In an article from last Sunday’s (3/20) Indianapolis Star, picked up by this Sunday’s (3/27) Chicago Tribune, Jay Harvey writes, “Every Tuesday evening, Patrick Rhoda leaves work and heads south with his double bass to meet his sons at orchestra rehearsal. There he joins violinists Danny, 13, and Gordon, 12, for a two-hour practice at Christel House Academy. The three Rhodas progress together along with the rest of Orchestra B, one of four Metropolitan Youth Orchestra ensembles. … Academic studies have long suggested that classical music can enhance children’s learning, but the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra also sees it as a way to build family bonds. Parents get their feet wet learning string instruments at the same time their children do. They rehearse and perform with them. They struggle together with fingering, bowing and accurately translating those little marks on printed music into pleasurable, coordinated sound. … Other American professional orchestras have youth orchestras attached to them, but most focus on recruiting ‘the most qualified kids,’ said Beth Perdue Outland, vice president of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and director of its Learning Community division. … Since 2009, the ISO, through its Learning Community division, has administered and provided financial support for MYO, which now is made up of 175 children (age 5 through high school) and their parents.”
Posted March 28, 2011
