Budding musicians get a feel for stage

Nine little girls took the stage Wednesday night at Girls Inc. After each bowed to the audience, she played a tune on an instrument.

They played songs on clarinets, violins, violas or the cello.

For most of them, it was the first time they had performed before an audience.

It didn't matter that the audience was made up of their family members and other young members of Girls Inc. Being on stage by yourself or with your teacher, with all eyes fastened on you, can be a daunting experience.

These budding musicians seemed to take it in stride. They were the lucky participants in the Omaha Symphony/Girls Inc. program More Than Music.

Clarinetist Erin Brown Ford, 11, said she wasn't nervous. She got a lot of that out of her system last year when she played the violin. Erin, who attends Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School, said she took up the clarinet this year because “I wanted to try something new.”

The girls work with mentors, all but one of them in high school. The mentors auditioned and interviewed with symphony members and were judged on verbal skills and playing skills, said Jennifer Boomgaarden, director of the symphony's education and community partnerships.

This is the third year for the program, which not only tries to teach young girls to play an instrument, but also gives them role models in the young mentors.

The mentors are, in turn, mentored by symphony musician Anne Nagosky. In addition to music lessons, she does video reviews of their mentoring to give them pointers and maybe show them something they're missing.

The students and their mentors meet once a week over three sessions, which each end in a recital. Wednesday night was the recital at the end of the first session, which began in October. The second session recital will be given in the lobby of the Holland Performing Arts Center in February. The third recital, in April, will be on the Holland stage an hour before a symphony performance.

That's music to the ears of Jessica Bollinger, 11, a fifth-grader at Walnut Hill Elementary School. She has set her sights high. “My goal is to play in the Omaha Symphony,” she said.

She and her sister, 9-year-old Marissa, both play the viola. It's the second year for Jessica, the first for Marissa, who took up the viola because that's what her sister plays and because only two people at their school play it.

Marissa said she found the playing easy, but “I'm kind of nervous about playing for an audience.”

Jessica said she, too, is working to conquer her stage fright, although she likes performing.

Their mentor, Mecca Slaughter, is a ninth-grader at Central High School. A product of the More Than Music program, Mecca said it's a lot easier to be a student than a teacher. “The hardest part is getting the lesson together,” she said.

Katherine Turner, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said she loves being a mentor for clarinet. “The kids seem to enjoy it, and the one-on-one teaching is great. It's really fun.”

In the audience was Pamela Ford, Erin's mother. She said her daughter likes the entire More Than Music program, which includes interacting with other symphony members and going on field trips.

“It has helped her a lot,” Ford said.

Latonya Willingham was there to watch her daughter, Natalya, 11, a fifth-grader at Sacred Heart School.

“It's a good opportunity for her,” she said. “I try to support what she wants to do.”

Dennis Metcalf was there to cheer on his daughter, Joslyn, who wasn't one of the students but a mentor. Joslyn, 16, also attends Central. She has been playing violin since she was 8, he said. He, too, sees the program as a great opportunity for her.

Boomgaarden said Girls Inc. selects the participants. They have to be girls who are already in a music program at their schools. The symphony doesn't have any instruments to let them use, so they have to play instruments from school.

Most of the audience was made up of girls just like those on stage. And they were properly appreciative of what their friends were accomplishing.

They clapped when the musicians came on stage. They were mostly quiet during the performances. And at the end of the evening, their clapping was enforced with cheers and whistles.

“It's a great program,” Metcalf said.

Contact the writer:

444-1067, carol.bicak@owh.com

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