Finding Your "Hook:" Enrichments in the String Classroom

Back in 1986, I was preparing to begin my student teaching experience as a rising senior at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. IUP was known as a magnificent music education school and I had taking advantage of every opportunity during my undergraduate years to set myself up for a successful teaching career. Sometime in the spring of '86, the Williamsport High School Orchestra was on tour and played a concert on the IUP campus. I went to the performance and was absolutely blown away with their numbers, musicianship and the exciting nature of the concert. I had never seen a school high school orchestra that was anything like this group. They played with enthusiasm and mastery. And, their conductor, Walter Straiton was really dynamic on stage. He had the kids in the palm of his hand and they were clearly making art. Following the concert I saw the bus loading up to head back to Williamsport. I jumped on to the bus made eye contact with Mr. Straiton and enthusiastically declared, "I really want to work with you and am going to do everything I can to student teach at Williamsport." I jumped off the bus, the doors closed, and the bus pulled out of the parking lot. Later that day I went to the music department chair to see if student teaching at Williamsport might be a possibility. And, after some major wrangling, I was granted permission to do my student teaching experience with Walter Straiton in Williamsport. I believe I was the first student teacher from IUP to ever have that experience. In August of the same year, I received a call from Walt, telling me that he was going to a workshop in Madison Wisconsin on starting strolling strings groups. He told me he had a place for me on the trip and that I should be ready to go one week before my student teaching assignment was to begin. When the time came for the conference, arrangements were made for my family to take me to a meeting spot on Interstate 80 near Clarion PA and he would pick me up at the designated spot. We went to that workshop and I learned so very much. I had never heard of a school strolling strings group before and I was exposed to some of the real greats in the field at that time. The workshop was run by James "Red" McLeod and strolling strings pioneer, Stan Nosal of the Tremper Golden Strings. The Golden Strings were one of the first high school strolling strings group in the United States. Their inspiration came from the well-known Golden Strings that performed in the Flame Room at the Radisson Hotel in Minneapolis.  They were founded to provide interested and qualified students with an opportunity to study and perform a variety of lighter music, and to make available an entertainment-type string group that could accept invitations to perform for various civic functions as well as school performances throughout the year. 

During our extended car trip from Pennsylvania to Madison, Walt and I discussed how we would begin a brand new extracurricular strolling strings group at Williamsport High School in the fall while I was student teaching. Through the semester of my student teaching experience, Walt gave me the opportunity to be instrumental in the beginning of this program that would go on to become the Williamsport Millionaire Strolling Strings. I had the opportunity to be part of this pioneering group, develop student and parent buy-in to the idea, demonstrate concepts that would become very important to the organization, and have a ground level experience with starting a new enrichment in an already well-established school program. 

Additionally, throughout the rest of my student teaching experience, I watched with great interest as I saw Walt work with jazz and pop orchestra idioms in addition to the classical music repertoire that was part of the orchestra program. Walt had established himself as a expert musical director of student and professional pop and jazz orchestras over the years. I loved being part of these groups and soaked in every bit of his example. As my relationship with Walt deepened, he encouraged me to consider what kind of enrichment opportunities would be most appropriate for me as I started my career. Certainly, my experience with strolling strings could work. While I really loved the jazz and pop orchestra repertoire, to me that felt very personal to Walt and I wanted to be careful not to simply become a facsimile of Walt Straiton.  I knew in my heart that I needed to find ways to be myself in front of ensembles and developing a program. 

When I began teaching in Palmyra PA the following winter (1987), I knew my first responsibility was to develop a traditional program and stand on the fundamentals of string education. With that said, I always had my eyes open for potential enrichment opportunities to share with my students. The first major opportunity came as part of the Palmyra Authors and Artist Series, a concert and lecture series founded and administered by my colleague Mr. Jim Woland in the Palmyra schools. Jim was bringing interesting eclectic music and theater acts to our small little town east of Hershey. Some of the acts that I remember from my time in the late 80's include Shirley MacLaine, John Hartman, a young Turtle Island String Quartet, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and many others. One of the acts that I thought was absolutely magnificent was the Modern Mandolin Quartet led by virtuoso mandolinist Mike Marshall. This group played classical style quartet repertoire on mandolins and they were absolutely stunning to witness live. Following their performance in Palmyra, Jim asked me if I would like to be part of a residency with the Mandolin Quartet the next year. Obviously I jumped at the chance. We spent the next year planning the week-long residency. They came back to Palmyra and spent a full week with me and my string program the following year and it was a resounding success. 

