Ep 169 | How is orchestra the gift that keeps giving?

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Literally every middle school except one or two have string programs. And parents, you are literally the one that can open your door for your student to start because it is so important that they start at the middle school level. So much of the development happens in those first three years. So I say it's much easier and wiser to just open that door wide and push your kid through it. See what happens. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week, we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every child in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support your child's success. Would you believe that orchestra is a solid launch point for all of these? My next guest is the director of orchestras for Ransom Middle School and Tate High School. In the summer of 2025, her students participated in the 10th annual UWF Senior String Fest, where they had intensive training in chamber music and the unique opportunity to perform in violin, viola, and cello choirs. Today she's going to share how orchestra is a path to scholarships, life skills, and core memories. Building skills for a lifetime, music motivator and melody mentor, Kathy McConnell. Thanks for being here. Thank you for having me. This is really exciting. It is exciting. I love when I get a chance to learn about something that I had no idea of. So that is my primer for asking questions that may be a little bit lowbrow. Absolutely. Okay. Because I had no musical education, which I'm learning is kind of a bummer because it turns out students do better academically. They have all these benefits. But I want to start with you because you've been teaching 29 years and all of that has been centered around music education. Yes. So do you think that music is critical to education overall?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

It absolutely is an enhancement that is becoming more and more important. Obviously, when I started teaching music 29 years ago, the world and society was so much different than it is now. And now we're on the edge of AI doing millions of things for us. And now we're realizing that our students need a whole different set of skills. What we thought was crucial 10 years ago now is becoming obsolete. So I'm finding that with music, that's like the through line to a person who is creative and flexible and develops a nimble mind and can think on their feet and problem solve because that's all about what we do in orchestra. It's all about what kids do when they learn to play an instrument because they're constantly in real time problem solving, they're constantly assessing and analyzing, and they're finding creative solutions. And those are the kind of people who are going to be able to be incredibly successful in a world that's changing every year.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Okay, that I'm about to ask my first dumb question already. Because when you talked about the skills acquired through orchestra involve flexibility, being quick on your feet, essentially, and from a mental standpoint, that is not at all what I think of when I think of, well, music, because to me, music is like baking. It's a recipe and it's exact. Right. And as long as you follow the directions, you will have the outcome that you desire. Am I totally off base?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

No, you're not totally off base because there are so many specific, very specific things that you learn as a musician, as you learn to read music, as you learn to play in an ensemble, as you learn to play your instruments very precise. However, if we think of it more as painting a painting. So you know what the skills are, you know what the fundamentals are. But every time you play the music, you are repainting the painting. It's not like you baked the cake and now the cake is done. Check. Or you've solved the math problem, that answer is right, you don't have to do it again. Whenever we perform music, it is problem solving in real time. A student knows their music, they've practiced it by themselves, they can play it perfectly at home, and then they come to the classroom and they're with their friends, and somebody beside them makes a mistake. All of a sudden, oh, what does that do to their part? How do they keep their part going? What is that problem right then that they've got to solve for? Or the conductor is taking the music a little bit faster or a little bit slower. Or wait, they're holding that part longer. That note is longer. Oh no. All these little changes. And then you take that to a stage and you've got an audience and you've got nerves, and you are needing to paint that, even though you painted that painting so beautifully in class the other day, your mom wasn't there to see that. You can't bring that painting to the stage and say, This is what we did in class. What you're doing is much actually pretty exciting. You are literally recreating the experience that you've had in music class in your orchestra, and you're recreating that, hoping that it comes alive as a gift to your family and to the audience.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

You were so skilled at explaining that because that was just such a beautiful blend of the art of music with the technical skills of music. Like, no wonder you're a teacher, because I just understood that. Well, good. That's incredible. I can really see how this would propel students to the head of their peers in areas of complex group problem solving, especially.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

