This collection of essays presents key ideas and practical suggestions for implementing the National Standards for Music Education through performance. Following a Preface and Music Content Standards for Grades K-12, essays in the collection are (1) "The Power of the National Standards for Music Education" (Paul R. Lehman); (2) "What Is 'Performing with Understanding'?" (Bennett Reimer); (3) "A Snapshot of a Quality K-12 Music Program" (Dorothy A. Straub); (4) "Challenging the Status Quo in School Performance Classes: New Approaches to Band, Choir, and Orchestra Suggested by the Music Standards" (Will Schmid); (5) "What Are We 'Doing' in Music? Toward a Lifelong Involvement with Music" (Suzanne M. Shull); (6) "The Kinesthetic Connection in Performing and Understanding Music" (Marvelene C. Moore); (7) "The Band and Orchestra Rehearsal: Toward Musical Independence" (Patricia J. Hoy); (8) "Making the School Orchestra a Treasure: Teaching Musical Understanding through Performance" (Robert Gillespie); (9) "Interview with Larry Rachleff: The Heart and the Brain in Performing" (Catherine Larsen); (10) "The Challenges of Performing Choral Music of the World" (Mary Goetze); (11) "Ethnomusicological Musings: Contemplating the Standards as Agents of Cultural Transmission and Change" (Bruno Nettl); and (12) "An Agenda for Teaching Performing with Understanding" (Bennett Reimer). (BT)