Becoming Community with Music

Jon: 00:00:18

Welcome to Good News, being brought to you by Listening for Clues.

Lauren: 00:00:24

We are Lauren Welch and Jon Shematek, Deacons in the

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Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

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We sure are.

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And today we have a very special guest, Pat Aaron.

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Pat is an orchestra teacher in the Allegheny County, Maryland schools.

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She works with students in grades 4 through 8.

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She's originally from Lima, Ohio.

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Where she played as a student in the Lima Symphony.

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Pat has been an orchestra teacher in Cumberland, Maryland for 37 years.

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She co-directs the Allegheny Community Symphony Orchestra

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with two of her colleagues.

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She enjoys playing chamber music with friends and performing at her church.

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Welcome, pat.

Pat: 00:01:15

Thank you.

Pat: 00:01:16

It's good to be here.

Lauren: 00:01:18

It's so good to have you with us today, Pat.

Lauren: 00:01:21

I've been looking forward to it.

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You have been teaching violin for a long time.

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Tell us what what inspired you to start playing to begin with.

Pat: 00:01:34

Well, I think the first thing that inspired me were teachers

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that I had as a young person.

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It's usual in school systems for a music teacher to come maybe with other students

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and play and invite students to begin an instrument that often happens in

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about the fourth grade or fifth grade.

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And so that was, that was my introduction to Beginning an instrument and it's

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been a lifelong activity and, and one that's been very rewarding.

Lauren: 00:02:07

So tell us about your the children that you teach.

Pat: 00:02:13

Well each year in Allegheny County, we start students in the fourth grade,

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and we come and play a concert much like I heard when I was in the fourth grade,

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and students have that opportunity to begin any instrument that they choose.

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There, there are string instruments that are like violin, viola, cello

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based, and then there also are woodwind and brass and percussion instruments,

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so they have Oh, maybe 13 or more different instruments to choose from.

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In our county, we take the faculty around to each elementary school

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and perform a concert for them.

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And I do not know how the kids choose the instrument they do because they

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are all such wonderful choices.

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But they do end up choosing the one that speaks

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to

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So Pat, do I have this right?

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You actually then go from school to school?

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Performance and then to actually do the lessons as well.

Pat: 00:03:12

Yes I teach at four different schools and I usually visit three

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schools each day of the school year and, and have about a half hour

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lesson with the students twice a week.

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And it is Some of the favorite times of the day for those

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for those students often.

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That's great and you teach other than violin or you're

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teaching primarily violin to the

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students?

Pat: 00:03:38

I teach violin and viola, cello and bass.

Jon: 00:03:42

Oh, so the strings.

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Yeah, wow.

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That's great.

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So how many years has it been?

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I think about 37.

Pat: 00:03:51

Yeah,

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so you have a lot of stories to tell us.

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What, what are some of your favorite interactions with the students?

Pat: 00:04:01

It's just all the students that are just Average students

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who just enjoy playing.

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There are the students that excel beyond all their other peers.

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And often people ask me that question, you know, what's the student

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that plays the best or whatever.

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But I think the ones The students that I enjoy are just all of

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them at whatever level they are.

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We just we just enjoy music together.

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And one, one of the jokes that the kids will sometimes say is, you know, can

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we just stay here all day and play?

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And I'll say, well, yeah, wouldn't that be nice if you could just spend

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the whole day playing the violin?

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And then, and then I kind of laugh at them and say, oh, wait a minute.

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That's what I do.

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Going around playing the violin or viola or cello or bass.

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And you know, it's just, it really is a wonderful position to have to be able to,

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to play with students throughout the day.

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What would you say that the role of music in actually changing their

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lives or their perspectives might be?

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Aside, I mean the enjoyment of course is just really wonderful, but is there

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something more you could say about that?

Pat: 00:05:16

Yes hmm.

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The students get so many things from playing an instrument.

