Joyful Balance - The Four Pillars
A Balancing Act
By Jeffrey Moore
The boys of Saint David ’ s School are all traveling on many paths . Paths with many twists and turns , and even detours . Keeping those travels balanced and joyful takes an experienced guide , and as musicians and teachers , the Performing Arts Faculty of Saint David ’ s School is always encouraging boys to take chances , to try new things , and to lean on each other as they experience the incredibly uplifting moments that can come when they work toward and complete a well prepared performance . A performance that they can feel proud of , and one that sends them off to the next turn in their journey on that path .
James R . said to me earlier this year , “ This was the best day of my life !” He had just sung “ Let It Be ” with the Yale a cappella singing group , the Spizzwinks (?), and he was literally floating on air . The men and women from Yale had coached the Chamber Singers , taught them to sing certain parts in the classic Beatles tune , and then performed the song with our boys standing and singing next to them . The performance was a highlight for James , and one that he had never experienced before . But James did not get to that ecstatic might otherwise not feel confident , believe in their innate abilities . Once they feel that joy , they are hooked . Somehow , they know that the work and practice they are undertaking will lead them to a different place , a joyful place , and one that they will always be able to return to . It is a balancing act .
So we work together as a team . We teach them how to read a musical score , help them practice their solos , and show them how other boys and their teachers learn . Yes , there is a certain amount of repetition as we practice , but the most important thing we do is to let them learn from each other . There is an incredible joy that spreads across the face of a first grader when he sees a sixth grader singing the song he is trying to learn . A sudden illumination in the face of a second grader watching an eighth grader play the violin in the orchestra – an instrument he is struggling to learn . When an older boy volunteers to sing or play an instrument in the classroom , the reciprocal learning that takes place is simply magical . The student becomes the teacher , and the respect and gratitude of the younger boy is evident to everyone in the classroom . The balancing act
“ Somehow , they know that the work and practice they are undertaking will lead them to a different place , a joyful place …”
feeling without the steady progression of skills and practice that all musicians must learn as they prepare for a public performance .
The balancing act in musical training is exacting . Practice , practice , practice says the old joke . True words , but learning how to tease the very best from our boys takes on many different aspects of teaching . The most important thing we teach our boys is the love and joy that music brings to their lives . It illuminates feelings that they cannot express , it brings them together as a group to experience a shared emotion , it brings them to an understanding of the world around them that they have never experienced , and it helps boys who between teacher and student , between a young boy struggling to master his instrument , and the performance that comes from that work , is one of pure joy .
James will continue on his path . He loves music and all that it will give him , and his joy in performing is wonderful for all of us to see . He is still young , but the older boys in the Chamber Singers and the music department of Saint David ’ s School will take pains to help him and to coach him in finding his own path forward . It is a path that must always be balanced , but one that will always be joyful . To paraphrase Shakespeare , “ If music be the food of joy , play on .”•
Jeffrey Moore is Music Curriculum Chair at Saint David ’ s School
16 • Saint David ’ s Magazine