When the Mandolin Quartet played Copeland's Hoedown as one of their pieces they would routinely break into a bluegrass jam in the middle section. It was so exciting to me. I had really never been around bluegrass prior to this and I found the speed, rhythm, and groove of the music to be absolutely thrilling. This is when a particular idea came to me. Why not have a summer camp for my string students where we taught them the principles of bluegrass? Might this be the hook that I had been seeking? The following summer, I founded the Palmyra Bluegrass String Camp. I hired local bluegrass and string education professionals to be my staff. The staff included Nev Jackson on banjo, Ken Gehret on fiddle, Henry Koretsky on mandolin. I would serve as the Director and string education liaison. As part of that camp, Jim Woland suggested that we invite a hot young fiddle player to be a guest artist on and give a concert on one of the evenings. That guest artist was none other than Mark O'Connor who had just released the Grammy winning New Nashville Cats album. Mark came one evening and played a stunning solo concert toggling between fiddle, guitar, and mandolin, playing with extreme virtuosity on each instrument. The following day he gave a Q & A session which I really wish I had recorded. It was a stunning camp and a great experience for me and all of the students. I thought that this might be my enrichment hook moving forward. In fact, we held the camp again the following year. But, something kept nagging at me. It wasn't really my music. I was not and I'm still not a bluegrass fiddle player. I liked it, but did it really fit me and my personality? As things worked out, I ended up leaving that school district after the second summer of the camp in the summer of 1992. I believe the camp continued to operate for a few more years after my departure, but it was no longer mine. 

A few years later, mandolinist Mike Marshall introduced me to the world of electric violins. He gifted me my first electric violin and the second that instrument was in my hands, I was hooked. This was the coolest thing I had ever been part of and I was intoxicated by the sound and feel of the instrument. I knew almost immediately I had found something that would separate me from other string teachers in the early 1990s. I quickly dove into all things electric violin and began incorporating the instrument into traditional orchestra performances at my school. Eventually the school purchased a quintet of electric string instruments and we started the Eleanor Roosevelt High School Zeta String Ensemble. I was teaching my students all about the technology, effects processing, the use of MIDI and electric strings, and principles of acoustics through these instruments. We performed traditional string quartet repertoire on the electric instruments and also performed a variety of eclectic styles as part of the ensemble. We had opportunities to perform for Congressmen, at the Kennedy Center, for business leaders, and all around the greater Washington DC area. During this time I began to accept invitations to speak on Electric Instruments in the Traditional String Classroom at state and national music education conferences around the United States. I had definitely found and enrichment for my students that matched my sensibilities as a musician and teacher. And, the innovative topic put me "on the map" of string education in a major way.

So, what can a young teacher learn from this part of my career and story? I think the answer is multifold. First, everything starts with strong fundamentals. It really won't do you any good to have a hook or a major enrichment at your school until you really have a fundamentally sound string program moving forward. Like with everything, fundamentals matter. Secondly, I believe that many teachers try to do a little bit of everything and nothing gets done really well. I would caution against this. Be selective in the enrichments that you prioritize. Some folks are really drawn to improvisation, others to technology, still others too cultural styles. Any of these are great and provide and enrichment to traditional Western classical repertoire. But, one need not spread themselves too thin by doing everything all the time. While the bluegrass camp was a good trial for me, I knew pretty quickly that it wasn't where my head and musical heart truly existed. So, finally, when you find an enrichment that really speaks to you, go for it with abandon. I have learned that my enthusiasm for a musical opportunity typically will translate to students and they will want to be part of it as well.

Today at NCSSM, we have electric strings. We also have a quartet of mandolins.  These enrichments are always available to my students.  Some dive in head first. Others like them in smaller portions.  This weekend, a student who is in my audio production course is experimenting with electric cello direct recording.  Another is using an electric cello in the pit orchestra for The Adams Family Musical. And, we are preparing for a jazz orchestra concert in March.  The enrichment bug has never left me.  I encourage you to keep your eyes open for your "hook" in the string classroom.