Above: At a Neary winter concert, members of NSMA touted the new jr level membership when they gave out music lesson scholarships to 4th and 5th graders for the first time. (photo by Beth Melo)
For years, the Northboro Southboro Music Association has supported instrument and choral music programs in our public school district. This fall, they expanded beyond middle and high school to include supporting the 4th and 5th grades. With that change, they announced a new “level” of membership discounted for elementary and middle school families.
The best perk that the NSMA traditionally offers members is the free admission to Algonquin concerts. Full members get two free tickets to the annual Pops extravaganza plus free entry for the whole household to all of Algonquin’s other in-house instrumental and choral concerts, including Jazz Night.
For families with students in an ARHS musical group, it should pay for itself. But, if your kids aren’t in high school yet, the $50 standard dues may seem to high.
That’s why NSMA launched the junior level for families with students in middle school or lower.* The discounted membership is just $25. They’ll still enjoy free admission to most of the Algonquin shows. (Only the Pops tickets are excluded.) The concerts are a great way to foster the lower students’ growing interest in music. (Click here to open the reg form.)
Of course the true benefit to both memberships is knowing that you are supporting the district’s public school music program. NSMA uses the money for:
- Equipment purchases for our schools (e.g., new risers for the ARHS Chorus room, new Pep Band clothing, new ARHS choral dresses, sound equipment for Trottier Middle School and band storage for Melican Middle School.)
- Regular support for music faculty and students as needed.
- Senior Scholarships for college-bound musicians.
- Music Enrichment Awards for students.
This year, the association added elementary scholarships to the traditional enrichment awards for middle and high school students. This fall alone, they gave out several thousand dollars in $100 scholarships for private music instruction.
If you want to support NSMA’s efforts, memberships aren’t the only way. Click here to find online options for purchasing spiritwear and/or making donations.
You can also do both in person this Thursday night. Algonquin is holding its annual Holiday Concert. (If you do have junior musicians or singers in the family, they may enjoy seeing the older kids big holiday show.) NSMA will be accepting donations at refreshments tables and volunteers will be selling spiritwear.
And look for the association’s new offering for sale – car magnets.
For more on the concert, click here for the related post.
*Families who have at least one Algonquin student in the household don’t qualify for the junior membership.
