GILROY
– Classical music rang through the Gilroy Hilton Friday night
from a rather unlikely source – the violins of children.
GILROY – Classical music rang through the Gilroy Hilton Friday night from a rather unlikely source – the violins of children.
The South Valley Suzuki String Academy, a group of first- through fifth-grade musicians, performed Nov. 1 to thank the Gilroy Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for providing scholarships to the group’s summer program. Concertos from Seitz, Bach and Mozart, as well as a medley of folk songs, were played by the students under the direction of resident artist Lori Franke.
“You don’t hear bad notes when my kids play,” said Franke last week.
Franke can say that with confidence because she believes in the Shinichi Suzuki method of mastering violin. The Suzuki method is based on the premise that learning the language of music is like learning a spoken language.
“Children learn their native tongue by hearing it and responding to it,” Franke explained. “Suzuki theorized that music could be learned that way, too.”
Franke has used the method for five years now locally. She has built a program under the California Arts Council that serves more than 50 students from Antonio Del Buono Elementary School in Gilroy. Last year, Franke took a group to perform in London and Cambridge, England.
Antonio Del Buono is the only Gilroy public school served by Franke.
The California Arts Council will no longer fund Franke’s residency after this year. The council believes in limited tenures to ensure that resident artists continue to perform professionally.
Bill Flodberg, project coordinator for Gilroy’s Artist in Residence chapter, said that fund-raising efforts are now under way to keep Franke in service here. Fresh Choice restaurant in Gilroy is offering coupon books good for the next year and a half. Books are $5 with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the artist in residence program.
The books must be purchased from program parents. For more information, contact Mrs. Hilhene at 848-2445.
“We’re fund-raising specifically to keep her on,” Flodberg said of Franke.
