Cedarcrest celebrates national Music In Our Schools Month

“Kids need music in their school,” says longtime music director.

By Grace Gorenflo • March 7, 2025 7:30 am

Duvall’s Cedarcrest High School is not a big school, but under the instruction of music director Dean Snavely, students are singing, playing and marching with a big-school attitude.

Snavely, who started as Cedarcrest’s music director in 2021, teaches every band, orchestra and percussion class offered — a current tally of 11. His goal is to teach music excellence, regardless of class size.

One way he’s doing that is by recognizing Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM), an observance each March by the National Association for Music Education to raise awareness of the importance and impact of music education in schools, according to the website.

This year marks the 40th MIOSM, but not every year has been celebrated the same, Snavely said.

“I can remember when it was a huge deal, and I can remember when we didn’t even know it existed,” said Snavley, who’s in his 28th year of teaching.

This year, he’s hoping to draw more attention to MIOSM and its mission. He reached out to the cities of Carnation and Duvall, both of which had official proclamations for MIOSM at their March 4 city council meetings. The Riverview School District will also proclaim March as MIOSM at its March 11 school board meeting.

“Kids are able to develop relationships in a different way than they would in their math and their English and PE classes, and that they are all working toward a common goal,” Snavely said. “That’s what this focus this month is about, is we need to preach out to the rest of everyone that we’re here for a reason, and it’s not just to entertain you at football games.”

Not to say Snavely’s students don’t bring the fun to football games and many other events. In December, his marching band was in the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Hawaii, and they performed in a Disneyland parade a few years ago.

Currently, the Cedarcrest women’s choir is recording an album at Top of the Hill Studios. Located in the hills above Duvall, Snavely said Top of the Hill is a “top notch” recording studio that is donating recording time to the students.

“Our goal is to make them feel like they’re in Hollywood,” Snavely said. “I’ve been in the studio, and I’ve experienced the professional end of studio recording, so I want the kids to have that experience.”

Though Snavely is a one-man show at Cedarcrest, he has a strong team in Riverview School District’s other music teachers. What students learn in elementary school and junior high sets them up for success at Cedarcrest, he said.

“Our goal here, and any school I’ve been involved in, is to look at music as a K-12 journey,” he said. “At the elementary school, it’s really about teaching the love of music and the fundamentals and implanting melody concepts and rhythm concepts in the kids in a way that they don’t know that they’re learning. And that’s something that our team does really well.”

This month, Snavely encourages those outside the music realm to recognize the importance of music education in a student’s academic career.

“Kids need music in their school,” Snavely said, “because very often music is the reason kids come to school.”