When? March has been officially designated for the national observance of Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) by MENC: The National Association for Music Education. This year marks the twenty-seventh national observance of the Music In Our Schools program as well as the seventeenth anniversary of its expansion from just one week to an entire month.

Where? In 2001, schools and communities throughout the country and overseas will celebrate MIOSM with concerts and other activities based on the theme "Music... Pass It On!" Classrooms, concert halls, civic buildings, clubs, parks, libraries, and shopping malls will provide the arenas for the public to observe the processes and results of music education.

Who? MENC's fifty-two MIOSM chairpersons (representing each state, the District of Columbia, and European Music Educators) will provide the major thrust for MIOSM activities. Their goal is to involve students, administrators, parents, civic groups, and other community members.

MENC's federated state organizations play an active role in the observance, securing governors' proclamations, enlisting the support of chief state school officers, and establishing organizational structures to help reach individual music educators. National arts and education organizations communicate their support and endorse MIOSM through publications and events.

What is MENC's role? MENC, representing more than 80,000 members, is the sponsor of MIOSM. In addition to announcing the theme, MENC is responsible for communicating ideas to support state and local MIOSM celebrations, coordinating projects, producing the World's Largest Concert, and making available special awareness items, such as banners, buttons, and T-shirts.

1973. . .The First Music In Our Schools Celebration is sponsored by the New York State School Music Association.

1975-76. . . MENC sponsors two national Music In Our Schools Days on March 13, 1975, and
March 4, 1976.

1977. . . Music In Our Schools Day is expanded to Music In Our Schools Week in response to many reports from MENC members that one day did not allow enough time to adequately celebrate the many facets of music education.

1985. . . Music In Our Schools Week is extended to include the entire month of March, allowing music education professionals more flexibility in scheduling activities. The first World's Largest Concert (WLC), a sing-along concert designed to link school children together internationally, is sponsored by MENC.

1990s. . . Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) is celebrated by hundreds of thousands of students, friends, and families in communities worldwide.

2000. . . In the year 2000, schools were encouraged to take the World's Largest Concert and other MIOSM events into the community, to encourage the sharing and making of music by all.