CU Winds takes service-learning tour of D.C.

CU Winds
Tyler Ehrlich
CU Winds saxophonists work with Woodson High School students during an instrument workshop April 12.

Forty members of the Cornell Wind Ensembles (CU Winds) performed concerts for younger students and Cornell alumni, led workshops for high school musicians and donated instruments to two high schools on a recent service-learning trip to the Washington, D.C., area.

Cornell students worked with beginning and intermediate musicians at H.D. Woodson High School and Eastern High School in D.C. April 12, and donated about 50 instruments to the schools.

CU Winds President Emily Dura ’13, a biological sciences and education student, said: “This tour was really special for CUWinds because we were helping students in the U.S. We got to work with students that were all beginning on their instruments.”

“This trip allowed us to spend time teaching music, and that let us step into the shoes of our conductors for a bit,” said Ameya Acharya ’16, a computer science major. “We told the students to practice things like matching tone and listening. These kids are so bright and so willing to learn.”

CU Winds at Jefferson Memorial
Provided
CU Winds performs at the Jefferson Memorial during Washington's Cherry Blossom Festival April 13.

Joshua Wibecan ’14, a biology major, said: “We mainly worked on exercises they could use to warm up, and general practice techniques. The main idea was to give them a spark … to work on building up their musical ability.”

“H.D. Woodson has a fledgling music program,” said Cynthia Johnston Turner, associate professor of music and director of wind ensembles. “We did a lot of good there, put on a little concert for music students, and did a Q-and-A on the stage.”

CU Winds Advisory Board member Gladys Stifel ’58 initially proposed the idea of a service-learning trip to Washington, and got Bob Day ’56 involved as the group’s guide.

“He’s a fan and gave us a tremendous amount of energy and support,” Johnston Turner said. “He’s dealing with macular degeneration, and couldn’t see the street signs, but he knew exactly what building was on every corner. Remarkable.”

Day was “devoting all of his time to helping us and giving us tours of areas he had personal experience of in D.C.,” Wibecan said.

He also helped out at an outdoor public concert April 13 for the city’s Cherry Blossom Festival.

“Our concerts were really fun,” Johnston Turner said. “At the Jefferson Memorial, Bob Day was out there with his megaphone announcing the tunes, getting people up and stomping their feet; gorgeous day, hundreds of people. We ended with Cornell songs … about 15 or 20 Cornell alums there came down to the front and sang along.”

Day guest-conducted John Philip Sousa’s “Washington Post March” at a concert for Cornell alumni and friends, April 13 at Bethesda-Chevy Chase (Md.) High School, introduced by trustee Nicole Del Toro ’91, president of the Cornell Club of Washington.

The tour was successful on many levels, Johnston Turner said.

“We learned a lot – in a small sample of two schools, our students had their eyes opened about education in the nation’s capital. We felt we turned on a lot of students to music making. We did some good because they were receptive and open to it.”

CU Winds has been providing music programs with band instruments since 2006, on biennial tours of Costa Rica and a 2007 service-learning trip to Philadelphia.

“Often, the gift of music starts with something as simple as that,” Acharya said. “I know that music is something that I will have forever, and to help people get to that point is just incredible.”

Participating in the tours “has made me realize how much I enjoy education and also how much can be fixed – music needs to be part of schools,” Dura said.

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