A Taste Of Music

In early January, the Tufts University Symphony Orchestra treated hundreds of Medford school children to a pair of concerts designed to introduce them to classical music.

Medford/Somerville, Mass. [01.17.06] Malka Yaacobi still remembers her first encounter with a symphony orchestra. The Israel native was 11-years-old when she was bussed one morning from her small town school to a nearby venue to hear a local orchestra perform. It’s a memory that constantly reminds Yaacobi – now the conductor of the Tufts Symphony Orchestra – of the value of exposing children to classical music early in life.

AUDIO SLIDESHOW:
	Tufts Symphony Orchestra performs for local school children (requires Macromedia Flash)

On Jan. 9, the University invited more than 1,000 kids from Medford elementary schools to the Aidekman Arts Center for two concerts, one a humorous piece aimed at younger children and another geared toward older kids. Both featured a variety of music, including John Williams’ Star Wars theme and Aaron Copeland's Hoedown.

According to Yaacobi, the idea for the concerts was hatched after a conversation with a parent of an elementary school student who thought it would be beneficial for large groups of local students to gain some exposure to orchestra music through Tufts.

For more than a decade, Yaacobi has arranged for Tufts students to perform a yearly show for kids in the Medford/Somerville area, but not during school hours. Most of the children who have attended the concerts in the past, she explained, had parents who appreciated music and were trying to pass that interest onto their kids. This approach, she added, “exposed children to the beauty of music” who may never have had that opportunity elsewhere.

At the same time, she said, the concerts served as music lessons.

“The kids’ concerts are always educational so that they learn, but they are also great fun,” Yaacobi said. “I think it’s interesting for them to hear Tufts students [talk about] when they started to play and why they are excited about their instruments.”

The concerts doubled as an opportunity for the orchestra to prepare for its annual trip abroad, Yaacobi said. A day after they entertained the local children, the group left for Costa Rica, where they would give three performances. In recent years, the orchestra has traveled to Portugal, Greece, Jamaica and Brazil.

“Touring makes [the Tufts students] citizens of the world,” she said. “For many students, traveling with an orchestra is the first time they are going abroad and I think after visiting four different countries during their tenure with the orchestra, they get a different perspective on how very different and how very similar we all are.”

But before the orchestra left for Costa Rica, the Tufts students broadened younger students’ perspectives of music. Yaacobi hopes their efforts will inspire some of the school children to play an instrument some day.

“I am so happy that we could play for the kids here,” she said.