Posted on 07/01/2006 5:27:12 AM PDT by DogBarkTree
For years, seniors in the wind ensemble at Henry M. Jackson High School have selected a favorite piece of music to play during commencement.
For last month's ceremonies, the 17 students chose an instrumental version of "Ave Maria," which they had performed at a school concert in December 2004.
But their choice was vetoed by Dr. Carol Whitehead, superintendent of the Everett School District. Instead, the ensemble played a selection by British composer Gustav Holst.
Now Kathryn Nurre, an 18-year-old who played alto saxophone in the ensemble before graduating, is suing Whitehead, claiming the decision violated her First Amendment right to freedom of speech. She believes "Ave Maria" was nixed by Whitehead because she felt the song was too religious for a school-sanctioned event.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
[Kathryn Nurre, with parents Patrick and Vicki Nurre, was told the wind ensemble couldn't play "Ave Maria" at graduation. Kathryn Nurre is suing the Everett School District as well as Superintendent Carol Whitehead for banning "Ave Maria" from the students' commencement.]
And the reason liberals are so upset about religion is that the only god they worship is the god of the state. They hate competition.
Bless you, Kathryn, for your courage!
Atheism is a hard core religion. And it's believers are just as bad as those of Islam in trying to impose it on everyone.
You know the "tolerant" leftists are busy working on the concept of re-education camps.
Several instrumental versions of Ave Maria exist, which are all considered as "classical music", by classical composers.
There are also several complete masses composed by classical composers.
Normally these are treated as classical music, composed around a theme, and enjoyed because they show either the ability of the composer or the dexterity of the musician. Listening to them is not considered a "religious service" nor is the concert hall
considered to be a church. (When Leonard Bernstein conducted the NY symphony playing one of these masses, he was not presiding at a religious service.)
But if you are to ban all music which has been composed around any religious theme, then you are going to have to ban at least half of the classical body of music, and much that is more modern.
Are we only going to be allowed to have music about the planets?
That is flipping ridiculous. My daughter is in the orchestra at the local public high school. During the spring concert the orchestra organized themselves into quartets and duets and chose a piece of music to play. Two girls, one a harpist and one a flute player, did Schubert's "Ave Maria", and did it beautifully. It had a special impact on me because that piece had been my mother's favorite and I hadn't listened to it since her funeral 12 year ago. To think that such a magnificent piece would be banned because of some religious connection is absolutely obscene.
Everyone knows that high school students playing the instrumental version of Ave Maria is no different than Congress establishing a religion.
The first amendment guarantees us freedom from religion, dammit! Yes, I know the first amendment says that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise (of religion) thereof -- but hey, free exercise is actually .... establishing a religion! Can't have that.
Wow. How insane. Ave Maria is a beautiful work. If it's being done instrumentally what's the beef? And if it's being sung it's in Latin fer heaven's sake!
This wacko educrat is the same sort of idiot who thinks that letting little boys play "cowboys and indians" will turn them into murdering racists as adults. A complete fool and unfit to teach or administrate a school.
Sort of a State Approved Music List. The Authorities can dig up one of the old lists from the USSR and save the effort of having to make a new one.
And what about the art department and all those pix of church commissioned artwork done by da Vinci, et al?
/s
And the reason liberals are so upset about religion is that the only god they worship is the god of the state. They hate competition.
@@@@@
This is the point that we need to use to counteract the "separation" folks. They are actively supporting their religion, when they permit "no other Gods" before them. The first amendment specifically disallows this.
The kid should have claimed that it was from "wiccan" ceremonies.Then she would have been applauded.
Anyone that bans music written by Franz Schubert is either a dodo head or a nitwit. Take your pick.
"Kathryn Nurre, with parents Patrick and Vicki Nurre,..."
Well, there's the other big problem. Her parents are married, there is no hyphen in the mother's name, which gives a sense of strong family unity. Another thing libs can't tolerate. All this on top of a the daughter being a talented musician instead of a dope smoking, hell raising, knuckle dragging little communist as the school taught her to be.
"I will admit that Im not exactly what one would call a church person but at some point this BS has to stop."
What a great line.
Bump
pong
Superintendent Dodo Head is my pick.
Ave Maria ~ what a gorgeous, dignified background for a commencement.
Lofty, inspiring, achingly beautiful ~ Soulful, selfless and sweet.
If "commencement" implies a new beginning, this song is such a promise.
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