nothin Musical Fire Lit At Wilbur Cross | New Haven Independent

Musical Fire Lit At Wilbur Cross

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This is the first of three essays about musician and composer Chris Brubecks teaching in Wilbur Cross High School’s music classes from Feb. 27 to Mar. 5 as part of his artist in residency program with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. The second essay, written by Stephanie Persiani, a sophomore at Wilbur Cross, will run tomorrow. The third essay, written by Lewis Nelken, a junior at Wilbur Cross, will run the day after..

Recently I spent about a week at Wilbur Cross High School as part of the New Haven Symphony’s Artist in Residency outreach program. It was a very interesting experience for me. I was sitting in on classes and rehearsals for choir, concert band, jazz band, music theory, and recording arts technology — the latter being a course I sure wish I could have taken when I was in school, but then again the technology actually didn’t exist then. (Computers, digital recording, on-board digital instrument libraries, and full orchestra instrumental libraries were science fiction when I was in high school.)

The world has changed a lot in the last half century. But creativity is still, and always will be, a valuable attribute no matter what tools and technology are available.

Some things remain important — it still takes the same skills to play a wind instrument well as it did back in the 60s: good air support, correct embouchure, knowledge of fingerings and lots of practice! It doesn’t happen magically overnight; it takes discipline. This is really important since modern America has evolved into a society seemingly hell bent on instant gratification.

I was privileged to be working with the high school students who were probably among the most motivated in the Wilbur Cross Student body. The students I saw are lit up” by music. It brings them a certain amount of joy, satisfaction, and camaraderie. About 15 years ago I was on a board in Hartford about the state of the arts in Connecticut schools, which was an outreach program of The Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington. I know from personal experience, anecdotes from teachers and principals, and scientific research that involvement in the arts is crucial to the development of students, so much so that I would look forward to meeting people who claimed to not support the arts. Then I would ask them if they thought math and science were important and then would inform them of all the studies that show that the very process of learning to play an instrument is incredibly important in brain development.

Even if you don’t become a great young musician there are lots of benefits to learning to read music. How the eye sees the notes and the information opens up different cognitive channels in the brain. But on a broader, more sociological level, playing or singing in a school group teaches students to work together and cooperate and achieve an end result as a team. I have heard that when these students go out for job interviews and a potential employer learns that they were involved in band or choir, their application often gets a boost because there is a realization that these candidates know how to operate as team players. They know how to set a goal, take on their individual role, execute it properly, and get satisfaction from the collective outcome.

In addition to meeting many motivated and talented students, I also got to witness very skilled and dedicated teachers in the trenches. Jeremy Barnes, one of the music teachers at Wilbur Cross, is originally a trombonist like me. But I witnessed his ability to play many instruments, and advise the students how play the right note on any instrument. Plus he plays a mean piano while keeping a swinging bass line going in his left hand. This man really knows what he is doing and obviously loves music of all kinds. His students are inspired by him and respect his abilities and his attitude. They are happy to be in his classes.

I think the arts, including visual art, theater, dance, music, photography, and creative writing, are all very important. There are quite a few kids who may not be doing well in their academics in school; they might feel like a failure and their self-esteem drops and the downward spiral of an attitude against school takes hold. But I have witnessed time and time again that one great teacher who shows a student they have a talent for some aspect of the arts can turn that student’s entire attitude around. To be fair, this also might be true of a student who displays little musical talent but excels in the science department. Or a young person may be a gifted athlete, and that skill ignites the fire to be do better in other classes during their high school experience. I feel strongly that we have to offer as many different avenues for success as possible to all students. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and every student deserves encouragement to grow and learn in a good and balanced educational environment. 

The New Haven Symphony’s music director, William Boughton, the entire administration, and especially Laura Adam, their education director, are doing their best to get guest artists like me and members of their orchestra to reach out to the school children of Connecticut. During the next phase of my residency we will be playing for 10,000 students across the state. It is a fantastic endeavor to give these kids the opportunity to hear an orchestra live. I am sure that there will be some students in the audience who will have an important experience at these concerts. It will create a curiosity and a desire to get involved in music. I am certain that this is a great thing on all levels. 

I thank the choir teacher, Danielle Storey-Carson, for her wonderful way of communicating with her choir students and also to the rest of the faculty at Wilbur Cross, who have been very welcoming and helpful during my visits at their high school. In fact, we’ve had such a good time together that I am going to join the students I have been working with for a school concert they are giving on May 28th. During our time together they have been discovering and rehearsing my music and will perform it at this final concert. Plus I’ll join them in the fun and play with them. There is almost nothing that beats the joy of making and sharing music together. It has been a pleasure to get to know these Wilbur Cross students and their impressively dedicated faculty.

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