Gloucester Alumni

By Nesli Orhon ,
Correspondent Gloucester Daily Times

A string quartet from Gordon College performed at O'Maley Middle School library for Gloucester music students yesterday in an effort to revive an interest in string ensembles that has been dormant for more than 15 years in Gloucester.Four musicians from the Wenham college gave an hourlong performance, playing five classical pieces followed by a question period for the students and their parents."

The performance was great because I learned that when I feel frustrated it's OK and I just need to keep practicing," fourth-grader Justine Wilk, 9, said. "I like the challenge, but hearing these musicians really helped."Wilk said she has been playing the violin for only a few months and she started because of the instrument's beautiful sound.The quartet's performance was part of a collaborative effort by the Rockport Chamber Music Festival Educational Outreach Committee and the Gloucester Education Foundation to encourage students in both communities to study stringed instruments.Part of that effort is to bring live musical performances into Rockport and Gloucester schools."The exciting thing is that interest in string instruments is slowly coming back into the schools and specifically back in Gloucester," said Carol Ackerman, vice chairwoman of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. "Our first step is to collaborate with Gloucester and work to generate interest back in the students."For three years, Rockport Chamber Music Festival has been promoting a program called "What do strings sound like" and has attempted to bring string groups to do live performances in the schools.

Gordon College has presented several performances in Rockport schools the past two years. Its string ensemble has played in front of Rockport students studying stringed instruments, as well as for all third-, fourth- and fifth-graders.Cara Johnson, 20, a violinist and a senior at Gordon College, said the performances the college arranges for schools are a great way to expose students to classical music and to string instruments."I wish I had this exposure when I was younger," said Johnson, who picked up the violin at age 10. "The younger the student is when they are exposed to this type of music the better. It really gives them a goal to work for and helps them realize that even if they may not be that good now, they have a ton of potential."Ackerman said the Rockport string program has been well received and that the educational committee plans to start scheduling performances for first- and second-graders in an effort to encourage them to start playing a string instrument early."This has proved effective in inspiring students to study the violin, viola and cello," Ackerman said. "We believe that most students would normally never have the chance to see a violin or a cello played live and up close and personal and that this experience opens doors for them."

Nate Cohen, director of the Rockport Orchestra and the assistant music teacher at Rockport Middle and High School, said he has seen a huge rise in interest in the three years since the Rockport Chamber Music Festival has promoted string instruments."I think all the exposure the Rockport students get to music through the Gordon students helps to boost their interest and skill level," Cohen said. "The participation in the schools has been enormous, with 80 percent of fourth- and fifth-graders participating in the music program. The middle school and high school participation is about 50 percent."Cohen said the Gordon College performers have provided the example students in Rockport have needed."Strings are very difficult. They need someone to look up to," Cohen said. "Having the older students as an example has really helped the younger people in the program and the program has really grown."Everest Crawford, 10, a fourth-grade violinist, said he was glad to see the performance because he had never heard a violin live before."The performance really helped," Crawford said. "Sometimes I have trouble getting the right sounds. It was good to hear the sounds and how they really sound. The violin is sometimes frustrating. I learned today that it's OK."