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Following the Pied Piper of Avery Fisher Hall By AARON FLAGG
For eight young flutists and three percussionists in the Music Advancement Program (MAP), it was a dream come true: appearing in four performances of John Corigilano's The Pied Piper Fantasy with the New York Philharmonic and flutist James Galway, at the end of February and beginning of March. These performances marked the first time that children from the program have performed at Avery Fisher Hall, and it was an amazing experience for them, their teachers, and MAP as a whole.
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| Flutists (left to right) Moises Hernandez (partially hidden) and Frank Moore, and percussionists Miguel Tepale and Natasha Berry follow piper James Galway in a parade through the audience at Avery Fisher Hall. (Photo © 2004 Chris Lee) |
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I was excited to receive a call in mid-December 2003, inquiring whether the Music Advancement Program (Juilliard's Saturday instrumental program for underserved New York City children, ages 8 to 14) could provide the children's ensemble for The Pied Piper Fantasy. This unique flute concerto, which was inspired by Robert Browning's "Pied Piper of Hamelin," culminates with small groups of children responding to the Pied Piper's flute melodies by playing along and marching from the back of Avery Fisher Hall to the stage and out through the audience. I immediately said, "No problem!"— and set to work getting copies of the music to MAP faculty, who would recommend students for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.After getting a list of students, we began making phone calls to their parents, alerting them to this opportunity and the high degree of support each family would have to provide in getting the children to their rehearsals and evening performances. Each family needed to balance the cost (at least one missed day of school, along with rescheduled homework and late bedtimes) with the obvious benefits.
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| MAP flutist Darryl Duran (second from left), Frank Moore, Moises Hernandez, and Michael Marin (all three on the right) perform with James Galway (in robe), composers John Corigliano (in suit jacket), and the New York Philharmonic. (Photo © 2004 Chris Lee) |
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Juilliard's Office of Educational Outreach and the Philharmonic provided all the children with copies of the printed score; a recording of the music; biographies of the composer, soloists, and conductor; and the original Robert Browning poem, as well as their rehearsal schedules. The MAP faculty then set about helping students learn and memorize eight minutes of music, which the young musicians would need to play by heart in order to participate in the marching ensemble. Scott Simpson, percussion faculty member, describes the process: "We listened to the piece with the students several times, following along with the printed music to get an understanding of it. We then played the part without the recording, to learn the rhythms and meter changes. Next, we played through the movement with the recording, and finally—after only two weeks—the percussionists Natasha Berry, Miguel Tepale, and Wilma Almestica played the parts from memory while marching with the recording." Each musician, said Simpson, took on these tasks with excitement and professionalism. "Practice was very hard, but worth it.," according to Miguel. The students were young professionals by the time they were ready to perform at Avery Fisher Hall. For two Saturdays before the Philharmonic rehearsals began, MAP held final music rehearsals in the lobby of the Juilliard Theater to get all the students—including flutists Darryl Duran, Frank Moore, Bethania Noronha, John Torres, Moises Hernandez, Michael Marin, Tysha Llewellyn, and Ernain (Kai) Gil Jr.—comfortable playing together, marching, and following a conductor and stage director.During the performances, MAP faculty and staff served as chaperones for the children in the east green room of Avery Fisher Hall. Flute faculty member Gretchen Pusch recalls chaperoning for the Saturday performance: "I entered the stage door following James Galway into the elevator with apologies for trailing him—'But you are the Pied Piper!' I inquired as to how our students were doing and he responded with an enthusiastic 'They're just great!'"
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| First-year MAP student Ernain Kai Gil with James Galway. |
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In the green room, Pusch found eager MAP students chatting or playing duos and trios to pass the time. "One student was telling of his flute lesson with James Galway: 'He corrected my hand position and told me a secret.' When asked if he would reveal it, he replied, 'No, of course not!' There were discussions of Gustav Holst's The Planets, which was on the second half of the concert, and conversations about having an autistic sibling and what that means. At one point, a MAP flutist and the designated group leader received a call on his cell phone from one of the percussionists, who was unable to make the performance due to a family medical emergency. Another percussionist went into a side room, to learn the now-vacant part so that it would be covered. One cannot place a value on this heady experience for our students. They performed with poise, polish, and a palpable sense of pride. This certainly was the chance of a lifetime."The additional benefits for our students and the program enriched the experience even further. The MAP students were invited to share their experience with Philharmonic musicians and New York City public school teachers in a Philharmonic Education Department seminar exploring Corigliano's work. This also allowed the teachers to become more familiar with the mission of MAP and the upcoming auditions for next year. The support our MAP students received from their teachers and from all those who attended the performances, including their families, was overwhelming.We are looking forward to other off-site performance opportunities for MAP students—including a performance at an awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in June, and a MAP recital on Long Island this month—and we trust these experiences will increase the educational benefit and bring the wonderful opportunities available in the Music Advancement Program to more of New York City's needy and gifted young people.Aaron Flagg is Juilliard's director of educational outreach and a College Division faculty member, as well as an alumnus of the School. He can be reached at
aflagg@juilliard.edu.
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