New Haven Independent

In the cafeteria at Wilbur Cross High School, a group of wide-eyed kids looked on apprehensively as educators laid out the materials for making a violin: bits of wood, a Tupperware container, and a few lengths of fishing line. After a brief tutorial, the kids split into groups and spent most of the hour assembling their fiddles and fitting them with strings.

The violin-making workshop was meant to teach kids how instruments are put together and produce sound, said Band Director William Fluker. The hands-on learning experience provided a stimulating aside from their heavy rehearsal schedule, he added.

“I think it’s great,” he said about the day’s activity. “Knowing the science behind the instruments makes it easier for the kids to understand what they’re all about.”

Monday’s event was part of a summer outreach program sponsored by the Eli Whitney Museum and the Yale School of Music. Staffers at the Eli Whitney Museum had the idea of bringing the violen-making project to New Haven public schools, as it had proved a popular activity in previous years, Intern Coordinator John Miller said.

“Whether it’s suburban or urban kids, they get excited when they get a chance to build their own instruments,” he said. “The idea is to find as many ways as possible to engage [kids] in different types of learning experience.”

A large donation from the Yale class of ‘57 secured instruments and teaching resources for the Summer Music Academy, a non-profit organization that caters to public-school students aged 8 to 15 who can’t afford private music lessons. Program Director Stephanie Shtierman said that the donation had enabled the Music Academy to equip students from low-income families with costly instruments.

“We did this [the Music Academy] two years ago and we were scrounging for instruments,” she said. “These kids can’t afford their own instruments. If this were a for-profit program, it would cost kids a fortune.”

The grand finale was an energetic performance of “Hot Cross Buns” on a chorus of two-stringed fiddles.