A new administrative rule to limit religious music has caused Wausau West High School's elite choir group to temporarily disband and the city's elementary schools to postpone holiday concerts.
Wausau West choral director Phil Buch said district administrators gave schools three options — limit religious music, hold a concert without holiday music or postpone any concerts in December. Buch said the Master Singers choir group is invited to sing at nearly a dozen holiday concerts each year. He said the directive is unacceptable.
School Board member Jane Rusch told the Daily Herald Media Buch was not told to eliminate religious music, just to mix it with more secular music. Rusch said religion can be an emotional issue for the public, but doesn't think the board should get involved in the decision to limit music.
The American Choral Directors Association has published a statement regarding such matters, Music with Sacred Text: Vital to Choral Music and to the Choral Art.
.
.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.