MUSIC CONCERT AS MEANS FOR SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN SCHOOLS

Abstract

The instrumentality of music concerts in fostering social integration in schools was explored in this paper. The emergence of private schools over the past two decades across Nigeria has, to some extent, addressed the poor performance of public schools witnessed over the years. However, this development has also brought about competition among schools, creating divisions among both schools and students and thereby threatening the very essence of formal education, which is the nurturing of individuals into holistic beings. Twenty schools across Anambra State were studied over a period of fifteen years, during which the researcher was actively involved as a music teacher, music director, music consultant, observer, concert organizer, concert director, concert manager, or music festival/concert adjudicator in some of the schools. It was discovered that engaging students within and across schools in music concerts helped bridge existing socio-cultural and religious divides among them and fostered social integration. The financial demands associated with organizing regular music concerts in schools were identified as a major hindrance to this laudable initiative. However, exploiting opportunities provided by popular school programmes such as graduation ceremonies and cultural festivals was found to be a viable solution to this challenge. The study therefore recommends that educators and policymakers in Nigeria should embrace the idea of music concerts as instruments of social integration in schools.