Don’t Stop the Music

“Back to School for Inspiration,” by Elaine Dutka (Dec. 5), was a remarkable article about Los Angeles music teacher Iris Stevenson, whose life story has helped inspire the new film “Sister Act 2.”

I was most struck by this statement from producer Dawn Steel: “What sets Iris Stevenson apart is her success in a system that in no way supports her--with the hardest possible children to convert.”

I thank The Times for spreading the word about just how tough it is to be that music teacher, working miracles every day with kids in her choir, band, keyboard and theory classes: Nearly every spring Stevenson receives a notice that she might lose her job.

Isn’t it ironic that it seems to take a Whoopi Goldberg film to bring home the message that school music can exert a powerful influence on children?

Most children in Los Angeles will not have a music teacher-- in kindergarten or in high school. Los Angeles probably has the worst ratio of music teachers to children of any city in the United States--a ratio twice as poor as the already-low state average.

As Stevenson’s assistant says, control comes from the people who do the financing. We must speak up about this money, about this control. Otherwise our children will surely lose Stevenson next spring, or the next, and many others like her.

CECILIA RIDDELL

Department of Music

Cal State Dominguez Hills

Carson