THE OLDEST KID IN THE YOUTH ORCHESTRA
OR HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

What motivates an otherwise sane adult to leave his business for a week, pack up his violin, and follow his children to music camp? Learning to play the violin at 40, an adult faces challenges beyond that of mastering the instrument itself; challenges unique to the adult beginner. I learned to handle the reactions of friends and family - "Violin lessons? At your age?" With the help of an understanding teacher, I learned to cope with introductory lesson books aimed at 8 year olds. I found time in a busy schedule for lessons and practice. I even played in the traditional music school recital along with "the other children."

For almost three years I had dutifully worked my way through the technique books, position studies, beginning etudes, and student concertos, to build a basic violin technique. As much as I enjoyed playing the violin, I wanted more than just lessons; there was a whole world of orchestral and chamber music out there and I was anxious to get started.

This was to prove my biggest challenge yet. Adult beginners miss the introduction to ensemble playing that children get from the time they first pick up their instruments. In school orchestras they play together from the beginning. My two daughters, both cellists, were introduced to the orchestra within 3 months of starting to play. While they were learning basic technique, they also learned the rudiments of orchestral playing. By the time they had been playing for three years, they had played in their elementary school orchestras, township-wide combined elementary school orchestras, and summer youth orchestras.

Where does an adult go for that kind of experience? I certainly wasn't ready to play in a community orchestra. There are no adult equivalents of the youth orchestras and school orchestras where my children learned to play. Surely there must be others in my situation; all I had to do was find them.

For the past several years my older daughter had attended a one week summer string conference sponsored by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and the National School Orchestra Association (NSOA). The conference gave children from 10 to 17 a week of concentrated instruction and the opportunity to play in an orchestra with other children their ages. After her first year at the ASTA conference, my daughter was hooked, eagerly returning every year.

Last year my younger daughter

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