Last weekend, I went back to my home town of Okemos, MI to attend my orchestra teacher's retirement party and concert. One could wonder what's so special about one teacher, but Marilyn Kesler was just that special. She turned a sleepy suburban town's orchestra program into one of the best. She gave me an outlet for my musical interests and provided a community of like-minded musicians for me to grow up with.
The weekend was a great tribute to Marilyn's career. Here's a
Lansing State Journal article about her. There was a nice retirement dinner, of course. But the big thing was the concert. Over 100 alumni, spanning her 42 years of teaching in Okemos, came back to play a three hour concert for her. There were around ten soloists performing in the concert. We put together an alumni symphony orchestra and played three pieces as well. One of these days, I will scan the program and put it online.
I didn't originally plan on playing in the concert. I hadn't touched a violin in over a decade. But during the retirement dinner, old friends convinced me to play. How could you turn them down? The experience turned out to be great. Luckily my friend Brad had an extra old violin in his parents' basement. I was a bit surprised by being able to play. I was able to play the pieces without having seen the music before the day of the concert. I think I played mostly with the right rhythm and in tune. And I remembered a bunch of little things, like various bow techniques and watching the conductor for tempo changes and dramatic effects.
It was amazing to see how many people ended up becoming professional musicians. There were many music professors, members of professional orchestras, and teachers who came to the event. I did not choose a musical career, but it was great seeing friends who did. Sometimes I wish I had the love and the tenacity to do it; I greatly admire those who have such qualities.
The best thing for me was just having a chance to be with this musical community one last time. I saw many old friends at the events. We played together, with Ms. Kesler, every school day for seven years in a row (6th-12th grade). How many teachers did you have who taught you for so long?
I have so many fond memories of music-related things during school. Not only did I do orchestra - I was also a part of the Suzuki program, and I took private lessons. I fondly remember staying after school on Fridays for Suzuki - playing euchre in the hallways, killing time on my friend's Nintendo, and playing Suzuki repertoire pieces as a group during "play-in." I remember going to my lessons with a sense of dread most of the time, fearing that I didn't practice hard enough. My teachers had us play in recitals pretty often. Once during a recital, I drew my bow too far that it popped in the air. Luckily I caught it and was poised enough to continue. I attended a few string camps too. In one camp at Michigan State University, I got to know some of the music stars from neighboring schools. At another camp, I got to experience freedom far from home while playing fun music with other kids from all over the region. We traveled a bit too. There were various solo and orchestra competitions to go to, not to mention trips to places like Chicago and even Germany. Over the weekend, we reminisced about some antics we pulled on these trips, such as short-sheeting other people's beds and playing "superman" in the hallways of a German high school.
Why do I mention these things? At the concert, I heard all these great things that Marilyn Kesler did for my school's orchestra program. I can't top those stories. What I can contribute is my memories of these great times. It wasn't just Marilyn Kesler. Kesler formed the community and brought so much good talent here, but other individuals also made an impact on me personally. Shirley Ploughman (Waverly school district) helped foster my interest in music at an early age in elementary school. Elizabeth Febba (Waverly) got me started in violin in the 4th grade. Jan Burchman was my first private teacher and my first Okemos teacher. And Lyman Bodman was the teacher who helped me elevate my violin playing to a higher level. The last two teachers have passed away; I don't know about the first two. But I hold all their memories dear to my heart. If any of you are reading this (on the internet or in the afterlife), my sincere thanks!!!
P.S... I think I'm going to start playing my violin again. I haven't touched it in so many years. But a few months ago, I took it out of my parents' basement. It's now sitting in my bedroom, close to my bed, but untouched. Stay tuned for future blog posts about my violin...
