As part of the on-going mission of STARS, the educational arm of the Soo Theatre Project, teachers Maggie Twining, Benjamin Gulder and Dottie Case have been visiting elementary music classes in many of the Eastern Upper Peninsula schools. Thus far, music teachers in Brimley, Cedarville and the Rudyard Christian School have hosted presentations, with classes in Pickford, DeTour and Drummond on the calendar, and others in the planning stages.
The presentation gives children an opportunity to hear live music played by stringed instruments, something that most would have never heard. With the exception of the JKL Bahweting School, which has an introductory-level program for grades 4-8, there have been no string programs in schools in the EUP for at least half a century, so many students never get a chance to see a violin or cello up close.
During the presentation Gulder, Twining and Case demonstrate how the instruments of the violin family produce sound. The students are especially fascinated to know that the bows use the hairs from horses’ tails, which are rubbed with ‘tree sap’, which is where rosin comes from. They then introduce the instruments of the bowed-string family, (which include violin, viola, cello and double- bass) and play several string trio selections of folk music. The students become participants in listening exercises, as they are asked to identify hidden melodies and determine which instrument is playing the melody. The local music teachers have done a wonderful job of preparing their classes in advance, and many of the students have asked excellent and interesting questions.
Stringed instruments come in many different sizes, since children as young as 3 can learn to play the violin or cello, and during the presentation, the students enjoy seeing some of the fractional-sized instruments, such as the ¼ size cello and the 1/10 size violin. One of the fun moments for each class has been when Mr. Gulder is persuaded to play the tiny little violin, since the instrument is clearly sized for a 4 year old, but this serves to demonstrate that, unlike many other instrument families, stringed instruments grow along with the student, and are accessible to small bodies, hands, fingers and arms.
Strings are the backbone of an orchestra, and the presence or absence of the bowed-strings family is what determines whether a large group is an orchestra or a band. A group of wind and percussion instruments without the strings is a band. A modern symphony orchestra would commonly have as many as 25 violins, 10-15 violas and cellos, and perhaps 6-8 basses, with only 2-3 each of most of the wind instruments, such as trumpets, trombones, clarinets, flutes, oboes, and bassoons. Music is also written for string orchestras, which consist of only the stringed instruments, with no winds.
The Soo Theatre has a growing strings program, and several orchestras, including the advanced level STARS Youth Orchestra, a new beginner string orchestra, and two levels of adult string groups, for adult beginners as well as more experienced players. Beginning strings students taking private lessons are encouraged to participate in group classes while acquiring the skills necessary for participation in orchestra. For more information, or to arrange a visit to your local school, call 906 632-1930, and visit the Soo Theatre website at sootheatre.org.
