Sullivan High School Music Department Recognized For Summer Music Program

Sullivan High School band director Chuck Moore, choir director Natalie Moore and assistant director of bands Joey Musterman were recognized as Music for All’s 2020 Advocacy in Action Gold in the category of Outstanding Recruitment and Retention Program for their Summer Music Program.

The Sullivan High School Summer music program was selected based on an application submitted by Natalie Moore and Chuck Moore, who provided a detailed description about the music program and the specific project.  

Submissions were reviewed by a national panel of educators, administrators, community leaders, and business leaders recognized by achievement in their own advocacy efforts. 

What does this designation mean to the community of Sullivan and the school? The award recognizes and celebrates the commitment of school administrators, community leaders, teachers, and parents who believe in music education and are advocating to ensure that it is part of a comprehensive education for all children. The award highlights the benefits of a strong music program and shows what your school or community is doing to provide access and opportunity for active music making. The award also allows educators to showcase their own music programs that are sometimes overlooked or not fully understood by members of the public beyond the school community. 

What is Music for All? Music for All is one of the largest and most influential national music education organizations in support of active music-making.  Music for All is unique in that it combines programming at a national level with arts education advocacy.  We believe that music and arts education are core to a well-rounded education and must be available to all students. As an advocate for music and arts education, Music for All offers educational programs that support the efforts of instrumental music and choral teachers at the high school and middle school levels as well as provides positively life-changing experiences for students.

Project Description

The purpose of the summer music program is to keep younger students playing their instruments and singing and having the older students mentor the younger students and/or learn a new instrument. If our students are able to teach music to younger students and each other, they in turn learn the material better.  The summer music program meets for four weeks as part of the school district’s summer school program. They are provided federally funded free breakfast and lunch daily.  While the district provides transportation.

Mr. Moore started this program in 2013 as a way for students to continue to play through the summer without spending several hundred dollars on music camps. Mrs. Moore joined and added the choral element in 2014. Mr. Joey Musterman joined the team in the fall of 2016 and brought his talents to the summer music program in 2017.  One element that is exciting to watch develop is that all students play in band and sing in the choir, regardless of previous experience.  This gives students an opportunity to experience how closely related band and choir are. At the end of four weeks, the students present a music concert where they all participate in both the choir and the band portions of the concert. This concert is open to the community, parents, faculty, and staff. One of the objectives of this program is to retain and recruit students going from middle school to high school. Since 2013, the program has developed into a huge part of why our students are staying involved in music in high school and why the programs are seeing so much success.