Conductor Matthew Marsit constantly strives to expose the people he works with whether sixth grade students or members of his Dartmouth Wind Symphony to different ways of thinking about music. Through the Dartmouth Wind Symphony's most recent concert, "Children at Play," and the corresponding outreach program to the Seminary Hill School, an elementary school in West Lebanon, Marsit has introduced a range of students to music's ability to link generations together.
"Children at Play," which was first performed in Spaulding Auditorium on Friday, will be performed once again on May 16 in Spaulding Auditorium, this time in a joint performance with sixth grade students in the Seminary Hill School's advanced band. The concert marks the culmination of the symphony's outreach efforts with the school.
The songs chosen for "Children at Play" nicely accommodate both the symphony's formal concert and its collaboration with the Seminary Hill students, Marsit said. Some pieces used in Friday's concert were easily rearranged to have the Seminary Hill students just perform the melodies. More importantly, songs in "Children at Play" evoke the joy that comes from music and the imagination that it inspires, which helped symphony members motivate the elementary school band, Tsugumi Yamano '12 said.
"[The music from our concert] really does remind you how fun music is and how fun music can be," Emily Looney, a student at Dartmouth Medical School and member of the Dartmouth Wind Symphony, said.
The program on Friday opened with a montage of Dartmouth students and faculty members singing their favorite children's songs, which served as a reminder that we are never too old to revisit the songs and rhymes we sang as children.
"Children's Overture" by Eugene Bozza followed the montage, and the Dartmouth Wind Symphony then performed a piece by Johan De Meij that was inspired by "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The show concluded with a children's march, "Over the Hills and Far Away," by Percy Aldridge Grainger.
"Children at Play" is a music program in which "you can let your imagination run wild," Nick Pulito '11, a member of Dartmouth Wind Symphony, said.
Marist began coordinating the concert with the Seminary Hill School in January. Since then he has arranged the music into a simpler form, taught students the music and brought members of the Dartmouth Wind Symphony to Seminary Hill School to give the students additional advice and help.
"[The kids have] taken a responsibility that I haven't seen in the past since it's a more public event," Yvette Courtemanche, a member of the Dartmouth Wind Symphony and the band director at Seminary Hill School, said. "It's outside of our norm. They've really taken the initiative."
The students had to learn a new meter and key signature for the concert. On the first visit to the school, the pieces proved difficult for the kids to play. By the second visit 3.5 weeks later, "the difference was astounding," according to Marsit.
"I hope they just enjoy the experience of being on Spaulding stage," Pulito said. "It's pretty awesome to sit out there and look out on all those people."
Marsit is optimistic that after they leave the stage, the students will realize that music can be a part of their life no matter their career choice or age.
"I hope they gain a sense of pride and excitement in music-making," Marsit said.
While this is the first collaboration between the Dartmouth Wind Symphony and Seminary Hill School, both Marsit and Courtemanche expect that it will not be the last.
"I think that the best way to understand music is to teach it to somebody else," Pulito said.
Marsit also hopes to expand the program through more joint concerts and lessons for children in the surrounding area, he said. The program even has the potential to expand beyond Hanover's surrounding communities, he said.
"It could take us in areas throughout the country or outside," Marsit said. "As a result of financial limitations, music programs are suffering. It's an opportunity to take music to these places."