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This happens in other disciplines as well, certainly in sports, and,

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and in their other academic classes but to, to learn how to engage

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with other students as a team.

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You know, in our orchestra, we have to listen to each other

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and learn to work together.

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So you gain all kinds of abilities to, to work together and to, to

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play together and to study together.

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And that is an opportunity to learn how to do those things that are

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going to last their whole lifetime.

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Also you know, playing a string instrument involves practice.

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And practice is something that you have to do in everything to be successful.

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So building that skill of learning how to practice something daily and take

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it from where you are to where you want to be is a skill that works not only

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for music, but all the students life.

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Pat, what surprised you the most in your years of teaching students music?

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Maybe how much it builds their self esteem.

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Students will start a piece and, and they'll say, Oh, I can't do this.

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I you know, this is, this is too hard.

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And, and you just kind of start from where you are with the student from

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where the student is and, and just work.

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a little at a time and pretty soon that student is playing the piece

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without mistakes with so much ability and emotion and we'll do a concert

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and they'll finish the piece and it's like, oh, that was my favorite piece.

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And they'll want to play it all the time.

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And, you know, from the beginning they thought.

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It wasn't even possible.

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And then they arrive at such success .It's surprising, but it

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happens over and over and over.

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And, and the best part is that it builds that confidence within the

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student, knowing that they started from something that they weren't

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sure they could even do, and then knowing how they can be so successful.

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That must be just an amazing feeling for you too.

Pat: 00:07:35

It is.

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I, you know, I feel like I have the best job in the world being

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able to take students from actually the very beginning of something.

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This is how you open your case.

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This is how you hold your instrument to, to being so

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successful that they can express themselves through that instrument.

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I just love all the life lessons that you kind of listed about, you

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know, the teamwork and the relationships where Lauren and I get very focused on

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relationships in this series as well.

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But, you know, they're listening to one another like we do and so it's

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that and then the discipline of practice and working at something and

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getting the building one's confidence.

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Those are great things.

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Has this experience of teaching music to young children changed you in any

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really fundamental way over the years?

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Have you grown in some way yourself?

Pat: 00:08:31

Oh, absolutely.

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Sometimes I'll meet students that I had, like maybe in my first year

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of teaching, and they'll say, Oh, I remember you, and I think, Oh my

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goodness, what do they remember?

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Because, you know, when you first start, you have a lot of

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enthusiasm, and that's wonderful.

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But, but not much experience and as I have grown as a teacher I have changed

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and there are things that I think I do better than I did the first year.

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I still have a lot of enthusiasm, but, but I think that maybe one of the, the

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biggest things that I've learned is to let all the students make their own choices.

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And even if that involves...

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Starting an instrument and then stopping at some point.

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Then later on, maybe they will start again, or the things that they've learned

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will help them in other endeavors in their life all those life skills that they've

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been learning about studying something or practice or even just the joy of

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music can come back later in other ways, like joining their church choir or just

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listening to music or going to a concert can enrich their lives, even if they

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don't play an instrument all their life.

Lauren: 00:09:52

So Pat, you're also involved in a community symphony,

Pat: 00:09:56

right?

Pat: 00:09:57

Yes, yes.

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And that is, that's a, a wonderful thing too.

Pat: 00:10:02

You know, I, I start students in the fourth grade and then they move up.

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I teach them through the eighth grade, then they go on to high school.

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But then often for students and, and just adults in the community or other

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faculty members, it's nice for them to have someplace to play as they gain

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experience and as they grow as a person.

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And so we do have a community orchestra in Cumberland that,

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that is all of those people.

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There are advanced students from my middle school orchestra that play as they gain

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experience as well as high school students that come back that want to continue

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playing in a symphony orchestra they do have, they do have string orchestras in

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the high schools in Allegheny County, but but to play with a symphony orchestra

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that has winds and brass and percussion and, and strings all of those together

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this is an opportunity for them to do that, as well as community members that

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have just played in their lifetime and want to have an opportunity to play.

