Rock and Rhythm
I was lucky. Growing up in the near north suburbs of Chicago, I was surrounded by seemingly endless resources and brilliantly talented classmates. At 16, I was studying privately with Joe Golan (Principal 2nd violin, CSO) and auditioned successfully for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training ensemble for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. We worked with some of the world’s most prestigious conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas and Sir Georg Solti.
In my senior year (at New Trier High School) came an unexpected and life-changing invitation. I found new friends in the jazz department. They suggested I get an electric pickup on my violin and join their jazz fusion band. My friend Bill told me to get a Jean-Luc Ponty album. I remember dropping the needle on the first track of Mystical Adventures. It was a jaw-dropping moment. “That’s a violin?”, I thought. I want my violin to sound like that.
My new friends turned me on to King Crimson, Miles Davis, the Dixie Dregs, Rush, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as the mind-bending world of effects pedals. The experience of exploring new sounds on my violin and a variety of styles of music is why I continue to create, perform and engage in educating others.
It was this experience, paired with my first job after college working with abused and neglected kids at treatment centers in Chicago that ignited the Rock and Rhythm philosophy. The inequities between my classmates at New Trier HS and the kids I began working with, only 15 miles apart, was startling. These kids had tragic starts to their lives. It was devastating and overwhelming but I was able to utilize my degree in Psychology to take a developmental, behavioral approach to providing stability for these troubled but very deep kids. Building strong, trusting relationships was the key to helping them.
When I was hired at Jefferson Middle School in 1996, I was asked to teach music to all of the students who didn’t choose music classes! I was baffled but intrigued. Having had such a rich experience performing music, I wanted to provide a similar thing for these kids. They loved music, but needed a radically different approach than what was traditionally offered in school. I asked them why they didn’t choose Band, Orchestra or Choir classes. Their answers provided the framework for the Rock and Rhythm program.
Recently, I got back in touch with my first private violin teacher, Donna Ross. She continues to teach and inspire students in the Chicagoland area. What I found so intriguing is that Donna’s approach was congruent with the Rock and Rhythm approach! This solidified my passion for building trusting relationships, learning in a more organic way and maintaining a sense of wonder and joy in learning music.
