Northwest student advocates for music education on Capitol Hill

A Northwest Missouri State University student traveled to Capitol Hill during the summer to explain and advocate for Title funding in music education, while building her experience on the performance stage.

Maddie Fenimore, a senior instrumental music education major from Bethany, Missouri, participated in the National Association for Music Education leadership summit in Washington, D.C., in June. The annual gathering brings together association board members from every state, along with collegiate representatives.   

“This created a pathway for her to broaden what she gets to experience beyond Maryville,” Dr. Katy Strickland, a Northwest professor of music, said. “She got to travel and spend time with current music educators, people who are in the classroom, but then also managed to find time to be active at the legislative level as well.”  

Fenimore participated in advocacy training and studied specific legislation that the group pitched to Missouri representatives and senators. While the experience was, at times, nerve-wracking, she says she appreciated the opportunity to share her experience as a musician and student.  

“I want to always continue the advocacy piece,” Fenimore said. “You can always advocate for music education, no matter where you are or no matter what you’re doing, and I want to continue teaching that in my classroom.”  

The advocacy work also helped Fenimore gain a better understanding of Title funds, which are federal grants provided to K-12 public schools. Her career goal after graduating from Northwest in the spring is to teach music education at the collegiate level and train future music teachers.  

“It definitely opened my eyes more to the fact that I need to pay attention to laws and bills about education funding,” she said. “Not a lot of people know about Title funds, especially for music educators, and not enough people are taking advantage of them. I need to figure out a way to access them so that my students can have the best possible education.”  

Northwest student Maddie Fenimore is pictured inside the Charles Johnson Theater at the Love DeLuce Fine Arts Building. (Photo by Lilly Cook/Northwest Missouri State University)

Fenimore also added to her performance and conducting experience with two different community bands during the summer. She played with Northwinds, a Kansas City-based ensemble made up largely of music educators that focuses on advanced repertoire. The Nodaway County Band, based in Maryville, brings together high schoolers and community musicians to play beginner-level pieces.  

“As a music major, I’m looking for as much podium experience as possible, so I have the experience before I get in front of a group of kids and teach,” Fenimore said. “It’s not just waving a baton to keep time. I’m looking at the score, and I have to think about what mistakes are going to potentially be made and how I’m going to fix them before they even happen.”  

This fall, Fenimore will take the stage for two senior music recitals – playing three different instruments. Fenimore will perform on flute and saxophone on Nov. 7. Five days later, she will perform a clarinet recital on Nov. 12.   

Fenimore also is part of the Bearcat Marching Band, the Northwest Wind Symphony, Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, Flute Choir and the C5 clarinet quintet.   

“All of my experiences at Northwest have helped me to prepare for a career in education because there has been so much opportunity for leadership in the music department,” Fenimore said. “While I think the content of my classes is important to understanding how to teach, the leadership roles in all of the ensembles and organizations have helped me to know how to plan for events that might come up in my career.”