities in music and arts learning.

The Support Music Coalition believes that local citizens – parents, grandparents, and teachers – have enormous influence which they can use in effecting access to art and music education in schools. Proactive, community-based interest and support for music education in schools is vital to sustain and grow quality programs. On the SupportMusic.com website there are several advocacy related resources such as: "Turning Passion for Music Education into Public Policy and Grassroots Action", The Support Music Community Action Kit, the brochure "Keep Music Education Strong" and "How to Materials". Anyone interested should go to the website www.supportmusic.com to check the latest projects. ISME´s role in the Support Music Coalition will be to work with partner organizations to improve our advocacy efforts in different parts of the world.

27. Music Education Around the World:Spotlight on a Global Issue

Highly Effective Music Teachers Translating our passion for music education into effective advocacy requires particular approaches. MARY-JANE WHITEHEAD found a management classic surprisingly relevant. Everyone loves music, so it seems. It comes in all flavours, shapes and sizes and you can have it ‘24/7’, courtesy of modern technology. Background music is so much a part of modern life that most people now feel bereft without it. If music is all around us all the time, apparently ‘enjoyed’ and ‘appreciated’ without any effort beyond the flick of a switch, then of course music education appears redundant and of low priority in the educational scheme of things. Like many, in my teaching career I have been subjected to the usual put-downs about the value of what I do. I’ve been told that music is a ‘frill’ subject; that teaching music is a ‘soft option’—all we do is sing songs and play games (no skills, academic rigour or sequential learning involved). This flies in the face of the facts: that the kids like coming to music, enjoy their time with us in the music room, perform like champions when required . . . and that when their parents make their choices about where their children go to school, the quality of the school music program is often very high on their list of queries. So how can we each translate what we know about music education into the nitty-gritty business of being an effective advocate for music in our own work situation, in our own sphere of influence? This thought sent me back to Stephen Covey’s 1989 book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. If you look at effective school music programs and inspiring music teachers, these seven habits are apparent—in the way the teachers act, and the ripple effects of their attitudes and actions. This is advocacy in action. Let me translate these seven habits into a school music context. Covey’s first three habits focus on ourselves—knowing our goals and purpose, what we believe is important, and how to stand solid as an independent person. Be proactive So, nobody at your school seems to understand or value what you are trying to do? You are in control of how you respond. You can be negative or positive—reactive or proactive—it’s your choice. Successful teachers take what they find and work to transform it. Begin with the end in mind Be clear about your values and the goals of your music-teaching program. Advocacy articles are for you to read and ponder! So too are the pedagogic ideas in this and other magazines and journals and the musical and professional development activities run in the wider community. Put first things first Keep reviewing your priorities. Effective music teachers manage what they do so that they are not too busy to do the important things, big or small, whatever they are. While working on ourselves, the next 3 goals get to the nub of advocacy in action—how we relate to and work with others. Think win/win: Successful music teachers respect what others are trying to do and treat them as valued colleagues. Successful music teachers are prepared to work cooperatively and align what they are doing with school events and priorities or other teachers’ classroom themes, while still working to maintain the integrity of their own learning program. Seek first to understand, then to be understood Our best teachers take the time to understand the other person’s point of view and respect what they are trying to do. Synergise: Once teachers work together, the power of many is more than the power of one! Seek out like-minded people, at school, in the community or through a professional association. This makes us both individually stronger, and a more powerful voice as a group. The final habit is the glue that binds it all together. Sharpen the saw Take the time you need to renew yourself physically, socially and emotionally, spiritually and mentally! Successful teachers keep perspective, balance and variety in their lives. There is more to life than work, important though that may be. To burn out is a personal tragedy for you and certainly doesn’t help your school or students either! Reference Stephen R Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1989; also numerous later editions, imprints and spin-offs. An Advocacy resource from Australia: The following web site has useful information for those seeking music education advocacy strategies and resources: The Music Council of Australia "Policy and Advocacy" http://www.mca.org.au/index.php?id=41

7: Children Need Music (Deutsche)

7: Children Need Music (Deutsche)

Wilfried Gruhn

Emeritus Professor, Musikhochschule Freiburg,

Germany

1. Aus neurobiologischer Sicht sind die ersten Jahre von besonderer Wichtigkeit für die Ausreifung und synaptische Vernetzung ("Verdrahtung") des Gehirns. Die volkstümliche Redensart "Was Hänschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr" spricht diesen Sachverhalt vereinfacht an.

