It Begins at School! Music Teachers Help Musicians Form Deep Ties to their Instrument
It Begins at School! Music Teachers Help Musicians Form Deep Ties with their Musical Instrument
Do you remember the first time you picked up your instrument? The excitement, the energy, and the sense of adventure? It was the greatest feeling in the world, and for many musicians, it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
Do you remember the first time you picked up your instrument? The excitement, the energy, and the sense of adventure? It was the greatest feeling in the world, and for many musicians, it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Like most friendships, there are great memories, challenges, and even some frustrations.
ESYO Senior and Symphony Orchestra's Principal Oboe, Anna Ryu, described the ins and outs of her relationship with the oboe. "There are times when my instrument frustrates me,” said Anna. "But regardless of the trivial frustrations that inevitably accompany the times we play together, I am grateful for the beautiful experiences and shared memories it has given me – frustrations, happiness, and all.”
The love an ESYO musician has for their instrument is established long before they step into the ESYO rehearsal room for the first time. Anna began playing oboe in 4th grade, a time when most elementary school students choose their first musical instrument. While ESYO empowers young musicians to nourish this love further, the relationship almost always begins in the elementary school band or orchestra room under the guidance of a school music teacher.
Anna remembers her first group lesson at school. She recalls feeling confident and ready to go. Before learning to play oboe in school, Anna took violin lessons and felt like she was already ahead of the rest of her classmates. But she quickly found that her music teachers "had a seemingly infinite pool of things to teach."
Music teachers stretch our ears, stimulate our imagination, and challenge us to listen more than we play. From the first note played at a lesson to the first concert experience, school music teachers guide young musicians through all the squeaks and squawks, screeches, and wrong notes captured within the walls of many a beginner’s practice room. They are the first to teach a young musician the tricks and techniques of playing a musical instrument. School music teachers often help match an instrument to a young person's ability and interest. Anna suggests the music teachers show young musicians, like herself, that the world of music is larger than what they can play. Anna recalls, "In hindsight, I realize that [my music teachers] left me with a heightened feeling of excitement, motivation, and gratitude for playing my instrument." Though she admits that “it might've been hard to see it at the time."
What causes a musician to "fall in love" with their instrument is still somewhat a mystery. It is different from person to person and not everyone who learns an instrument continues to develop a close tie with their instrument of choice. For Anna, she enjoys a friendship with both her violin and her oboe. She credits Ms. Desiree Burke for helping to shape her relationship with the violin. Ms. Burke teaches music at Shaker Junior High School in Colonie. Each day she encourages young musicians to use their instruments to connect with other musicians while bringing interesting repertoire and her infectiously positive energy to rehearsal. "Because of Ms. Burke, I began to understand how my instrument wasn't just an object I had to carry around or a burdensome responsibility," said Anna. "It is an entity to help me connect with others." Today, Anna has her oboe to help her connect with others in ESYO's Symphony Orchestra.
So what can you do to help a young musician fall in love with a musical instrument? In a world where music flows freely into our lives like water, it is easy to take it for granted. ESYO encourages all parents, caregivers, and trusted adults to support the free exploration of music in schools. School music programs are essential, now more than ever. Music develops the brain, nurtures the creative mind, and brings beauty and hope to schools and communities around the world. Join ESYO as we celebrate Music in Our Schools Month. Throughout March, ESYO honors music teachers like Ms. Desiree Burke for the essential work they do every day.
The excitement is building around the grand return of CBS Albany's Melodies of Christmas! After the COVID-19 pandemic paused the annual benefit concert, the Capital Region's favorite holiday tradition is back for the 2022-2023 season. The concert weekend begins Thursday, December 15, and runs through Sunday, December 18, 2022, on the MainStage at Proctors in Schenectady.
Members of ESYO CHIME's Yates Elementary site went to Proctors GE Theatre on Friday, January 21, 2022, for a private concert and meet & greet with the award-winning American Patchwork Quartet. Presented by our partners at Proctors Passport Series and funded in part by the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the exclusive performance stirred the curiosity of ESYO's youngest musicians, many of whom just started playing their instrument. Vocalist Falu Shah, Clay Ross (guitar/vocals), Clarence Penn (drums), and Yasushi Nakamura (bass) inspired each CHIME musician as they breathed new life into centuries-old American songs that embodied the immigrant roots of America.
Schenectady, NY- The Empire State Youth Orchestra, known regionally and nationally for nourishing young musicians from communities in New York's Capital Region and Western Massachusetts, announced that its 13 ensembles, including its flagship Symphony Orchestra and el-Sistema- inspired CHIME program, have resumed in-person rehearsals and meet-ups for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensemble rehearsals, which began mid-September, are held weekly in a safe-studio environment at Proctors in Schenectady. CHIME, ESYO's after school program, which suffered a setback after losing critical funds from a regrant partnership between the New York State Department of Education and Schenectady City Schools, is to begin online this fall and include several in-person "instrument hangs". All ESYO concerts are to be recorded LIVE on Proctors mainstage and streamed to virtual audiences through the orchestras virtual concert hall. 
Safety is top of mind for ESYO faculty and staff. From inventive PPE for wind and brass instruments to smaller ensembles, socially distanced orchestra layouts, and new safety protocols, ESYO leveraged the experience of its faculty and board to create a restart plan that mitigates the risks and spread of COVID-19. Musicians, conductors, and staff are required to complete a health questionnaire before each rehearsal and must wear a CDC recommended mask. 
ESYO's restart is not without its challenges. The premier youth orchestra attracts members from all 12 counties of New York's Capital Region and neighboring communities in Western Massacuessets. "We've had to adust our attendance policy and how we rehearse," said Calos. "Rehearsal time is precious, and if a musician misses one rehearsal, it can set them back. That is why we created ESYO Stream," she continued.
After three turbulent school years for music teachers and young musicians, the chance to return to their school orchestra or band brings an elevated sense of joy. As a community, we cannot discount the impact COVID has had on young musicians and their school music programs. For the better part of two years, school districts postponed concerts. When many school districts went to hybrid instruction, instrument lessons weren't part of a daily school routine. For elementary school students, this meant a delay or interruption in learning their musical instrument for the first time. Perhaps what COVID-19 impacted the most was the sense of community that comes from sounding together on stage and the collective feeling of success when you master a piece together. Middle school band teacher and ESYO conductor Julie Taylor said, "With music, you really need the community. It gives something for students to work towards. It helps them feel successful and comfortable. You can’t have one without the other.”
Explore the world of chamber music with your friends this summer during ESYO’s summer chamber music program. Sign up with your friends and create your chamber ensemble or sign up on your own, and ESYO will match you with a group of musicians who are as passionate about music as you.
In almost every concert hall and theatre across the globe stands a single light, an illuminating beacon piercing the darkness of an empty stage. Since the days of gaslight-lit theatres and concert halls, the "ghost light" guarded empty stages and kept watch until the music returned to fill the air and dispel the darkness.
