March 11, 2005

San Jose Chamber Players plant seeds of music appreciation

By Bea Baechle
Editor

“It was energizing. It was phenomenal. It was the best experience I’ve had in school,” said Raghav Chhibber, a fifth grade student at Silver Oak Elementary School, at the end of the San Jose Chamber Players’ 10-session residency at his school.

Violist Janet Sims engages students with questions between musical selections.

That’s just the type of feedback Artistic Director Peter Gelfand longs to hear about the program he and violist Janet Sims created and piloted at Silver Oak more than five years ago.

Founded in 1989, the San Jose Chamber Players recently completed its second residency at Silver Oak.

The group has also presented similar programs at Hellyer School, Fammatre School, Scott Lane School and Sakamoto School outside of Evergreen. The San Jose Chamber Players comprise the ensemble in residence at Santa Clara University.

“The project is designed to demonstrate how a greater understanding and appreciation of music and its cultural significance can also enhance the students’ understanding of other school subjects,” explained Gelfand, who offers private cello lessons in his home in the Silver Creek Valley Country Club.

“We have always endeavored to tailor the academic curriculum-based content to the specific requirements of each school,” he continued. “For example, one school asked for a heavier emphasis on math and science. Another asked for a greater concentration on social studies. Basically, we believe that we can make an effective connection between music and virtually every academic discipline, whether it is math, science, social studies, geography or language arts.”

The San Jose Chamber Players, artists in residence at Santa Clara University, recently completed a 10-session residency at Silver Oak Elementary School to help fill the gap when the Evergreen School District discontinued music programs at the elementary level this school year.

Silver Oak’s fifth and sixth grades began delving into classical music with an introduction to the core musicians of the San Jose Chamber Players in September 2004. In the months following, the sessions included discussions on the sounds and science of brass instruments—with a brass trio, sounds of the orchestra, sounds from string instruments and sounds from woodwind instruments—with a woodwind player to demonstrate oboe, clarinet, flute and saxophone.

The full string quartet then presented the remaining sessions: storms in music, life and music in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, American music from the colonies to the present, Beethoven Day and a final concert.

Some schools include more math and science in music—addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, geometry and the physics of instruments and instrumental playing—or the sounds in nature: weather, animals, the ocean, streams, etc.

Business side of music
The final culminating event of the residency shows a bit about the business of music—including marketing, advertising and production. “We ask the host classes and grades to help ‘produce and present’ us in a concert for the school plus parents and invited guests,” said Gelfand.

A Silver Oak student bravely got on the stage to perform a Rap song he wrote in the final session of the San Jose Chamber Players residency.

Depending on the school, Gelfand said that students have done some or all of the following in preparation for this final concert: researched composers and written program notes, decorated the “concert hall,” designed and printed programs, written articles for the school newsletter/newspaper, made pre-concert announcements over the school public address system, provided masters-of-ceremonies to announce the program from the stage or gotten dressed up for the concert.

Based on feedback from the students, offering a 10-session residency at one school has a much greater impact than more typical music educational programs where musicians present only a single introductory session at many different schools.

Fifth grader Amanda Guzikowski said, “They make music fun to learn, and I think of music differently now. I appreciate it more.” Her classmate, Jackson Souza, agreed. “It was a great experience and it was very entertaining.”

Michelle Thompson commented on the final concert, “It was an inspiring performance, and you don’t get to see it often.”

Amanda Chen noted that she plays the piano and “didn’t really like it, but after this, I appreciate it more.”

“Go to concerts,” encouraged Sims after the final concert. “Don’t just listen to CDs. It doesn’t have to be classical. There’s nothing like live music. When you see people playing, you feel their energy. It’s much more personal and much more exciting.”

The Silver Oak Educational Partnership funded the 10-session residency at Silver Oak Elementary School. For more information about the program or to schedule a similar program at your school, contact Peter Gelfand, (408) 274-7600.

About Peter Gelfand

A resident of the Silver Creek area of Evergreen, Peter Gelfand is the principal cellist of Symphony Silicon Valley and Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley. He also offers cello lessons in his home.

Peter Gelfand was principal cellist with the San Jose Symphony from 1985 to 2001 and has been principal cellist with the restructured Symphony Silicon Valley since it was founded in 2002. During his first three seasons in San Jose, he divided time equally between the San Jose Symphony and the renowned St. Louis Symphony, an orchestra with which he toured and recorded extensively.

He also serves as principal cellist with Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley and performed as Principal Cellist with the Monterey County Symphony from 1988 to 1998. In 2005, Gelfand joined the Arts Council Silicon Valley as a trustee.

Gelfand received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Indiana University School of Music, where he studied with legendary cellist Janos Starker. While at Indiana University, he also studied chamber music with Josef Gingold, Menahem Pressler, Franco Gulli, Gyorgy Sebok and Eva Janzer.

Active throughout the Bay Area as a chamber musician, Gelfand is a founding member of the San Jose String Quartet and the San Jose Chamber Players. He is also on the faculty of the Santa Clara University Department of Music.