1. Young Audiences of Minnesota Wins National Best Practices Award
for
CLASSICAL TRADITIONS
What do you get when you mix three Young Audiences of Minnesota roster artists who work in folk-based string music with three string
music educators in Minneapolis Public Schools middle schools and then add their string students? That's what we are finding out as
we put into practice our Classical Traditions project, testing the thesis that "folk-based" string music traditions and methods of teaching
can significantly inform and complement the traditions and teaching methods of "classical" string music education.
The initial thesis for this project grew out of a conversation between Artistic/Education Director Elizabeth Prielozny Barnes with YAMN
roster artist Karen Torkelson Sølgard, a Norwegian hardanger fiddle player. Karen pointed out that the great Norwegian composer
Edvard Grieg based the melodic theme of his famous "Morning" movement from his incidental music to Ibsen's play, Peer Gynt on the
drone strings of the hardanger fiddle. It was a quick leap to wonder how many ways folk-based instruments and traditions made
important contributions to all types of what we call "classical" music.
The idea was presented to National Young Audiences, whose Classical Initiative program was created to support the delivery of
"classical" music education in schools, and who agreed to support the project with planning and implementation grant funding.
Working closely with Minneapolis Public Schools' Arts Curriculum Coordinator Cheryl Paschke, we brought together three middle
school string music educators and three Young Audiences roster artists who specialize in string music representing different folk
traditions for simple introductions and conversations. From this opening conversation it became apparent that folk music did impact the
composers of classical music, and the way string music is taught and learned in folk-based traditions complements the way string
music is taught in classical traditions.
Taught together, these traditions provide new avenues for string teachers to present musical elements that aren't easily accessible
through classical methods, such as learning to play by ear, to compose improvisationally and to play together without a conductor.
Working with string music representing different cultural traditions also provides students, teachers, and even entire school
communities with a special entrée into the study of different cultures.
Our YAMN roster artists are learning as well. Because they are teaching their music and traditions to people who are already steeped
in a different type of music and set of traditions, they are discovering new ways of analyzing and understanding the musical traditions in
which they are already expert. In addition, folk-based musicians who work in schools do not customarily have the opportunity to lead a
group of young musicians (like school musical ensemble directors do every day), and so are most eager to gain another set of
organizational and educational skills.
Two Classical Traditions residencies are scheduled for this spring; the third will take place at the beginning of the new school year.
From these experiences we expect to gather significant information from our artists, educators, students, and administrators that will tell
us first of all if our original thesis appears to be true, and then what directions we will take this information.
It is very exciting and tremendously gratifying to have the opportunity to not just present artists to schools, but to identify creative new
ways for all of us to continue our education, expand our own perceptions, and quite possible radically alter how we view a variety of
artistic traditions and the way we present them in schools and beyond.
Young Audiences of Minnesota – A Bright Idea in Education
The National Best Practices Award is presented annually in recognition of exciting,
innovative new projects that impact arts-in-education programming across the country.
Our project, Classical Traditions, a collaboration between Young Audiences of
Minnesota and the Minneapolis Public Schools, offers a groundbreaking approach to
how music education is presented in public schools. In 2002, its initial year, Classical
Traditions is supported by a special National Young Audiences Classical Initiatives
grant, and by the Minnesota State Arts Board.