Day 4: Friday, January 17, 2014

I had no idea what to expect as I drove in the heavy traffic and light snow, out past U.S. Cellular Field (home of the Chicago White Sox) to Sherwood Park, for two workshops with string students of CMOP violist, Robert Fisher.

This morning, Renee had asked me to handle these two classes on my own as she was immersed in work for tomorrow's dress rehearsal and concert, and just as I got in the car to drive out she texted me a venue/address change--luckily I read it just before I got onto the highway!

Sherwood is a city park with a building/facility that sponsors after-school programs and activities for Chicago elementary school students, and they have a wonderful music program and some great young string players. (I'm amazed to see all the elementary/high school string programs out here, there were relatively scarce back in NJ during my student days--I knew exactly one string player in all 4 years of high school).

The first class had about 5 students from 2nd-5th grade; the second three girls who had just started high school.

I listened as they rehearsed and practiced for an upcoming performance with CMOP, and then played my "in shadows, in silence" for them, talked a little about the background and genesis of the piece and how I wrote it. We then discussed the different roles of the composer and the performers in preparing for a concert like the ones we both had coming up with CMOP.

I did a little Q&A with each group, focusing on creativity, and how one actually goes about composing, and we also explored some further relationships between performing and composing.

The students were wonderful, happy, hard-working, focused, and playful, and Robert is doing an amazing job working with them!

The parents and grand parents of all of the students stayed with the children after dropping them off to class, and I had a chance to chat with all of them. I mentioned how inspiring I thought their dedication to their children was, and how for about 6 years of middle school and high school my father routinely drove me all over N.J. to my music lessons, rehearsals, and concerts--usually after 8-12-hour work days.
He never complained once.

Leaving the workshop in the even heavier snow that was falling now, it was hard not to feel optimistic about the future of music education here in Chicago, and even harder to decide who I was more inspired by--the talented young students, or their dedicated families.