Absolutely. And the peer relationships and the respect, it's just, you know, you think of teams playing sports and how we emphasize good sportsmanship. And that is so important. And this is very analogous to that. So you have the peers being respectful, acknowledging problems, but fixing them. And even the mere physicality of crossing the midline right to left, left to right, it's opening up freeways in your brain between the two hemispheres. Really? So that communication from right to left, which is so important, is just becoming a super highway because not only are you physically doing that with your body, but at the same time, your brain is analyzing and decoding the music that's in front of you and the abstract symbols that the conductor is waving to you that have to mean something in order for you to be successful in that ensemble. So it's an incredible set of skills that students learn when they're in orchestra that follow them through for the rest of their life, whether or not they continue to be a musician. And there's so much, right? Because as they start in orchestra at sixth graders, then they follow through and they continue and they're making friends and they're practicing at each other's houses because they're in a quartet together and they've got to learn the thing. And all these incredible memories and positive peer relationships that they're developing that follow them for the rest of their life.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

I mean, I think any sort of club is pro-social. Absolutely. But when you layer in that neuro part of it, the neuroscientific aspect of the left and right brain hemispheres crossing, I mean, while there is brain development happening, right? Because we know that children's brains don't fully develop until age 25. So I would just began to think, huh? You know, I always thought of kids who play like violin. Oh, those are the smart kids. Their parents play classical music at home. But it now I'm realizing I wonder how much of this is a chicken egg situation.

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Well, and that's what the research, they have not been able to conclude. What is the cause for this? The correlation is pretty clear, but the cause is not so clear. But, you know, regarding the notion that the students who are successful with strings grew up in a home with parents playing classical music, it's like that wouldn't, you know, me looking at it as a music nerd, wouldn't that be ideal? Yeah. But what's exciting to me are the students that come to me as sixth graders, brand new to everything, never having played an instrument before, much less a string instrument. And I was reminded of this in August of this year when a few of my high schoolers were able to perform at our sixth grade orientation. And they played Highlights from Harry Potter, just a beautiful, I'm sure you know the theme. And they did such a beautiful job. And I had an information table set up afterwards. And a mother came up to me and I said, Okay, what do you have a question? And do you want to sign your student up for orchestra? And she says to me, She's like, Well, she said, I already did. He signed up last spring. She said, But now I'm worried because he hasn't ever played a musical instrument before. He's never played the violin before. And I saw your kids play, and now I'm worried that he's behind because he hasn't started yet. And I said, Oh, no, no, no. Nobody else in his class will have started either. The students that you heard play, they started in fifth and sixth grade. And you know, she got tears in her eyes. She said, Really? I said, Yes, absolutely. We'll go over everything he needs to know. We'll take it one step at a time. And before long, he might be playing like that.

unknown 11:09

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

That's incredible. And it's moments like that that remind me why I do what I do, right? Right. It's like the miracle of it. And so, right now in class, you know, this morning I met with my top string class, and we're playing all kinds of beautiful things. And then I also have my beginner class later in the day, and they have just started. And so they are making all the little practice noises, I'll just call them that, as they put their bows on the string, as they try it out. But they're so excited. And I think that's another thing that music that studying an instrument brings to the table. Those kids are in this class because they want to be there, or they have a really wonderful parent who's saying, You will do this. Anyhow, they're in this class, and just the fact that they are trying tells me that they have the confidence that they're gonna learn it. And so when you think about that, here's a student who not only wants to do this, but they're learning how. And they're gonna start taking this home and practicing and setting up personal goals. And they're gonna see themselves minute by minute reach those goals. Check that off the list. And now more and now more. Constantly stream of questioning. How is that? How is that? Self-assessment, improving, setting a goal, reaching a goal, setting a goal, reaching a goal, setting a goal, reaching a goal. I mean, these are powerful skills.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

