The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-11

T would like to say that of all the schools I have visited in the south the music department of the public schools of Birmingham is more up-to-date. more modern and more efficient than any 1 have seen. Miss Leta kitts lis d thorough director and she has organized and harmonized the study of music so that it has become an integral part of the cur riculum and a credit to the schools
 Miss Margaret NJ. Streeter of the edu- cational department of the Victor Talking Machine company of Camden, N. J., thus expressed herself yesterday after d visit through the public schools in the interest of Music Appreciation, the subject which she, as one of the F assistants to Mrs Frances E. Clark, director of the Victor educational department, is en- deavorng to promote in the schools of America.
 Miss Streeter is Californian-cultured pretty and attractive, and having been connected with musical work in the pub lie schools of various large cities since she finished her college work, is well equipped to accomplish the task which she has undertaken.
 ''The talking machine is the greatest educational asset that music has today" said Miss Streeter. In my day such a thing was unknown: today a child in the primary department can hear the first strains of Schubert's Unfinished Sym phorya and tel you atTonce what it is, who the composer is and something of his life
 ..The idea that I am trying to promul- gate" said Miss Streeter lis, first, to learn to listen: then to listen to learn. On these two slogans hang all our work We grade our work-primary, intermedl- ate. advanced--iust as the regular school work is graded, and we endeavor to cor relate music with history, poetry, liter ature and the other academic branches.
 For instance" Miss Streeter illus trated, take 'Hiawatha.' Here is the In dian legend; the music we play to the student on the Victrola has the Indian atmosphere-the tom-toms which evoiVe into drums: Longfellow, the poet, his life is recounted. and thus the correlation IS made Another thing, there is the poem On Wild Rose Tree We use for tnls Illustration ITO a Wild Rose of Mac Dowelrs; The Rumble Bee, we use The Schubert Bee played so beautifully by Maud Powell as the correlative music; and the Peer Gynt Suite of Grieg re- veals to the student that Grief also wrote the incidental music to many or Ibsens plays. so it is readily seen the wide knowledge that the simple little Vie- trola spreads as an educaponal iac'oi in the schools.
 "Other nations, the Intalians especially, are remarkable for the music culture among the youth of their nation Miss Streeter said "and this is because they hear good music from the time of their infancy. Perhaps the reason Americans lean toward rag and jazz music IS oe- cause they hear so much of 1t and so little of the finer, better music.
 .'Today we have 5000 schools in the United States using victrolas," Miss Streeter~ said "and a definite, methodicai system of music appreciation is being promoted. and the next generation will find itself rich in appreciation of good music, rich in Knowledge of poetry, llt- rature and art as correiative to music.
 This music appreciation leads to our music memory contest which is one Of the most instructive. one of the most inn portant and one of the most interesting phases of our educational work. !"