Program allows students to let music play

Kyrene fourth- to sixth-graders interested in playing a stringed instrument now have the chance to take inexpensive after-school classes.

The Kyrene school district and the Herberger College at Large and for Kids at Arizona State University have teamed to offer the ASU String Project in Kyrene for beginner string students.

The students will work with Kyrene string teachers collaborating with Corona del Sol High School and ASU music education students.

“It’s certainly a great offering for students, and it’s a lot more accessible to them since it’s in their own neighborhood,” said Dan Neville, Kyrene’s assistant director of technology services, who helped facilitate the project.

Neville is a former Kyrene music teacher whose son, Quinton, is a freshman orchestra student at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe.

The classes will meet twice weekly for 45 minutes, starting at the end of September, with a final recital planned at ASU. Classes will be offered from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Aprende Middle School in Chandler, and from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at Kyrene Middle School in Tempe.

The cost is $130.

The Kyrene district doesn’t offer any after-school music programs, and the instrumental programs don’t start until the sixth grade, so the classes would be a chance for students wanting to start earlier on their music career without shelling out for private lessons.

The ASU String Project will be under the supervision of Margaret Schmidt, associate professor of music education at ASU, who founded the project in 2001.

The project is part of a national effort to provide children with an opportunity for musical enjoyment and education through the study of stringed instruments.

Students can choose the violin, viola, cello or bass.

It also encourages qualified ASU and area high school students to pursue a career in string education.

Antonia Adams-Clement, Corona del Sol’s orchestra director, said the school’s students, parents and administrators are “very supportive and excited” about the string project.

“We’re really looking forward to having our high school students supporting the work that these new young students will be doing in strings,” Adams-Clement said. “It’s a fantastic experience for high school students mentoring emerging musicians and fostering community service and citizenship.”

For information and to register for the ASU String Project in Kyrene, call (480) 783-4054 or visit www.kyrene.org/eservices.