It's a powerful motivator. It's like a it's almost like building a super strong foundation. And I love that to me, orchestra seems like an underdog of all of these superpowers. You know, it's it's like the superhero that we didn't know, and now we're learning its origin story. Right. And can I just talk about the invisible cloak? The invisible cloak. Can I just talk about stringed instruments moment in pop culture right now? Because I'm wondering. Because okay, Wednesday Adams, she cello, huge shout out, huge shout out to the cello. She actually learned to play that cello. I think people know that. Also, you know, the mad violinist, Ashanti Floyd, he comes to Pensacola every once in a while. And Derek Gleaton, known as D Sharp, he shows up on social media. So I'm wondering how these very mainstream culture people are affecting your enrollment.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Oh, absolutely. And it's interesting to me to watch every pop band out there. It seems to me, as soon as they get the financial credibility to do it, they're adding strings to their pop songs. Oh, interesting. And they're having backup players as backup players or string players. They're adding that beautiful element of strings to their music. And it's just incredible to see that. And yes, all those things, Lindsay Sterling and Two-Set Violin is big right now. And then you have really serious musician like Hillary Hahn, top of the class violinist, one of the best in the world right now, doing Instagram all the time about her practicing. And so so much now is more accessible to our students where they can look these things up. Well, even Lizzo, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:33

I mean, she that's not her main thing, but she was a string instrument orchestra student in high school. And she, I think she plays violin. I'm not sure. I don't know my string instruments. Please don't judge me, Kathy. But judge me, Kathy. I just think that it's pretty awesome. Okay, so tell me about String Fest 2025. Paint a picture of what happened there.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Okay, so Stringfest 2025 was another amazing year of String Fest 10th year, like you mentioned in the introduction. And what it is, it's an amalgamation of students across the area who are interested in perfecting their craft and working together as string quartets, quintets, trios, etc. And what they do, we each group then for the week has a whole schedule where they get coached by different and various people, including Dr. Yanofsky, concertmaster of the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, head of strings at UWF, other symphony members who we get to come in. They also have a session of music history theory or appreciation, which is always a lot of fun. Believe it or not, I can say that because I teach that. That's how I know it's fun.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Oh, okay. I would I know you're wondering. I was like, Kathy, this sounds a lot like class. How is how is this fun? But this is they're going to a college campus to do this. So that within itself is so cool because it's a change of scenery. You know, you you feel so connected to your future when you can see it and yes and experience it in a physical way.

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Absolutely. Yes. And you know that it's meaningful when the fire drill accidentally goes off, everybody runs outside with their instruments, and kids immediately set up and continue practicing. No, are you serious? I am not kidding. And it's like, oh my goodness, this is the magic. This is the magic right here. This is a bunch of teenagers. And they're trying to master Schubert, Mendelssohn, Devorjok, Beethoven, Mozart. I mean, wow. It's stunning to watch them work together. And then not only are they working hard and it's serious music, but they have so much fun doing it. So one of the fun things they do is they name their group, and then that's how we announce them on the final recital. So we have had such names as the Haydn Seekers, who are playing a quartet by Joseph Haydn. Clover. We have had a quartet that played a quartet with a lot of repeats in it, probably, maybe in their opinion, too many. I'm not sure because they named themselves the repeat offenders. Nice. And we had another group who was playing a piece by Mendelssohn. They were a quintet and they called themselves a Mendelssohn Quintettelson. I'm like, you know, you just, you know, and so it's just, it's fun things like that. They're working hard, they're having fun. And so many times those two things really go hand in hand.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

And is this a challenge, like a face-off that they're doing? Are they competing with one another at String Fest?

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Ooh, that's an element we have not yet introduced. Oh, okay. Okay. No, it's not really a competition. The competition really, I guess when you're trying to improve, it always is, maybe to some degree, but they're simply mastering that piece of music. They get their music a couple of weeks ahead of time to start working on individually. Then when they come, they're receiving coaching from the different coaches and advice and oh, do it this way, try this. Oh, you see how that happened? We could fix that by doing this, try that. And so, really, the competition is just everybody bringing their music to a performance level in that short amount of time.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

Got it. Okay. That sounds like core memories definitely being made. I want to know from a parent perspective, what the time involvement is, right? Because a parent would have to just be totally against this to hear what you're saying and not go, wait a minute, this is a great idea.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Absolutely. Because as a parent, if you hear that there's something your kid can do, and by the time they're in high school, they'll be, as the research has said, up to a year ahead of their non-musical peers academically in math science and English. I mean, that's not nothing.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

But on the flip side, fifth and sixth graders, which means you're age 10 through 12, not known for not losing things. So, right? And so there's like this financial investment, and we want kids also not known for following through all the time. And so a parent is always weighing their pros and cons to decide should we try this?

