Dear GFA Members:

We have chosen to embark on what could easily be the single most important music instruction project of the 21st century. The GFA Education Initiative (EI) began in 2003 with the formation of the Education Committee led by Gregg Goodhart. In that short time there have been substantial additions to Soundboard and the international convention which support pre-college guitar education. With his direction, and due primarily to his personal efforts, the EI went from a standstill to the many projects you see listed below. He continues to serve as the Soundboard education editor and a dedicated member of the Education Committee and its many projects. As you will note by the mission and current activities, the Education Committee has been very busy and has had a surge of interest from the GFA membership in its objectives. But this is just the beginning.

University guitar programs are graduating well-trained guitarists as the guitar remains the most popular instrument in the United States and many other parts of the world. Most of the children who want to learn guitar cannot afford private instruction and/or do not have trained guitarists in their area. The growing number of pre-college guitar programs is a natural solution to both the professional needs of guitar graduates and the many thousands of children who want to learn the instrument. Those familiar with pre-college programs estimate that each full time guitar option will increase the number of music students at any given school by ten percent. This in turn will support all music at an institution, especially knowing that initial figures tell us that 95% or more of those guitar students do not take other music performance classes. No other organization is in a better position than the GFA to serve as catalyst to this process. The Education Committee intends to take full advantage in order to assist in the creation and support of pre-college classical-based guitar programs in schools.

For the first time, ever increasing numbers of kids who study guitar will have the opportunity to receive the same advantages as those who participate in band, orchestra and choir. The implications for the rich rewards for the children, the teachers, music manufacturers, and the university programs are positive in the extreme. I am honored to be part of this profoundly important process which is changing the entire professional outlook for guitar in this nation. I look forward to the gracious assistance and patience from the many GFA colleagues who have lent their encouragement in favor of this initiative. I also look forward to the excitement of discovery as we continue to encounter established and new pre-college guitar programs.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael Quantz
Chair, Education Committee