Music faculty reach out to area students

Joanne Billups/Cale Elementary School

U.Va. music faculty members Ibby Roberts, on bassoon, and Dwight Purvis, playing French horn, performed for fourth- and fifth-graders at Cale Elementary School on Jan. 11. Their demonstration is part of the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra’s outreach program, “Symphony Preludes.” Launched last spring, it aims to spark children’s interest in music with instrument demonstrations and programs linking musical concepts to subjects such as literature and science. Since mid-October, “We have seen about 1,000 kids,” said Roberts, coordinator of the program.

By Jane Ford

Across the nation, March is the month set aside to celebrate “Music in Our Schools.” But U.Va. music faculty celebrate it every month, taking music
education programs to K-12 area schools.

Sharing music is at the core of the U.Va. music department’s mission, set forth by former University President Edwin Alderman and benefactor Paul G. McIntire when they founded the music department 82 years ago. They foresaw a program of musical studies that would both benefit the University and provide performances for area residents.

Today, U.Va. music faculty participate in a variety of outreach programs. Two of those programs, “Music and Mind” and “Symphony Preludes” (Symphony being the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra), broaden the horizon of that original vision and expand the academic role into the community. In elementary and secondary schools, the programs enrich curriculums and support the state’s Standards of Learning (SOL) requirements.

High school students benefit from “Music and Mind,” a project designed to enhance their curriculum by combining the study of music and performance with academic courses. U.Va. lecturer and pianist Mary Kathleen Ernst and Allen Freeman, coordinator of gifted services at Western Albemarle High School, initiated the project in 1998. Faculty members travel to the school four times a year, presenting programs that bring to life the place of music in different cultures and eras.

Last fall, U.Va. assistant professor Michele Kisliuk, an ethnomusicologist, gave students studying world history an introduction to African rhythms and dance movements that are used for tribal communication.

This spring, Louisa Panou-Takahashi, director of U.Va.’s pera Workshop, will use Broadway music to show freshmen how music reflects popular culture.

In another presentation, “Visionaries of Jazz,” members of U.Va.’s Free Bridge Quintet will highlight musicians, performers and composers of the jazz era for juniors.

In late May, Ernst, joined by orchestra members Paige Riggs and Katherine Winterstein, will present a piano trio program highlighting music styles throughout history.

“Music and Mind” is funded by the Frederick Upton Foundation of St. Joseph, Mich., a private non-profit foundation dedicated to children and education.

Launched last spring, “Symphony Preludes” aims to spark elementary school children’s interest in music with instrument demonstrations and programs linking musical concepts to subjects such as literature and science.

Faculty members who are professional musicians and principal players in the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra, joined by orchestra community and alumni members, conduct programs tailored to fit the needs and resources of participating schools.

“From mid-October through January, we have seen about 1,000 kids,” said orchestra bassoonist Ibby Roberts, who is coordinator of the program, funded by the Charlottesville and Albemarle Community Foundation and the Symphony Society.

Students in early elementary grades are introduced to instruments and learn how each instrument produces its distinctive sound. Other visits tie music to literature and writing. In December, students toured the world through the sounds of percussion instruments with orchestra percussionist Eric Stassen.

Middle school students in band and orchestra also benefit from master classes and individual lessons.

“Symphony Preludes” reaches as far as Fluvanna County at the Cunningham School, an elementary school that has no music program at all. Roberts and other music faculty visit the K-3 school twice a month. Thanks to Cunningham’s PTO, which provides half the funding, Roberts is helping develop a music curriculum there and has developed a list of resource materials, books and tapes that the teachers can use for class work.

“‘Symphony Preludes’ is a good town-gown thing,” said Elizabeth Gatewood, the symphony’s general manager, who conceived of the idea with Symphony Society members. “We are fulfilling our mission to spread music into the community.”

The McIntire Department of Music is a liberal arts music department serving the University, local and national communities through creative work, scholarship and performance. The department offers in-depth study of music with particular focus on the intersections of music history and ethnomusicology and on composition, using both acoustic instruments and new technologies. Students also have ample performance opportunities, and individual lessons are available with the department’s artist faculty.