SPEAKER_00 19:22

So you mentioned the investment of time. At the beginning level, I think it's important for parents to realize that their student in their first year of instruction should not be practicing more than 20 minutes a day. So there are so many physical skills and muscles and tendons that need to get used to the coordination of playing the instrument. Like any new physical skill, you can overdo it. Or you can do it for 20 minutes. And then as your muscles get tired, you start doing it differently. You start making accommodations that then lead to a habit that can cause tension or something. So the first year, I can speak for my program, the first year, 20 minutes a day. And a lot of my middle schoolers actually practice in the morning because the middle school starts later than they were used to starting at elementary school. And most of my middle school, I mean, most middle schoolers, they're bright and early. I mean, they're waking up. So, you know, if they can get their 20 minutes in in the morning, then it really accommodates a busy schedule because then after school, activities, dinner, homework, et cetera, then the morning is for their practice time. They're fresh when they come into orchestra class. They just did it that morning. We have three concerts that the beginners are involved with their first year, and that's the spectacular concert, the winter concert and the spring concert. So, as far as time commitment from the parents, everything is happening during the school day, except their student practicing 20 minutes a day at home, and then the three evening concerts. As their student progresses, the nice thing, parents, and I'm also one, the nice thing is that your student's practice time becomes more and more independent. Already, even as a beginner, I'm not assuming that the student has a parent at home that can coach them with their practicing. So, what I'm doing in the classroom is I'm fielding all of their questions. I'm watching what they're doing so I can make sure that they're understanding it correctly. So when they go home, fingers crossed, they're practicing it the right way. But even if there's mistakes with their practice, they come to see me the next day. Orchestra meets every day. It's a beautiful thing. By the time they're in their second year, they should be practicing 30 to 40 minutes a day, unless they're taking off. And those students who start to take off will start to increase that practice time. And I think Strings are so uh rewarding because there's such a strong correlation between minutes practiced and amount that you are advancing. I mean, it is a straight shot, uh no detour. You spend more minutes practicing, you will get better. And for a lot of kids, that's almost addicting. It's like this level of control they can take in their brains and in their life to do the thing. If I do this, this will happen. Let me try it. Oh, it did. And then they get better, they come to class, everybody's like, oh, wow, Johnny, that was amazing. And then the kids around them are like, Oh, wow, he didn't used to sound like that. She didn't used to sound like that. Maybe I could sound like that. And you get this positive feedback and this positive peer pressure. Yeah. And then the music bug catches to more and more students.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

And every parent wants that. So that thank you for explaining that time commitment versus output. You know, yes, you're a very good saleswoman for orchestra. Can you explain the financial bit of it? What's the financial obligation?

SPEAKER_00 23:11

The the entry point for a beginning string player is very affordable. Most music stores in town have a rent-to-own program. The music stores in town, they're starting, they're working with families, um, getting band instruments, orchestra instruments. They know what the financial burdens are. And most of them have developed a program that makes it very affordable. And some even where those payments go towards owning the instrument.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Oh, so you can rent, like just purely rent from like Blue Angel music or something. Or you can rent to own or just purchase it. I think that's so nice to have that stair step approach. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

And I know like at Schmidt's music too, a lot of between Blue Angel Schmidt's and other stores in town, if something happens and after the first year they're not going to continue, you can turn it in and you're not under a financial obligation. So I think that some parents are worried, like, oh, what is the commitment? Maybe I can do this now, but what about if and when they stop? So that kind of takes the worry out of that as well. So as far as maintain the instruments, most rent-to-own programs, if there's a repair that's needed that's covered under the rental program, the instruments are insured. So if there's any theft or anything like that, they can get that replaced.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

What about financial payout? Are there any scholarships that are available for orchestra students that are particularly impactful and meaningful for families?

