Reflections on our Gathering…
What a joyful day! Eight weeks of masked group classes for violin, viola and cello students culminated in this concert. We needed some new rules to navigate the pandemic, but the magic I remembered from the past was still there, and even magnified! This performance also marked the first combined instrument performance since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instrument specific group class is a pillar of the Suzuki method, and in all honesty, one of the most remarkable. Students gather weekly with each other and a teacher to reinforce technique and repertoire, listen and perform for each other, and become motivated by the new things they see and hear. Families who make attending group class a priority enjoy an easier time of home practice, gain a supportive community of adults and friends for the children, and usually find their students move more quickly through the books.
Since our concert would occur close to Thanksgiving, a time in the US when it is common to reflect on gratitude, we embraced that as our theme. We spent class time helping the students discover specific skills they learned with each of the pieces. To honor those committed to the class, each student chose a selection for the concert and why they were grateful to know that piece. Here is the text from the program listing the students and the reasons behind their selections:
Sammy, Ellis, Emily, and Daria are grateful for advanced techniques like repeated down bows, up bow staccato, and ornaments. Taran is grateful for fast passages. Ellie and Ben are grateful for beautiful melodies and fun words to songs. Philip, Sunny, Gabby, and Lipi are grateful for mastery of new pieces. Agnes is grateful for new musical forms. Alex is grateful for dynamics. Miriam is grateful for pieces with many parts that fit together. Finnegan is grateful for songs that remind us of holidays. Leonie is grateful for passages that exercise our fingers. Norah is grateful for music with a varitey of rhythms. Tahara and Corwin are grateful for the chance to try new repertoire.
It was clear there was even more than this to be grateful for than the list from the students. New friendships were forming in class and ones that had fallen aside due to lockdown were rekindled. More families had more children now studying music and were making music at home as well as in our classes. Beautiful tone filled the air and performers listened to each other more attentively in order to stay together despite the distance needed for safety. Classes were successful in person, online and in hybrid format. Learning had taken place and progress was made despite the loss of time in person and health and safety restrictions. All days begin with sunrise and end with sunset, and we can make them all great in some small way. We are grateful to make music together again!