Music is one of the most powerful and profound symbol systems that exist. Just as every student, in the liberal arts tradition, must study our verbal and mathematical symbol systems, so too should students study the symbols represented by music and art. The ability to create symbols and the obsession to use them is what makes us human and for this reason should be cultivated and strengthened at every opportunity. Music, a truly unique symbol system, has enabled human beings to express their loftiest thoughts and feelings about all that makes life worth living love in its myriad forms, religion, patriotism, and nature. An educational program that neglects the rich and powerful system of symbols found in music is barren and incomplete.
Music exalts the human spirit.
It enhances the quality of life. It transforms the human experience. It has always played a major role in society, and it will continue to do so in the future. Music is an art form that allows individuals to develop their aesthetic potential. Music expresses human feeling with all its shades of intensity and quiet, expansion and withdrawal, movement and rest.