Donevan Howard, a student in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Talent Development Program, knows what it feels like to come close to having a heart attack. Recently, he was giving a performance at a local church when one of the dancers, came within inches of knocking over his harp, on loan from the TDP. The harp, a more than $15,000 instrument, is Howard’s specialty. He, like many other students, began his time with in the program as a freshman in high school, now a junior, he is preparing for college auditions, an expense that can leave many talented young musicians unable to compete with others from more privileged backgrounds. The TDP helps talented students like Howard with those expenses allowing them to become fully fledged musicians in major orchestras throughout the country.
Every year TDP hosts the Alumni Legacy Concert, to bring the tradition of musical excellence full circle with performances by TDP alumni. Ann Hobson-Pilot, the first African-American woman to hold a principal position in a major orchestra, received the TDP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. Hobson-Pilot, says if it wasn’t for programs like TDP she would have never become a musician and students like Howard share her sentiments.
“TDP is the reason I’m a musician. I would be nowhere near where I am now without the program,” Howard says. “They gave me a teacher, they gave me an instrument and with the a scholarship assisted with my Interlochen cost.”
Interlochen Academy is one of the most respected music schools in the U.S. known for producing musicians that go on to play for prestigious institutions. Summer camp for young musicians is an added benefit if they want to further develop their craft and build relationships with music teachers and students. TDP provides many of the students with the financial assistance needed to attend summer music camps.
Hobson-Pilot, former principal harpist at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston POPS, is now an educator. She says the ASO Talent Development Program, levels the playing field for many students of color who in the past were very limited due to financial constraints. She like many of the students in TDP, was only able to attend the Cleveland Institute of Music, through a scholarship arranged by her mentor.
“One of the problems for African-American youth, especially our race as a tradition has not been to promote young musicians in classical music. You see a lot of Asian and Jewish programs, but none for African- American musicians,” Hobson-Pilot says. “So its important programs like ASO and ProjectSTEP in Boston exist, because it’s very expensive. You have to pay for a string instrument that is $20,000 and African-American students couldn’t compete financially.”
Alcides Rodriguez, a teacher with TDP and a clarinetist with ASO, says working with TDP has helped him develop his own skills and is an invaluable resource for the students working with ASO.
“They get to study with highly trained musicians from the ASO. They get to attend concerts for free, they get help with college audition expenses and summer camp expenses,” Rodriguez says. “ They get to study and listen to the orchestra live.”
Rodriguez fell in love with the orchestra at an early age and says education is essential to getting younger people more involved with the discipline of classical music. He believes nurturing a passion for music begins early. His teaching allows the students to come to their own conclusions about the music without sacrificing the technical skills needed to succeed.
“The key is education. We need to reach out more to students in the school. I encourage them to think outside the box. I work on giving them the tools. I don’t tell them exactly what they need to know, I want them to figure it out.” Rodriguez explains. “ It’s important to bring it to people and they can decide if they want to listen to it or not.”
Howard credits TDP with his growth as a musician and his knowledge of other classical musicians. He says he went from having a very superficial understating of the music to understanding music on the level of a trained musician.
“ I’ve gone from just knowing names of Beethoven and Bach to being music,” Howard explains. “I have a detailed appreciation for the music.”
Check out UpTempo Teen Night + ASO concert on January 15th at 6:30 pm. The event features a performance from by a teen musician in the TDP program.