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So, It's a wonderful experience to kind of be involved in all of those

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levels of teaching and conducting.

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And so we have a wonderful time getting together.

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We rehearse once a week as a, community orchestra.

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And then we do two performances during the year.

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One's usually a Christmas concert, and then the other is a concert in the spring.

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Pat, the other thing you mentioned in your bio is that

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you do perform at your church.

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And I'd like to hear a little more about that, but also to what extent

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your musicianship or your teaching experience has involved something of

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the spirit or your spiritual life, if you're able to talk about that.

Pat: 00:11:52

Yes I do often play at my church.

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I have a pianist friend that, that I play with.

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And, and on other occasions I play in a quartet or a a string trio,

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which is piano, cello, and violin.

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So I have all those kind of chamber opportunities.

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But I do like your question about how that affects my spiritual life.

Pat: 00:12:12

Playing music.

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can be a very spiritual thing.

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It's a way to kind of lift myself and, and I think sometimes those who

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listen into a spiritual place sometimes playing it's hard to explain sometimes

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playing is, can be a very emotional

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I don't know, spiritual experience.

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So you, so you play and you listen and you connect with the

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people that are listening to you.

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And you kind of can reach them by playing to them and for them.

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And No, it is, it is a difficult thing to explain, but, but

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not so much to experience.

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I often can see that I'm connecting with, with people as I play.

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And And one of the neatest experiences is finishing a piece and hearing or feeling

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the calmness that follows the piece.

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And sometimes that's the way that you know the feeling within yourself

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and then the feeling within those who have experienced the music.

Jon: 00:13:32

Yeah, you know, Pat, I think that is so well said, , you're trying to

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find the right words, and I think that actually was a demonstration that this

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kind of connection is beyond words.

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It's wordless

Lauren: 00:13:42

to continue what you're saying, Jon, because I've experienced Pat playing

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at retreats and what you were saying and what I was hearing, Pat, is that you

Lauren: 00:13:52

are bringing community together as one.

Pat: 00:13:55

Yes.

Pat: 00:13:56

And in fact, I think sometimes we've had the opportunity to pray

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with and for each other, and one of my favorite ways to do that.

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Is through music just to play a piece and put my heart into it and then you

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know, be able to reach and connect with those who are there present.

Lauren: 00:14:18

So, Pat as we begin to wind up , is there anything else

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that you would like to share?

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Any words of wisdom for parents who may be wanting their children to be

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more interested in music or anything

Pat: 00:14:31

like that?

Pat: 00:14:33

Well, yes.

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The thing that I think I would like to leave people with is that we all

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know people who are in school at some level, whether they're our children,

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or our grandchildren, or friends, or students from communities that

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we're involved with, and I would just say to encourage those students to

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do whatever is important to them.

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So if they choose an instrument maybe once in a while ask them to play for you

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or, ask them about their instrument and let them tell you about their classes or

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any other activity that means something to them their sport or their math class

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or their English class or whatever it is that speaks to them because

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encouraging students is so important.

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That's what helps them to be successful as they grow.

Jon: 00:15:29

Thank you.

Jon: 00:15:30

Thanks so much, Pat, for being here today.

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It's been a pleasure meeting you and I wish I had had a music teacher like you

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when I was a kid, because you're amazing.

Jon: 00:15:39

Thanks so much.

Pat: 00:15:40

That's one more thing that I could add is that it's never too late

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to do something for adults to start a new language or to, to study an

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instrument . All those things that keep your mind active and growing.

Pat: 00:15:55

It's never too late to, to start an activity like that.

Jon: 00:15:59

Amen to that.

Pat: 00:16:01

Thank you.

Pat: 00:16:01

Thank you.

Lauren: 00:16:02

Jon and I also want to thank all those who are listening

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and watching with us today.

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Lauren: 00:16:29

Until next time, peace and blessings.

Lauren: 00:16:33

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