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The evolution of a musician

Area music students perform on the big stage

What do you get when you cram 300-plus musicians ranging in age from elementary school to seniors in high school on one stage?

The answer’s not the punchline to a joke, it’s the School Music Extravaganza.

“We have two objectives for this event,” said Angie Beach, the executive director of Music in the Mountains, which organized the extravaganza. “We want to showcase our schools’ music programs and dedicated teachers. And it’s a celebration of the progression a music student goes through from elementary school through college.”

Budding musicians

The program, which was held Wednesday night at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, was designed to demonstrate that progression, starting with the Be For the Recreational and Artistic Needs of Kids Bayfield Elementary Advanced Orchestra, conducted by Lech Usinowicz. The Be FRANK Foundation makes orchestra and band opportunities available that the Bayfield School District could not otherwise afford.

Usinowicz, an FLC alumnus, announced at the concert that he currently is writing a grant to offer orchestra classes at Bayfield High School, and Be FRANK also is working with the Outdoor Education Program at FLC to expand the recreational side of its mission.

The younger musicians reminded everyone who ever picked up an instrument and tried to play in tune with classmates in an orchestra or band setting just how tough that was in the first few years. There were moments of clean, crisp musicianship and moments of struggle during the elementary and middle school performances, but the kernel of what they could become – if they follow the longtime mantra to practice, practice, practice – was evident.

The whys and the hows

During the shuffling, moving different orchestras and bands on and off stage, Music in the Mountains screened videos featuring sponsors, music educators and Shining Star Scholarship recipients, who receive help to defray the cost of individual music lessons from Music in the Mountains Goes to School, musing on why they picked the instrument they play, what has been their biggest accomplishment to date and what musician they themselves most admire.

The biggest accomplishment to date had some student standouts.

Patrick McBrayer, 12, composed a song called “Light of the Dawn” that won state and regional honors.

Flutist Sierra Trout found that practice really does pay off. She didn’t make state honor band last year but did the second time around this year.

But Nolan Reed, who admitted choosing the violin because it was the most portable, trumped them all.

“I was accepted for the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall this year,” the Durango High School student said. “I’ll be playing with high school students from all over the world.”

Reed plans to pursue a career in music.

A universal theme

The joy music brings to life was a universal theme.

“It takes away the stresses of everyday life,” Trout said.

Most of the teachers couldn’t imagine life without it.

“It’s a magical thing,” said Alex Charpentier, another FLC alumnus, who directs the Escalante Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade orchestras. “I’m glad it’s part of life.”

FLC Professor Emerita Rochelle Mann gave the students an idea of just how far they can go if they continue to develop their talent. Her son Philip Mann graduated from DHS and went on to be named a Rhodes Scholar before becoming the music director of the Arkansas Symphony.

“Last fall, I went to London and saw my son conduct the London Symphony at Abbey Road Studios,” she said. “That was my fondest musical memory.”

The evening ended with all the musicians playing side-by-side on two pieces directed by Katharine Reed, a fourth-generation band teacher, who, in four years at DHS, has increased participation in the instrumental program by 75 percent. There were so many musicians, in fact, that they couldn’t all fit on the stage and were scattered around the orchestra section of the hall.

“People ask why I play,” said violinist Brent Williams, who’s teaching at FLC. “There’s certainly a sense of danger when you step on the stage, and it’s exhilarating.”

The combined musicians certainly felt that exhilaration as the crowd gave them a standing ovation to send them on their way to another musician tradition, the afterparty.

abutler@durangoherald.com

To support music in our schools

In addition to its summer conservatory, Music in the Mountains Goes to School provides a variety of events and activities in area schools, including Taste of Music, where more than 1,200 area fourth-graders learn about instruments used for classical and jazz music, performances at school assemblies and Shining Star Scholarships, which help defray the cost of private music lessons for budding musicians who show unusual talent or motivation.

Visit www.musicinthemountains.com to learn more about the programs and donate.

Be For the Recreational and Artistic Needs of Kids is a foundation created to expand opportunities for students in Bayfield schools. Visit www.befrankfoundation.org to learn more and donate.

Herald Staff



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