September 16, 1998

Dave Parrish: New music head is system veteran

By Jacquie Thomas
Herald Editor
     
      He's no stranger to the music scene in Traverse City Public Schools, even though he's moving into a new office, organizing a new desk, and counting the minutes until his new secretary reports for duty.
      His name is Dave Parrish and he has accepted the position of K-12 Music Coordinator for Traverse City Area Public Schools on the heels of Tom Stokes, who resigned this summer.
      He has actually accepted the position for the second time, the first being the beginning of his eight year reign as the department head from 1978-1986.
      "I was first recruited for the TCAPS program in 1965, during my senior year at Central Michigan University," remembered Parrish. "Mel Larimar showed up at my door one day and offered me a position in Traverse City."
      "We (Parrish and wife Mary, who now teaches general music in the elementary program for TCAPS) fell in love with the area and the program. The program in Traverse City was so strong."
      "There were other places where we could have made alot more money, but there weren't, and still aren't, many programs in Michigan that have the strength in the entire system that TC offers."
      "It is strong in all facets, general music, choral, band and orchestra. Some districts will have one or two strong areas, but very few have the overall dedication and strength that we do."
      "I started teaching Choir in the Junior High, in the building that is now Central Grade School, and stayed there for 5 years. Mel's son, Russ, now the Choral Director at TC West was one of my students."
      "In the 1970's, there were several exceptional students that went on to impressive accomplishments world wide. Dave and Meredith Parsons, Jane Sleder, Marilyn Tilley and Patti Chamberlain, to name a few. We now have Jane, Marilyn and Patti back in the area, along with other high caliber musician/teachers like John Wuench, Jeff Hass, Bill and Laurie Sears, Nicole Philibosian, and Ron Gentry. That gives us opportunities for enrichment for students that most areas don't have benefit of."
      After teaching at the Junior High for 5 years, Parrish took Mel Larimar's spot as the Choral Director of TC Senior High for 7 years, until 1978. From 1978-1986, he served as Department Head for Music, the position he has been selected for again.
      In 1986, Parrish left the world of performance for the classroom and taught Humanities for 12 years. "I've always needed a shift in my job every 5-7 years," he said.
      "I've been very fortunate to have so many career paths open up to me in one geographic area and in one district."
      "And now, here I am again. I've come full circle. I was very attracted to the position because, once again, I was ready for a change. The Humanities Department was great, with a great team and curriculum, but I was ready for a change."
      The challenges ahead are many, with funding and curriculum being the top concerns. "If you are faced with a budget reduction, it must be looked at intelligently, across the whole scope of programming. The challenge is to make adjustments, if needed, but in areas that will leave the overall integrity of the program intact. The health of the whole must be the priority at all times," explained Parrish.
      "That's where dedicated and innovative staff members come in-I facilitate-the ideas come from staff-they are the ones in the trenches-the ones dedicated to the quality of the product. They are a very talented and creative group of professionals with a clear focus of their mission."
      "One of the first areas that has been targeted by staff is the curriculum at sixth grade. This grade level is crucial to all areas of programming and has undergone several major cuts during the past 4-5 years that have never been recovered. A task force is being put together to explore options, see what others have done and find a way to improve the program "more efficiently" (without additional costs)."
      "It is a standard refrain: we need to get creative and do more with less. Less money and less time, but with the same standards of excellence that are traditional in our system."
      "The traditions of excellence go way, way back. The community support has always been strong. I think this is a unique area where a large proportion of the public has acknowledged that performing arts in the public school is important. They knew this even before the research results that we have today confirmed it-performing arts, especially high quality programs, spill over into other areas of academics and student life to create an expectation and desire for a culture of excellence."