SPEAKER_00 24:45

I think that if there's a family that is concerned about the finances, but they feel very committed that their student really wants to play the violin, I know what I encourage my families to do is come and see me about that. Because, like what I have, I have a little stash of violas, viola instruments, and I call those the scholarship instruments. That's what I think of them as. And so a family that might not be able to afford a new instrument or even a used rental, you know, whatever the situation is, but they really want their kid to be in orchestra, they can start on viola and it's extremely affordable. It's like an it's like a scholarship to college. So, and it also helps me in the program to balance out the instrumentation, right? So string orchestra takes all the string instruments, violin, viola, cello, double bass. So I think for parents who have financial concerns, they should absolutely find that middle school orchestra director, find me, say, okay, this is what we're looking at. Is there something we can do here? And what about university scholarships?

SPEAKER_01 25:59

Does that put the student on a strong path? Yes. Period. Mic drop. Yeah. Well, does that mean that the student, if they get a musical related scholarship, does that obligate them to have a musical type of major at university?

SPEAKER_00 26:15

That's a great question. It really depends on the specific school. So if you're going to a large school that has a large music program, most likely the students in that string orchestra are going to be music majors. But if you're looking at a smaller school where they're trying to keep that orchestra, they're trying to grow the orchestra, then there will be a little bit more flexibility about the type of students that are in that orchestra. And that's where the scholarships come in, right? So every school has their deadlines, their audition requirements. So I always advise my students as they approach their junior year that if they're not already taking private lessons, that's when they need to start. So they can really hone their craft so they can put all the fine details into their technique for their solo work and learn that solo material so that they can be prepared for college auditions because each school is a little different. And that's where parents coming up with students who will be approaching college, just do the homework and research because it's not all the same across the board. And the exciting thing about strings is that there's almost always a shortage of good string players. And there's also a national shortage of string teachers. So as you look into these college programs, you might be surprised at the opportunities that a strong string student can have.

SPEAKER_01 27:51

Oh, that's interesting. And as you mentioned before, even if that musical career path is not your child's projected future, it sets the child up with all of these strong foundations of skills, being detail oriented but not rigid, being flexible, but not goosey goosey, being able to communicate and plan and problem solve with your peers. I mean, those are all major soft skills that are really being talked about in the marketplace right now. Like, hey, we need people to apply for these jobs and we need them to already know this stuff. I mean, isn't that what you want for a team player? I mean, that's what I want in a friend, honestly. Like just from a personal level, I like people who come with those high-level skills. So the idea that this is setting those kids up is amazing. So, my next question, as we get close to close here, is about availability. Is it normal for middle schools to have a string program here?

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Oh, yes. In fact, this is like the best kept secret in Scambia County public schools. So literally every middle school except one or two have string programs. And parents, you are literally the one that can open your door for your student to start because it is so important that they start at the middle school level. So much of the development happens in those first three years. So I say it's much easier and wiser to just open that door wide and push your kid through it. See what happens. Yeah. Because it's not like the non-musical high school senior who, when they graduate, they're wondering, oh, what should I be when I grow up? And I just have air quotes up, what should I be when I grow up? And they can literally decide between all these majors. I mean, yes, of course, that does happen. But as a musician, you would never approach college expecting to be a music major without having started your instrument back in middle school or even earlier. So that's a path that has to start young. And then they can find their way, and then they gain all the benefits from that and maybe even become a musician for life.

SPEAKER_01 30:26

Yeah. Yeah, that's incredible. Thank you so much. You are so inspiring. I'm like, shoot, I'm gonna go learn Viola now. Absolutely. Thank you, Kathy. You've been great. Thank you for having me. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of the Scambe County Public Schools.