Category: Music

On Sunday, May 6th, Mason Community Arts Academy hosted two groups of violin students from Peabody Preparatory’s String Department and their teachers, Rebecca Henry and Lenelle Morse, for a very special afternoon of violin music, with performances by both Peabody Preparatory students and Mason Academy students, plus an insightful Q&A discussion with Ms. Henry and Ms. Morse.

Mason Community Arts Academy Violin Teaching Artist Claire Allen, who received her Master’s degree in Violin Performance from Peabody in 2013 and studied pedagogy with Ms. Rebecca Henry, arranged and coordinated the event and campus visit. After a quick introduction and welcome by Ms. Allen, the program began with a group of young students from the Peabody Young People’s String Program performing two short pieces. They then combined with violin students from Mason Community Arts Academy to perform Bourrée by Handel (see video below) and Allegro by Suzuki. Finally, students in Peabody’s Pre-Conservatory Violin Program performed several short selections, including works by Bridge, Sinding, and Bacewicz.

After the student performances, Ms. Allen moderated a Q&A discussion of pre-submitted questions by MCAA parents and students to Ms. Morse and Ms. Henry. Both Peabody teachers discussed the centrality of a group class in combination with private lessons in their strings program and how it has proven essential for them for the development of healthy young violinists.

Rebecca Henry said, “It gives so much support for the lesson. The kind of things we do in the group are very much in support of the things we do in the lesson. You’re getting reinforcement, we’re working on playing at the frog, on playing relaxed, on the posture, on playing their solos from the group – you’re putting that all in the social world.”

Lenelle Morse agreed, saying, “I’d like to add that group classes give peer inspiration. There’s nothing like having your child in the group and they see what someone else is doing…it really pushes them to the next level in a very healthy way. And there are friendships – there’s nothing like friends you’ve had since you were four!”

The high school students from the Peabody Pre-Conservatory Violin Program also spoke about the importance of group classes and how they shaped their career goals. Megan, a senior who will be studying neuroscience at Duke University this fall, said, “[Group classes] are really, really invaluable. You develop life skills you can’t get anywhere else – especially with communication, comraderie with everyone that you play with – you have to be amicable with them…you learn that social and emotional intelligence from being in group class.” She went on to say that “In group class, it’s different. It’s not all about you. You have to listen and find the balance and it really makes you a more empathetic player and a more empathetic person.”

The students and parents from both schools celebrated the end of an inspirational afternoon with a pizza party provided by Mason Community Arts Academy.

“Five years ago, I was finishing my final Graduate project for Rebecca’s class at Peabody,” reflected Ms. Allen. “If you’d told me then that in five years I’d be helping to build a new string program at a university community music school and be working alongside my most influential teaching mentor for an event, I wouldn’t have believed you. It was such an honor for our violin students to play with and for our colleagues at Peabody, and we are hopeful that today’s event will inspire more of our violin students to take group class in addition to their private lessons!”

(Left to right: Rebecca Henry, Lenelle Morse, and Claire Allen)

Thanks to Ms. Henry, Ms. Morse, and all of the participating Peabody Preparatory students for making the journey to Mason and for sharing their love of music with us.

Mason Community Arts Academy will offer Violin Adventures, a supplemental violin group class for students ages 12 and under, on Friday evenings starting in September 2018. Look out for more information about Fall registration in late July!

We would like to thank Claire Allen for her substantial contributions to this article.