I couldn't carry a tune with a wheelbarrow. I have as much rhythm as a rock, and quite possibly less so. I don't have a tin ear; mine's lead.

When I was in the eighth grade at Central Junior High in Kalispell, Mont., I got kicked out of music class because I hummed badly. The teacher made me sit outside the classroom, and I had the devil of a time explaining to the principal why I was sitting there.

The only good thing that came of it was watching my poor teacher explain to the principal that, no, I wasn't misbehaving in class, but that I was an atrocious hummer. She nearly broke into tears trying to explain to the incredulous principal that my humming was ruining the beautiful music the rest of the class was making. She finally made her case when she had me hum for him. It took him only a few bars to make a command decision: I could return to class, but I was required to only pretend to hum.

In the eighth grade, that was a badge of honor. Later, it would become a burden.

High school dances were torture. Rather than enjoying the company and proximity of my female partners, I was locked in a cold sweat trying to find the beat and stay with it. I remember one date excitedly telling her nearby friends that I finally found the beat. Of course, it was purely accidental, and by the next song I was back to my spasmodic, out-of-sync self.

Over the years, I have developed an appreciation for music while accepting my fate of having no aptitude, talent, or anything remotely resembling rhythm. I never wanted that fate for my children, and I've worried that the modern efforts to reform education would sacrifice the arts, particularly music, in favor of the more serious and supposedly consequential disciplines.

The arts have not fared well in the rush to reform, but they haven't been totally abandoned either. Thursday, I shared the learning experience and delight of several hundred local schoolchildren who attended an introduction to the world of the symphony. Conductor Boris Brott and the New West Symphony put on the program at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center as part of the Symphonic Adventures Student Concert series.

I was there because my youngest son, Lee, was a member of one of the classes that helped kick off the program by signing the opening number, "America the Beautiful." I had planned to watch his little performance and then slip out and get back to work. I assumed the program would consist of the orchestra performing several numbers as a way to capture the kids' interests.

I stayed glued to my seat as I discovered the program was much more than that. Conductor Brott proved to be as much an educational maestro as he is a musical one. From a walkthrough of Beethoven's Fifth to varied renditions of "Yankee Doodle Dandy," Brott entertained as well as instructed the children in all aspects of the symphony.

One of the more delightful moments of the concert was when Brott and the orchestra members led the children through the four families of orchestral instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. Brott told the children that several members of the orchestra had performed the music for many of their favorite movies, which was evident in the selections they chose to demonstrate their instruments. Theme music to "Star Wars" and "The Simpsons" were big hits.

The hourlong program whizzed by with sing-alongs and a number that included selected children playing some unusual instruments, and concluded with a rousing rendition of John Phillips Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," conducted by one of the students. The boy got to keep the baton as a reward.

I confess I had serious doubts about keeping hundreds of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders enthralled and entertained for an hourlong symphony program. But as one lady asked me at the end of the program, "Do you think there is a child here who wouldn't love to go to a symphony concert tonight?" I could only respond, "No way."

Bravo to all the school districts that participate in this special program, and a big standing O to Boris Brott and the members of the New West Symphony for putting together and performing such a rich educational experience.

A true education is the harmony of many different studies. It is good that concept has not been totally lost in the rush to educational reform. Fortunately for me, it doesn't take perfect pitch to hum that tune.

— Joe R. Howry is editor of The Star. He can be reached by phone at 437-0200 and by e-mail at jhowry@VenturaCountyStar.com.