The W.C. Bryant String Project grew out of a Learning Through Music partnership between W.C. Bryant School, a Cleveland Metropolitan school, and The Cleveland Orchestra. Beginning in 1997, the program quickly expanded to include K–5 in 2002. Learning Through Music currently serves eight elementary schools in the greater Cleveland area.
After establishing Learning Through Music, W.C. Bryant expressed an interest in beginning string lessons. In 2002, The Cleveland Orchestra contacted Baldwin-Wallace College as a nearby source of expertise and fund-raising partner for the launch of such a program. Under the direction of Laura Joss, chair of Music Education at the Conservatory, Baldwin-Wallace students served as string teachers for the program’s first violin students. The first year included a visit from world-renowned violinist Gil Shaham and a culminating concert that featured an arrangement of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 performed by everyone involved in the program.
The current program has been further developed by Baldwin-Wallace. Laura Joss still serves as Master Teacher and, with the assistance of B-W students, provides violin instruction to elementary and middle school students at W.C. Bryant. Twice per week, 11 B-W Conservatory students provide after-school instruction to 31 W.C. Bryant students, grades 4 through 8. A portion of this time is allotted to full orchestra rehearsal. Instructional emphasis is placed on technique, theory, and artistic expression.
In addition, The Cleveland Orchestra provides guest artist visits, coaching by Cleveland Orchestra musicians, and complimentary tickets to concerts at Severance Hall for the B-W student teachers and the students’ families. The Learning Through Music partnership has grown to include over 50 classroom visits per year by Cleveland Orchestra members, professional development for teachers, and field trips to education concerts at Severance Hall. During the sessions, students often speak with great pride about their own instrument studies with visiting musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra. Invariably, the Cleveland Orchestra members are pleasantly shocked to find so many budding string players.
Learning Through Music is funded by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council. The Baldwin-Wallace After-School String Project at W.C. Bryant is funded by the MetLife Foundation’s “Partners in Arts Education” program and administered by National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts.
Information for this article was provided by Lisa Judge ’00 and Bryan Bowser ’97
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