MASTER CLASS
Walnut Hill - A Dream Come True For Musicians
Walnut Hill is a haven for young people of high school age who are deeply committed to the Arts. By going to Walnut Hill to complete their secondary education, they are making a decision to put their work as musicians, actors, dancers and painters at the center of their lives and to surround themselves with others of like mind.
Benjamin Zander has been the Artistic Director of the joint program between Walnut Hill and the New England Conservatory since its inception eighteen years ago. His role is to work with the Head Mistress, Stefanie Perrin, and the Music Director Frank Corliss , on the make-up of the student body and the Faculty, as well as to ensure that the program is well balanced. He also helps to maintain and enhance the special relationship between Walnut Hill and New England Conservatory.
The music students at WHS take private lessons with NEC Faculty and many participate in the NEC Prep Chamber Music Program. In addition, all performers on orchestral instruments play in one of the two symphony orchestras at NEC Preparatory School, the vast majority being members of Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (YPO). On Monday afternoons is Master Class, when all the juniors and seniors (about 50 students aged 15 to 17/18) gather in Boswell, an elegant, old-style living room with a large fire place, a huge Persian rug and two grand pianos.
Here is Ben's description of the special day of the week he goes out to see the students at Walnut Hill:
"On Monday afternoons I drive out to the idyllic campus in Natick, Mass forMaster Class - a ritual that has been an important part of my life for nearly twenty years. It starts with tea, served at 3.45pm. I wish it was a sit-down affair with silver teapots, cucumber sandwiches and crumpets, but it ends up being just a cup of tea out of a paper cup and cookies. It is one of the last vestiges of my own up-bringing in England and serves as a vital restorative for the important final two hours of the afternoon.
At 4 o'clock sharp, I hand eachstudent a sheet of white paper and we begin the next installment of the journey known as Master Class - a journey into Life, Musical Performance and anything that might stand in the way of our full expression in the world.
The premise is that who we are as people is inextricably linked to who we are as musicians. What we block in our minds and bodies is likely to be blocked in our music making too. Master Class offers an opportunity for the whole community of musicians at WHS - singers, instrumentalists and composers - to share this exploration and thereby to deepen their understanding of their art and fortify themselves for their spiritual journey as musicians.
I usually like to begin with an exploration of some Life Issue. "I am going down to Washington tomorrow to speak to the people at NASA," I begin, "what do you think I should say? Are there any similarities between being a musician and working for the Space Agency?" A discussion follows. I ask them to write a message to the people at NASA on their white sheets. "The world counts on you to open up new possibilities and discover what we humans can do..", writes violinist Ashley Liberty aged 14, "The only time when music or space have boundaries is when humans create them. Thank you for keeping the possibilities alive."
This kind of discussion puts the students in a receptive, openhearted frame of mind for the performances and coaching that follow. After the performance, we may examine the culture and tradition of the music being played, or we might discuss something technical like the tempo or the phrasing that has hampered the performance. Or we might notice some holding back in the performers that is keeping the music from being fully expressed."
"Music is similar to space", writes David Landstein, a 16 year old percussionist, "it is an exploration, a responsibility to push through the confines of the pages of music, to go as far and as fast as the mind will work.."
Each time there is a transformation, as the performers shift their attention away from the anxiety of performing and become true conduits for the music's pulse and message. Bodies relax and bend with the music, faces gleam and eyes shine.
The wild applause that invariably greets their breakthrough is evidence that the students understand that it their break through, as much as that of the person who has played. That is why there is no competitiveness in this group. They know that they are all in this together.
There is a regular guest at these weekly sessions: "I used to go to a psychiatrist ," she says, "this is a lot cheaper and just as effective!"
Here's Amanda Burr's letter to the people at NASA written down in class spontaneously, without a chance to consider or revise:
"In the same way NASA uses mathematics and machinery, we musicians must use sound. Sound can explore the soul, coax out dreams and possibilities that before were lost in inky blackness. A beautiful sonata escapes gravity. We are not very different, you and I. Our minute individual persons are small, but our life journeys can span galaxies. NASA is granted billions of dollars and, for the insistence of possibility it bestows on the world, it is worth every penny."
At 4 o'clock sharp, I hand each student a sheet of white paper and we begin the next installment of the journey known as Master Class - a journey into Life, Musical Performance and anything that might stand in the way of our full expression in the world.
I usually like to begin with an exploration of some Life Issue. "I am going down to Washington tomorrow to speak to the people at NASA," I begin, "what do you think I should say? Are there any similarities between being a musician and working for the Space Agency?" A discussion follows. I ask them to write a message to the people at NASA on their white sheets. "The world counts on you to open up new possibilities and discover what we humans can do..", writes violinist Ashley Liberty aged 14, "The only time when music or space have boundaries is when humans create them. Thank you for keeping the possibilities alive."
