How long have you been involved with MYO?
I started getting involved with MYO about 12 years ago. The 2012 lockout made it more clear to me that we needed to ensure the future of the ISO by ensuring that we were building our audiences. I spoke with Betty Perry and Ruth Wolff and learned more about MYO and its mission of family development. As a kid, I had found music to be crucial to helping me through difficult family issues and typical adolescent woes, so I felt that I had some life experience that would make me a good fit for MYO. My family life limited my available time, but I did sectionals 1-2 times a month, though that only lasted about a year. I restarted my activity with MYO in the last three years by providing weekly lessons for a few students in addition to occasional sectionals.
Why did you choose to get involved with MYO?
The more I work with MYO I see how far-reaching the program is. Graduates remain connected to the support system that MYO provides, and many of the teachers are graduates of MYO. It’s really a family. The low-cost music lessons and the regularity of the program in the kids’ and their parents’ lives provides stability and meaning a far cry from the toxicity of social media and isolation that today’s kids face.
What kind of impact has MYO had on you?
Being a teacher for MYO has also made it necessary for me to face some of the elements of my thinking that are relics of the aristocratic/ivory tower side of classical music. The MYO’s commitment to equity and inclusion has given me a new perspective, and I continue to learn the value of meeting kids where they are. MYO reminds me to pursue connection more than perfection.
Would you recommend MYO to others? Why?
I do recommend MYO as a program, especially for families whose financial situations don’t allow for private music lessons out of pocket. We need to bring music-making back into the lives of children and families.
What’s the best part about being a part of MYO?
I have a fond memory of the first time I participated in the MYO spring concert, where the students perform as smaller orchestras and in the finale as an enormous ensemble of every student of every age. In this finale, they always have a soloist improvise over the Pachelbel Canon. The violin soloist that year was an old friend, Jesse Hawkins, who was heavily involved with MYO as a teacher and role model for the kids. Jesse had faced many difficulties in his life as a black man in the orchestral world. He had finally found his true family in MYO, and seeing him perform that day made my heart full.
For me, music is really an antidote to so much that is wrong with the world. Live music sounds good to our ears, but it also impacts our bodies. There is no substitute for that feeling of experiencing those vibrations with a room full of people. It takes us out of our suffering and connects us to others. When my very challenging life as a special needs mom was overwhelming, coming to work and getting to make beautiful music was a lifeline. MYO brings this kind of solace to kids and families.