Shepherd School reaches out to share the joy of music

Shepherd School reaches out to share the joy of music

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BY ELLEN CHANG
Rice News Staff

Students at Elrod Elementary School danced and sang
to classical music and folk songs played by Shepherd
School music graduate students Joel Luks and Daphne
Gerling.

The three- to six-year-olds also helped Luks and Gerling
choose how the Spanish and English songs and stories
would proceed, such as selecting which animals to sing
about next.

“Everything was interactive — we asked
lots of questions, told many stories and tried to keep
a very spontaneous feeling in all our activities,”
said Gerling, who teaches viola and music classes for
young children at the Shepherd School’s preparatory
program. “I think the children were quite fascinated
by the instruments. They liked finding out how we play
them and what they are made of.”

The hands-on performance is just one of many that the
Joy of Music Program gives throughout the community.
The program is made up of several Rice music ensembles
that perform classical music.

The graduate music students volunteer their time and
began giving performances this fall at elementary schools,
assisted living centers, hospitals and centers for
people with AIDS.

The concerts are all interactive, giving the audience,
no matter what age or background, a chance to see the
instruments, touch them and talk about how they are
different. These performances also give many people
a chance to experience and learn about classical music,
some for the first time.

The program exposed the young children to classical
music and its instruments, and the children showed
enthusiasm for an art form they were unfamiliar with,
said Carolyn Matthews, principal of Elrod.

“We want them to appreciate music,” she
said. “We want our children to be well-rounded.
A lot of our children don’t get to visit downtown
and go to musical performances. We try to bring the
arts to them.”

Different ensembles and groups at Rice have taken turns
performing brass, string and piano concerts. They plan
to perform at family and community centers in the spring
and frequently perform at Rice. Some of the groups
that have performed include Attaca Wind Quintet, Cinco
de Brasso Quintet, Trio Super Pueblo and the Shepherd
School Wind/Piano Quintet.

The concerts not only entertain and educate audiences;
they also help the graduate students learn how to talk
about classical music, said Luks, co-coordinator of
the program and a master’s student studying flute
performance.

“Students need to be entrepreneurs of their own
art,” he said. “You’re fostering
our generation’s understanding by doing this.
It’s very rewarding to be in an atmosphere where
your hard work pays off.”

Since interest in classical music is dying, increasing
appreciation and awareness of it is crucial, Luks said.
Understanding classical music is like learning a new
language for some people.

“The more associations they can have with music,
with our current and everyday events, the more the
kids and people can relate to this art form,”
he said. “Also, music can be used to teach other
subjects by making interdisciplinary connections.”

Performing for people, especially the elderly and the
ill, is very rewarding and reinforces the impact and
power of music, said Jeffrey Neufeld, who plays piano
for Trio Super Pueblo.

“Our job is to take people from their ordinary
lives and transport them to another world, even if
it’s just for a moment,” he said. “When
you play for a group of people in the autumn of their
lives, ravaged by mental and physical disease, and
you see what joy the music has brought them, that’s
when you really understand the point of it all.”

The comments from audience members are not only sincere,
but often priceless, said Neufeld.

“There was one woman who told us, in complete
sincerity, ‘Well, I’m not God, but I’d
just like to say, “God bless you.”’
You can’t put a price on remarks like that.”

Teaching children about music allows Gerling, who is
working on a doctor of musical arts degree in viola
performance and also studying singing, the opportunity
to teach them about many cultures and time periods
and to learn about classical music and other types
of music.

“Often children aren’t exposed to music
and instruments until much later, and when they are
this young it makes a much more special impression
on them because music is such a great venue for their
imaginations,” she said. “Music is an immediate
and integral part of our culture, and sharing it with
people gives them a chance to explore their own history.
Sharing music in an interactive forum like this concert
is also a great way to build community. When people
sing together it is really an amazing thing. If we
let that disappear, we will allow an entire generation
to grow up impoverished and unaware of the richness
and color of the many cultural traditions that exist
in our world."