2. Allerdings muß vor einem Mißverständnis gewarnt werden (vgl. John Bruer: The Myth of the First Three Years, 1999). Es ist zum Glück nicht so, daß Hans nichts mehr lernen kann. Der Mensch ist immer zum Lernen fähig, man kann gar nicht "nicht" lernen. Grundsätzlich bleibt das Gehirn bis ins Erwachsenenalter strukturell formbar. Allerdings ist das kindliche Gehirn in viel stärkerem Maße "plastisch" veränderbar als das ausgereifte, so daß Lernen in diesem Lebensabschnitt – wie jeder weiß – viel leichter fällt. Alle zentralen, lebensnotwenigen Lernvorgänge (z.B. aufrechter Gang, Körperkoordination, Sprechen, abstraktes Denken etc.) finden daher in den ersten Lebensjahren statt.

3. Lernen beruht auf der plastischen Veränderbarkeit des Gehirn. Wir wissen, daß die Plastizität zwar in den ersten Lebensjahren am größten ist, aber das ganze Leben erhalten bleibt. Humanbiologisch, pädagogisch und ethisch kommt daher den Erziehungsbemühungen in den ersten Jahren eine ganz besondere Bedeutung zu. Familie, Kindergarten und Grundschule sind hier die entscheidenden Agenten der Vermittlung von Erfahrung, Wissen und Können.

4. Die Ausreifung des Gehirns folgt in seiner Grundstruktur genetischen Dispositionen, ist im einzelnen aber in seiner individuellen Ausprägung nutzungsabhängig. Unser Gehirn wird so, wie wir es benutzen! Alle Erfahrungen, die ein Mensch in seinem Leben macht, werden in seinem Gehirn verankert.

5. Neueste Erkenntnisse der neurobiologischen Verhaltensforschung haben im Tierversuch (Ratten) ergeben, daß emotionale Vernachlässigung und deprivierte soziale Bindungen das Gehirn in seinen Tiefenstrukturen (limbisches System, Amygdala) nachweisbar verändern. Dies hat einen Boom der "Neurodidaktik" ausgelöst, weil man vermutet, daß analoge Auswirkungen auch beim Menschen erwartet werden dürfen (z.B. hyperaktive Kinder, Aufmersamkeitsdefizit Syndrom).

6. Daraus ergibt sich die sozial- und bildungspolitische Forderung, die Familien zu stärken, damit Kinder emotionale Bindungen aufbauen können. Horte und Kindergärten können diese Funktion nicht ersetzen, aber Impulse und Anregungen für die intellektuelle Entwicklung geben.

7. Der Musik kommt in dieser frühen Entwicklungsphase eine wichtige Bedeutung zu. Wie kaum eine andere Tätigkeit intensivieren musikalische Erfahrung das rhythmische System im biologischen Bildungsprozeß. Die Erschließung von Zeit und Raum beginnt bei Kindern mit der Erfahrung von Gewicht und Bewegungsfluß, während Erwachsene die Dimension von Raum und Zeit zählend und messend erfassen (Laban, Gordon). Musik stimuliert und verstärkt vitale rhythmische Prozesse. Kinder haben daher auch ein offenkundiges Bedürfnis nach rhythmischer Wiederholung.

8. Musikalische Tätigkeiten vernetzen viele verschiedene neuronale Areale und erfordern hohe feinmotorische Koordinationsleistungen. Nicht weil nach populärer (aber so allgemein nicht zutreffender) Sicht Musik in der rechten Hemisphäre lokalisiert ist und daher besonders diese als Gegengewicht zur linken Hemisphäre fördert, sondern weil Musik eine dichtere Vernetzung verschiedener Areale und stärkere Kohärenzen hervorruft, bildet sie ein vorzügliches Medium für ein kortikales Training. Zu diesem Zweck kann Musik erfolgreich beim Hörtraining von Cochlea Implant Kindern eingesetzt werden.

9. Die musikalische Begabungsforschung hat gezeigt, daß jeder Mensch mit einem bestimmten Begabungs- (d.h. Lern)potential geboren wird, das bei Geburt am größten ist und danach kontinuierlich abnimmt, wenn es nicht durch Umweltreize und informelle Lernangebote (Hörangebote) immer wieder angeregt wird. Denn das Gehirn ist wie ein Spiegel der gemachten Erfahrungen; ohne musikalische Anregungen können sich keine musikalischen Repräsentationen bilden!

