THE WICHITA EAGLE

A MUSICAL BREAKTHROUGH THE NORTHEAST AREA STRINGS ACADEMY OF WICHITA GIVES AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE THE DYNAMICS OF AMERICAN CLASSICAL MUSIC.

Sunday, July 25, 1999 Section: ARTS & LEISURE
By Chris Shull , The Wichita Eagle

The participation of African-American artists in this country's classical music has been significant but not widespread. In 1939, a concert by Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., galvanized American blacks in the pre-civil rights era. Her performances with New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1955 broke the color barrier there, paving the way for singers such as Leontyne Price, Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman to become established stars.

Pianist Andre Watts enjoys an international reputation; conductor James DePriest leads orchestras across the country; and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis dazzles both the classical and jazz worlds with his incomparable skill.

But these high-profile examples are the exception rather than the norm. African-American performers make up only a tiny percentage of musicians playing in symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles. Audiences for opera and classical concert music, too, hardly ever reflect the diverse populations of their communities.

But this may be gradually changing, thanks in part to programs like the Northeast Area Strings Academy of Wichita.

Founded in 1994, NASAW is a summer school for African-American string students. This summer, some 40 students, from preschool to high school, and four professional teachers have gathered every Friday at the North Heights Christian Church for private lessons and group chamber music.

The students are using the weekly lessons to advance their musical skills prior to the start of school-orchestra rehearsals in the fall. The young violinists, violists, cellists and bassists are also learning music for public performances, including one on Wednesdayprior to the Chamber Music at the Barn recital at Prairie Pines. (At Thursday's repeat performance, a small ensemble from the Robinson Middle School Orchestra will perform.)

The goal of NASAW is to open doors for African-American children who want to play stringed instruments, says Kay Buskirk, NASAW's director.

As a string teacher in the Wichita public schools, Buskirk had noticed that as student orchestras advanced to higher grades, participation by African-Americans decreased.

"It is a question of opportunity, so the option of string participation is open to all kids," Buskirk says.

This opportunity begins on the most basic level - with private musical instruction to any interested child. In order to have a shot at a career playing a stringed instrument in an orchestra, most educators believe study should begin as early as possible. Many of the best musicians begin playing as early as age 4 or 5. Students in the Wichita public schools can begin playing stringed instruments in group classes in the fourth grade. Band begins one year later.

At any level, from beginner to pre-professional, private lessons are paramount to quality performance. Only in one-on-one sessions can a student refine his or her technique and tone and begin to acquire musical knowledge necessary to effectively communicate the notes of a score. But money for lessons often is an issue.

"I think private lessons keeps a person interested," Buskirk says. "Students find more enjoyment when they can play the music with ease. If you have the help you need, it doesn't come to a point where you want to quit because, 'I just can't do this anymore.' "

The NASAW program provides a family atmosphere for fun and learning. The children take a half-hour private lesson each Friday. Lessons cost $6 each; scholarships are available for those in financial need. Buskirk says no student is turned away because of money.

Eliminating the financial burden is paramount in paving the way for greater participation by African-Americans in classical music, says violinist David France, a graduate student at Wichita State University - the only African- American in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra last season - and a NASAW teacher.

"In classical music in general, to succeed you need a lot of money," France says matter-of-factly. "(String) instruments cost a lot of money; quality lessons cost a lot of money; the summer programs cost a lot of money. But with programs like NASAW, where kids can have quality teachers for less money, I think there will probably be a change."

Another key aspect of NASAW's commitment to building classical music within the African-American community is mentoring. At the Friday music lessons, more-advanced students - teenagers who also play in the orchestra programs at area high schools such as East, Heights and Southeast - not only take lessons from professional teachers, they themselves teach younger students.

In classical circles, African-Americans are seldom seen or heard, France offered.

"Because NASAW exists, it provides a support system for American-Americans to see other African-Americans actually doing classical music."

The positive results of NASAW training is already being felt in Wichita's classical music scene, especially in the Youth Orchestras program run by the Wichita Symphony.

According to a list on NASAW's Web site, 10 of the program's students will perform in one of the three Wichita Youth Orchestras in the fall.

"In a lot of cases, there would not be African-Americans in the Youth Symphony if not for the NASAW program," says Cheryl Myer, a string specialist with the Wichita Public Schools and the orchestra director at Robinson Middle School. "Those kids are getting the skills that will allow them to hopefully get into string programs in the colleges or in the conservatories. It will finally filter up to the professional symphonies."

The musical education provided by NASAW might also encourage new audiences to discover Wichita's classical music scene.

"Just look at your symphony audience," said Jacquelyn Dillon, a nationally renowned string orchestra specialist who also teaches at WSU.

"You see very few blacks and not many Hispanics, either, at symphony concerts. I think if we can educate these kids and their parents and the community, that gives us hope for larger audiences for orchestras down the road."

Opportunities for higher education and an expanding audience for the arts - quite a dividend from one half- hour music lesson each week. But for the teachers at the NASAW program, it comes down to something more personal than all that.

"I have a passion for teaching," France says. "Some of my early training could have been better. Now I have the tools and the resources and at least some of the knowledge to train kids better than I was trained, and that excites me."

Chris Shull writes about music and fine arts. He can be reached at 268-6264 or by e-mail at cshull@wichitaeagle.com

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