Bengal News Reporters
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has been a prominent feature of the West Side for over 70 years, providing a source of both entertainment and education to its citizens. Recently, the Education Director of the Philharmonic, Robin Parkinson, has developed a program to reach out to young people in the community.
It’s called the West Side Connection Program- an annual congregation of musicians and educators that visit participating middle schools and high schools on the West Side. Parkinson says that the program was created in an effort to bring something more to the students in the area.
“I created this, partly because I live on the West Side and Kleinhans lives on the West Side, this is our home, this is our neighborhood, and in an effort to be more a part of the community, we thought we could start with the fschools,” said Parkinson.
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| Students from West Side schools get into the act with the Buffalo Philharmonic. |
The program culminates in a special concert for the students of the West Side schools. This year’s concert, which took place on March 9, focused on how African rhythms and drums have evolved and been incorporated into classical music- specifically, music by Latin-American composers.
The concert presented an African drum and dance ensemble, from the African American Cultural Center. They played in a Nigerian Dance with the orchestra and had their own song and dance segment.
This year the Connection showcased guest violinist, Randall Goosby, who lives in Bartlett, Tenn., was the winner of the junior division of the 13th Annual Sphinx Competition, a national classical music competition for African American and Latino string musicians. He played as a solo artist along with the orchestra.
Students from McKinley High School and International School #45 also played African drums along with the orchestra in one song. They attended a drum workshop affiliated with the program prior to the concert.
Mark Garcia, supervisor of music for the Buffalo Public School system, is very supportive of the Connection.
“It’s always good for them (the students) to hear a symphony orchestra,” he said.
According to Garcia, Buffalo Public Schools have been sending 4th and 5th graders to see the Philharmonic for the past 11 years. The West Side Connection is an excellent opportunity for kids to get to some exposure at an older age, he said.
“I think it’s a real benefit for our students to see a young black violinist like Randall Goosby and hear him talk about how hard he works and what he does to be successful at such a young age,” Garcia said.
Garcia said Goosby could be an excellent role model for young musicians and students in general.
Ben Boyer, a band teacher at Hutchinson Central Technical Institute, agrees that the program is a great opportunity for students.
“Being able to see the philharmonic, and have a conductor come in, sometimes it might get a music student started... it might develop their inner-fire, or passion for music,” Boyer said.
Ben Boyer talks about his childhood experience with the philharmonic:
Boyer even credits his music career to a visit from the philharmonic at his school when he was a child.
He agreed that it was a good exposure for the students, as many young people don’t really know anything about philharmonics. He said this could be a good way to introduce them.
“My favorite part of the program was having someone from the philharmonic who’s a great conductor, come in and work with the students,” Boyer said.
He cited how students could learn from the different conducting style that a philharmonic conductor can bring to the table.
Edited by Paul Giazzon, Jennifer Waters and Desiree Wiley
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