Building Character–Shaping Lives!

What activity would you say builds character and shapes lives in high school?       

Athletics?       

I’m sure many of us think this.  And for the most part we’d be correct.  Athletics do teach us how to be part of a team and the discipline necessary to achieve our goals. For those of us who have participated in organized athletics, there was a coach who pushed us to excel, often beyond what we believed we could do ourselves.       

Wait a minute.  These are the same character traits being taught in my son’s high school orchestra.       

Orchestra?       

Yes, orchestra.       

My exposure to the symphony orchestra, up until 6 years ago, was  limited at best.  I did take a music appreciation course in college as part of my required number of humanities credits but it mainly dealt with listening to different genres of music in class.  That’s it.   Not life changing at all.       

When our son was little, he watched the movie “Music of the Heart” with Meryl Streep.  Streep plays Roberta Guaspari who took her love for music and the violin to the Harlem area of New York City, and made a difference in her students lives.  The movie closed with the students performing at Carnegie Hall. For a musician, it’s the equivelant of playing baseball in the World Series.  It’s the pinnacle.       

Beaming with excitement, our then 7-year-old son proudly proclaimed, “I want to play the violin.”       

Jared playing his violin at the Bradford Village Nursing Home

 

Dismissing it as a “being caught up in the moment but soon to be forgotten”, my wife and I smiled and said, “That’s great son, we think you should.”       

Never dreaming it would happen.       

Little did we know in a few short years, we would move to Edmond, Oklahoma when our son, upon entering the 6th grade would be introduced to a man who would become a dramatic force in shaping his life.       

Who was he?       

Peter Markes, orchestra instructor for Cheyenne Middle School and Edmond North High School.       

Our son would be realizing his dream, learning to play the violin.       

Not only has he taught our son to play the violin, along with teaching countless others to play a variety of stringed instruments, he is fulfilling his mission. The mission of making a positive impact on each student’s life.       

Markes teaches his students the value of teamwork and to succeed, each person has a role to play.  For the music to come alive, every musician must understand his or her part and be dedicated to hard work, as well as developing the discipline necessary to push through the difficult times in order to achieve excellence.       

A few days ago, my wife and I were attending the end of the year banquet for the Edmond North Orchestra.        

Looking over at her I whispered, “Do you realize we only have one more banquet?”        

Our son Jared will be a senior next year. Makes us kind of sad when we look back at what he’s accomplished and the self-confidence he’s gained, much attributed to his “belonging” to the orchestra.  It’s his high school family.       

Peter Markes and the Edmond North Orchestra

 

Towards the end of the banquet, Mr. Markes stood up and walked behind the podium where he would soon honor the 30 graduating seniors, all who will be attending college in the fall.       

Tearfully quoting Shinichi Suzuki, the late Japanese violinist who revolutionized music teaching methods,  Markes said, “Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.”       

I’m sure if our son weren’t in orchestra, he would have turned out okay.  But it’s his love of the orchestra and the influence of Peter Markes that’s challenged him to reach for things bigger than himself and strive for excellence.       

It’s because of orchestra and Peter Markes, our son has a beautiful heart.       

Did I mention, his orchestra will be performing next spring at Carnegie Hall?       

It’s the Journey!