Cacophony filled the Great Hall building at Edmonds-Woodway High School, as the sounds of musicians tuning their instruments crashed into one another. Behind a crescent of chairs set up for rehearsal, a boy plucked a violin, making a sound reminiscent of a cartoon character walking downstairs. As the players took their seats, the conductor’s voice emerged: “Whoa, whoa, whoa, no playing, no playing.” The instruments quieted to a murmur. Taking his stand, he signaled for silence. Then, from the stillness, as he motioned his hands, music emerged.
On Nov. 23, 128 musicians from the orchestras of two Shoreline School District middle schools will join those from the Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras, a Lynnwood-based organization for musicians 21 and under, to perform at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall. CYSO’s Youth Symphony Orchestra, which includes the organization’s most experienced musicians, performs at the venue each fall, inviting public schools, private schools and adult music groups to join them. Now, as many school districts in Washington face financial or budget challenges and consider program cuts, CYSO is prioritizing performing with public school musicians to underscore the importance and value music and the arts provide.
CYSO Music Director Tam Osborne extended the invitation to Einstein Middle School and Kellogg Middle School from the Shoreline School District last spring. He had a connection to the school district, as a former administrator, but said that through concerts like this one, CYSO hopes to emphasize the importance of music programs for schools across the state. “I don’t think it’s any news that public schools are challenged right now with a lot of budget constraints,” said Osborne.
Last year, facing budget constraints, the Shoreline School District School Board proposed a temporary suspension of contractual requirements to provide staff with stipends for “extended learning opportunities” — i.e. extracurricular activities. The proposal was shut down after protest from hundreds of Shoreline students. While classes like orchestra, choir and band are part of standard school curricula, performances fall under the extracurricular category. Shoreline School District officials said the school district took other measures to reduce spending, including a hiring freeze, allowing it to continue funding extracurriculars.
This year, Shoreline School District budgeted $3.4 million for salaries and benefits related to its music program across K-12, a $200,000 increase from the previous year. Measures to reduce spending districtwide have allowed for continued funding of extracurriculars and protected art electives from being considered for cuts, according to a school district representative.
But, other school districts across the state, grappling with budget constraints, have considered reduced spending for the arts. In Seattle, for instance, Washington Middle School’s jazz band program was saved by a $50,000 donation last year by Garfield High School alum and Grammy-winning music producer Quincy Jones. “So it’s particularly important at this time to make sure that we are reminding schools and their school communities of the value that the arts provide to students,” said Osborne.
The middle school students have been working hard since the start of this school year to play to the caliber of CYSO, most of whose players are in high school. Einstein Middle School orchestra teacher Karen Helseth, who will be conducting one of the pieces, said, “It’s giving them an opportunity to really just level up their playing. The music is challenging and it’s quite a bit more music than we normally would have prepared at this point in the year. But the kids have really stepped up to learn it.”
At the first of a handful of joint rehearsals, the students ran through the pieces they plan to perform at Benaroya later this month: classic works by Brahms, modernized versions of Beethoven, and more contemporary composers like Richard Meyer. Each of the three orchestra teachers involved in the concert from Einstein and Kellogg middle schools will conduct one piece. Osborne will conduct two. “When you’re playing in a large group, the number one goal is staying together,” he told the students, “An ensemble is a group operating as one in concert.”
Between slight breaks in the music, students were encouraged to get to know each other. Some pairs quickly broke out into giggles, forming fast friendships. Others exchanged niceties then, tugging at their sleeves, stared ahead, waiting for the next instruction. When it came time to play, all watched the conductors with the focus of professionals. When Kellogg Middle School orchestra teacher Mark Adamo took the conductor’s stand, the students diligently marked their sheet music with comments he gave during musical breaks. “That’s the note that grabs you by the heart, that’s where we want to linger,” Adamo said, emphasizing the piece’s use of vibrato.
Osborne was pleased at the level of preparation the Shoreline middle schoolers brought to the rehearsal. He said that despite his de-emphasizing the importance of hitting the right notes on the first rehearsal, the students made few mistakes, a testament, he said, to the work of both the students and their teachers. “It’s a big task for them to take these younger students and prepare them to experience success, excitement and energy through this performance experience,” said Osborne. “They’ve just done an amazing job in preparing those kids. And I know that the kids have worked hard.”
Stevi Gupta, an eighth grader at Einstein Middle School who plays the violin said, “It’s definitely challenging, but that’s good because I want to get better. It’s been very helpful to practice and improve my skills.
Cello player Ryan Lesh, an eighth grader at Kellogg Middle School, said that in addition to improving as a musician, one of the central lessons he has learned through this experience is to “trust others. Because it would be pretty hard to play these songs without the practice that the teachers gave us.” He can’t wait to perform Richard Meyer’s “Millennium,” the ensemble’s closing piece, a favorite among many of the students.
For Einstein Middle School eighth-grader Archer Bechtold, who plays the violin, “the orchestra itself feels like a big family.” For him, the way an orchestra fills a space during a performance feels powerful. As far as the audience, he says, “I hope they take away that children can have just as much power as adults, even if it may not seem like it.”
Supporting school music programs has been important to CYSO since its inception. According to organization policy, CYSO musicians must participate in their school music programs in order to also participate in CYSO. “We do not see ourselves as being an alternative to kids’ involvement in school music programs,” Osborne said. “We see ourselves as being an extension of school music programs.”
Calvin Nguyen, a violinist, is an eighth grader at Kellogg Middle School and one of few middle schoolers in CYSO’s Youth Orchestra. Nov. 23 will be his first time playing at Benaroya Hall, and he’s excited about the acoustics, “I’ve heard the Seattle Symphony play there. I think it’s gonna sound really good.” With 10 years of violin experience under his belt, Nguyen has become a leader in his middle school’s orchestra. His teacher, Adamo, said, “He’s been taking different groups out and helping them learn the music. So I’m just letting you know, he’s really a good guy.”
Osborne hopes the fall performance will highlight the lifetime opportunities that school music programs can provide. “We want to give kids an exceptional performance experience in a premier performance venue so that they will experience something through their music program that they and their parents will not soon forget,” he said. “Something that hopefully will cause (students), their parents and their school community to realize and appreciate the value of performing arts in their schools and in their school communities.”
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct spelling of Archer Bechtold’s name.