10. Jeder Mensch besitzt einen bestimmten Grad an musikalischer Sensibilität. In den frühen Jahren vermag ein Kind daher mühelos, Musik wie eine Sprache zu erlernen, und zwar nicht von der Grammatik und der Theorie her (knowing about), sondern als praktisches Handlungswissen (knowing how). Das vitale, natürliche Bedürfnis des Menschen nach rhythmisiertem Klang begründet und erleichtert den Zugang zur Musik als einem elementaren Ausdrucks- und Kommunikationsmittel.

11. Vor diesem Hintergrund kommt einer internationalen Dachorganisation wie der ISME eine besondere Bedeutung und Verantwortung zu, weil hier auf übergeordneter Ebene die Bemühungen und Anstrengungen zusammengefaßt sind, allen Menschen eine musikalische Ausbildung im Rahmen der je eigenen Kultur zu ermöglichen. Begegnung und Austausch zwischen den Kulturen stellt eine entscheidende Herausforderung unserer Zeit für ein friedliches Zusammenleben der Völker dar. In der Jugend bilden sich die zentralen Muster und neuronalen Netze, in denen sich Fühlen und Denken abspielen und wo das Weltwissen und die Welterfahrung der Kinder abgelegt wird. Musikalisch kulturelle Erfahrungen spielen dabei im Zusammenwirken mit anderen Bildungsbemühungen eine wichtige Rolle. Musikalische Förderung folgt somit dem human-ethischen Gebot, angelegte Begabungspotentiale optimal zu fördern.

