The Northeast String Orchestra in Clifton Park offers children who play string instruments opportunities to play in an ensamble, an option not always available elsewhere.
Whether their skills are fundamental or advanced, children from 7 to 14 are welcome in the orchestra following an audition. The organization sets out to accommodate the varying degrees of experience through the orchestra itself, as well as that of Prelude Strings, which is not as “technically demanding.” Instruments played in the organization are violin, viola, cello and bass.
Auditions for the Northeast String Orchestra and Prelude Strings for the upcoming fall season will be held on Sunday, June 3 and Sunday, June 10 at the Shenendehowa United Methodist Church. For details, log on to nsorch.org.
The orchestra was founded in 2007 by string teachers Ellen Madison and Sue Nazzaro. The mission of the orchestra is “to build a friendly, enriching and supportive community for young string players and their families” and is separate than string lessons taken in school.
Ruth Schulman is the orchestra’s executive director. She said that between the two ensambles, there are around 60 musicians that perform two concerts every year.
Prelude Strings includes kids who have been playing an instrument for about a year and are at a level one. Those in the orchestra have been playing longer and at the more advanced levels of two, three and four.
“What these kids are getting through our orchestra is really at a much higher level than what they would get in their grade in school,” said Schulman.
Opportunities provided by the organization for younger children, say second-graders is usually not available in a school setting. But at 7 or 8 years old they are able to play the violin through the orchestra, according to Schulman. She also said that the music played by the two ensambles is more challenging that what is taught in schools.
Ubaldo Valli has been the orchestra’s music director for five years. He is also director of the SUNY Cortland College Community Orchestra and others. The passion he has for music and teaching others is reflected in the fact that he lives in Ithaca, and commutes to Clifton Park every week in a three hour trip.
His philosophy is to have the kids learn through a “positive experience” and expects mistakes in rehearsals. “I tell them to make the mistakes here, not at the concert,” he said. This encourages the kids to take on more challenging parts of the music and grow as musicians.
“I work very strongly to provide a learning environment in which people can try things, and sometimes they’ll succeed – and sometimes they won’t succeed. I try to provide a positive environment so that when they succeed, great. When they don’t succeed, they just try again and they learn from that,” said Valli.
One of the unique aspects of the Northeast String Orchestra and Prelude Strings is that the students don’t have set “chairs” or positions held in the orchestra – they get to experience all of them.
Valli said that the concert master, or person who tunes the orchestra before a performance, is by tradition the best player in the orchestra. The person sitting next to him is the second best, or second chair. The next musician is third best, or third chair – all the way down the line to the back of the group.
“It’s a real skill to play up front, but it’s also a real skill to play in the back of the section and all of the places in between. …What’s the logic of having your weakest player play in the back? I don’t get it,” said Valli.
In this spirit, Valli gives each musician the opportunity to play in all of the positions.
“Every player in every concert plays both first violin and second violin. …That’s not typical at all. In every rehearsal, strings are rotated,” he said.
As far as Valli getting back and forth to Clifton Park every week, he relies on a 1998 Toyota Corolla – a vehicle with over 400,000 miles on it.
