SYMPHONY NOTES
BY KEVIN JABLONSKI
"Outside the Schermerhorn, we are also playing in the community and in schools to bring our music to different venues and audiences."
We
are in the thick of the 2019-2020 season now at the symphony, and a lot has been happening, as always. We had a change in board leadership back in October, as Kevin Crumbo, our board chair at the time, was appointed as Metro Nashville’s new finance director in the administration of Mayor John Cooper. Crumbo decided to step down from the board, and our immediate past board chair, Dr. Mark Peacock, agreed to step in and serve out the rest of Crumbo’s term, which expires on July 31, 2020. We are grateful to Crumbo for his service, and we welcome Peacock back into his former position, which has made for a smooth transition.
Performances abound, in the hall and around town
The Schermerhorn is continually humming with a wide variety of concerts and performances. Our Classical Series has combined traditional standards with newer American music, some of which we are recording for future commercial releases. In October, we finished recording the repertoire for a CD of music by John Adams, and in November, we began recording music for a new CD featuring our fantastic organ at the Schermerhorn. Our Pops Series opened with a bang as the orchestra performed with Trisha Yearwood and several special guests. And, our new Movie Series is off to a great start with popular films like Coco and Return of the Jedi. Outside the Schermerhorn, we are also playing in the community and in schools to bring our music to different venues and audiences. So far this season, the full orchestra has performed at Plaza Mariachi in Nashville and at the Renaissance Center in Dickson. 28 THE NASHVILLE MUSICIAN
Smaller ensembles also go out to perform in the community as well.
Educational initiatives bring NSO musicians to area schools
Among our many educational initiatives, I’d like to shine a spotlight on our long-standing program of Ensembles in the Schools, for those who may not be aware of it. This program involves several chamber ensembles traveling to area schools to perform primarily for students from pre-K through fourth grade. This program has been in operation for many decades, certainly long before I joined the orchestra, and it continues to be a popular way for our musicians to connect directly with young students. It is especially useful for those schools that cannot make the trip downtown to hear our Young Person’s Concerts at the Schermerhorn. The ensembles and programs are mutually formulated by the musicians and our education department, and there are currently seven ensembles regularly performing around Middle Tennessee this season. The ensembles include a brass quintet, a woodwind trio, a string quartet, a violin and bassoon duo, and a mixed trio — in which I play — that consists of an oboe, a viola, and a double bass. So, the students are exposed to the wide variety of instruments in the orchestra, and they get to experience them in a close setting. Throughout the roughly 45-minute performance, students learn about how the instruments work and hear a number of short pieces. They also have the opportunity to ask questions, and they always have many! Starting in the past two years, schools have had the opportunity to enroll in a residency in this program, where they receive a visit from up to five of our ensembles over
the course of one year. This provides a more immersive and complete experience of the different instruments of the orchestra, and a handful of schools have participated in this way each season. This year, five schools are in residency, and they also receive educational materials to help prepare the students for the ensemble performances. This includes a lesson plan to introduce the instruments, a playlist to familiarize them with the pieces they will hear, and access to Naxos' online music library. More recently, schools also receive social stories which are geared toward students with disabilities, and that makes them more comfortable to come experience the performance. The impact of these efforts is palpable, as we constantly receive positive feedback from the schools and many handwritten thank you notes from the kids, testifying to the excitement and enthusiasm generated by the visit. The students are genuinely inspired by the music and for many of them, it is their first ever encounter with classical music. Although the setting of these performances is more intimate, the reach of the program is quite vast and continually expanding. Last year, the program reached around 5,000 individual kids, and this season is on pace to reach thousands as well. The recent residencies have helped build longer relationships with specific schools, and the number of requests for visits from other schools has been increasing. It’s heartening to see that even in a time when music education programs have been or are being cut from public schools, there is such an eager interest in bringing musicians into the schools, so that we can share our passion for the power of music. TNM