Prof. Ligj. Besa Luzha (Albanian), advocacy

Besa Luzha University of Prishtina, Faculty of Arts Music Department Kosovo Unë jam një edukatore e muzikës e re dhe vij nga Kosova, një vend i vogël në Evropë i cili njihet përmes ngjarjeve te fundit dhe konfliktit te tmerrshëm që ndodhi ne vitet 1998-99. Që nga qershori 1999 kur forcat ndërkombëtare të NATO-s intervenuan dhe sollën paqen në Kosovë, jeta është normalizuar dhe tanimë 4 vite pas të gjitha përpjekjet e bashkësisë ndërkombëtare dhe të Kosovarëve janë drejtuar drejt plotësimit të standardeve të nevojshme për tu integruar në Bashkësinë Evropiane. Ka mjaft punë deri në këtë integrim dhe tanimë shumë procese kanë filluar. Reforma të domosdoshme në të gjitha fushat e veprimtarisë janë paraqitur si të domosdoshme në mënyrë që Kosova të zhvillohet në një vend me standarde evropiane. Njëra ndër to është edhe Reforma e Procesit edukativ –arsimor në të gjitha nivelet. Unë personalisht jam përgjegjëse për koordinimin e punës së grupit të ekspertëve per ndryshimin dhe zhvillimin e kurrikulit mësimor për lëndën Edukatë Muzikore në të gjitha nivelet K-12. Në kuadër të këtij procesi shpeshhere jam pyetur nga kolegët e lëndëve të tjera “pse mendoni që muzika është aq e rëndësishme…?”. Dhe me të vërtetë jam preokupuar edhe vetë me këtë pyetje aq sa edhe me habinë pse kemi nevojë të argumentojmë aq shumë për rëndësinë e muzikës kur ajo është një gjë aq e qartë dhe e dukshme. Megjithatë, në këtë shkrim unë nuk do ti rrekem argumentimit shkencor mbi rëndësinë e muzikës duke e kundruar atë që nga teoria e intelegjencave të shumëfishta dhe beneficionet që sjell muzika për aftësitë kognitive dhe procest e ndryshme psikofizike deri te tek ndikimi I provuar( nga hulumtimet e shumta të deritanishme) në rritjen e rezultateve të testeve të përgjithshme shkollore. Unë dua të flas për një aspekt tjetër të kundrimit të muzikës , për muzikën si dicka magjepsëse dhe hyjnore duke evokuar kështu edhe mendimet e largëta të Platonit e bashkëkohësve të tij mbi të menduarit se “Muzika I ben njerëzit me të mirë” ose duke cituar edhe Shpenhaurin I cili thoshte se “Muzika është banjë e shpirtit…” Fuqia e muzikës që të depërtojë thellë në shpirtin tonë dhe të nxitë reagime të llojllojshme ndjenjash dhe emocionesh me ate rast është ajo që unë dua ta theksoj si më të rëndësishmen e muzikës. Në popullin tim muzika zen nje vend jashtëzakonisht të rëndësishëm . Thuajse cdo moment I jetës është I shoqëruar dhe I pershkuar me muzikë-lindja, gëzimi, martesa e bile edhe vdekja ( ne popullin tim me rastin e vdekjes sipas disa traditave te lashta bëhet vajtimi I të vdekurit duke kënduar me një melodi ta caktuar duke I radhitur virtytet e të vdekurit dhe duke përshkuar dhimbjen që përjetojne anëtarët e familjes”). Në kohët më të vështira kur ndodhi konflikti dhe lufta e temrrshme u krijuan këngë që flsinin për lirinë dhe të ardhmen dhe kështu njerëzit merrnin forcë për të vazhduar jetën . Për dhjetë vite me radhë nen pushtetin represiv që administronte Kosovën shqiptarëve –banorë shumicë të Kosovës- iu kishte ndaluar që te shfrytëzonin sallën e vetme koncertale në Prishtinë për të organizuar dhe mbajtur koncerte ndonëse deri më atëherë kishte vepruar orkestri simfonik i Prishtinës dhe jeta muzikore ishte relativisht e pasur. Në vitin 1999, në nëntor pas vendosjes së paqes unë me kolegët e mij muzikantë I hymë një iniciative të madhe për të organizuar një koncert të madh të muzikës klasike që do të mbahej në sallën koncertale pas 10 vitesh. Ndoshta mund të duket e çuditshme organizimi i një koncerti në rrethana të sotme, por po flasim për një gjendje pas lufte ku njerëzit ende kërkonin familjarët e varrosur nëpër varre masive dhe të zhdukurit që s’mund ti gjenin dhe per një situatë ku shumë qytete përreth e edhe vetë Prishtina ishte e shkatërruar dhe e demoluar nga lufta e tmerrshme. Megjithate, ne u perpoqëm dhe ia dolëm. Në një ditë nëntori të ftohtë ( më 28 nëntor 1999) ku temperature Brenda në sallë ishte 10 grade celcius, më se 600 njerëz kishin mbushur “sallën e kuqe “ koncertale te Prishtinës ku muzikonin muzikantë nga Kosova, Maqedonia, Shqipëria dhe mysafirë instrumentistë nga Gjermania, SHBA dhe Italia. Në program ishin vepra per orkestër harkorë nga Bachu, Hajdn, Samuel Barber- e Aaron Koplandit etj., e edhe vepra të kompozitorëve Shqiptarë. Ndonëse në sallë ishte ftohtë dhe njerëzit ishin ende të pikëlluar e të traumatizuar nga konflikti zemrat e tyre u ngrohën nga tingujt magjepsës të muzikës. Edhe publiku përbëhej nga njerëz të shtresave të ndryshme që flasin gjuhë të ndryshme. Por atë natë muzika u fliste atyre me një gjuhë, gjuhën e saj të vetme dhe forca e saj depërtoi thellë në shpirtërat e të gjithë njerëzve njësoj duke I emocionuar ata. Ajo iu dha shpresëdhe kurajo vendorëve për të harruar dhimbjen dhe për të vazhduar jetën kurse iu tregoi mysafirëve që kishin ardhur të punonin në Kosovë për karakterin dhe forcën e këtij populli dhe për dëshirat e tij që të jenë pjese e Evropës së qytetëruar me gjithë ndryshimet që posedojnë. Kështu Muzika vendosi në ato çaste ura lidhëse mes njerëzve të ndryshëm. Kur koncerti kishte perfunduar dhe njerëzit ishin ngritur në këmbë duke duartrokitur, ndodhi dicka e pashpjegueshme. Gati të gjithë duartrokitnin me lot në sy. Kjo vërehej sidomos tek Kosovarët të rinj e të vjetër që ishin mbërthyer nga emocionet dhe i ishin dorëzuar tërësisht ndikimit të muzikës. Këtë përjetim nuk do ta harroj kurrë dhe mendoj se pikërisht për këtë arsye është e rëndësishme Muzika. Ajo na bën të ndihemi në radhë të parë-njerëz me trup dhe me shpirt. Ajo na pasuron jetën dhe na ngjall ndjenja dhe emocione. Sot kur po ballafaqohemi me avokime në të mirë të muzikës për të shpjeguar pse duhet të jetë muzika e pranishme në shkollë, ndoshta mund tu themi shumë thjesht dhe sinqerisht –sepse shkollat tona duhet te edukojnë dhe të arsimojnë në radhe të parë njerwz tw ndieshwm dhe te kulturuar. E muzika ka mundësi të bëjë këtë. Prandaj le ti japim shansin. Prof. Ligj. Besa Luzha Universiteti I Prishtinës-Fakulteti I Muzikës Departamenti I Pedagogjisë Muzikore