Several years ago, I had the privilege of hosting a Musical Arts League meeting at my house.

Joy Cameron, a Natchez High School orchestra student, enthralled us with her violin rendition of Bach’s famous Prelude. Ms. Cameron is still studying classical music and hopes to continue her education at Ohio State University.

Each year, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra sponsors the Premier Orchestral Institute for the state’s most talented students.

The Premier Orchestral Institute participants are given the opportunity to take their musical experience beyond the basics of “the right note at the right time.” These young people are given the opportunity to appreciate their own personal contribution to a larger work of accomplishment and excellence, which cannot be experienced on an individual basis.

Students from the Natchez public schools audition and are chosen to attend the Premier Orchestral Institute every year. Natchez students also audition for and succeed in attending the Festival South Orchestral Academy in Hattiesburg under the direction of Jay Dean, director of orchestral activities at USM in Hattiesburg, and artistic director, Natchez Festival of Music.

Most recently, on April 10, the NHS orchestra displayed their talent and skill, and the reward of hard work and discipline, when performing French Impressionist music and the second movement of Mahler’s Symphony No 1.

The benefits of music education and appreciation are numerous.

It makes people smarter! Children who study and listen to classical music improve in their test scores, learn more quickly and have higher IQ scores.

The Center for New Discoveries in Learning has found that children, who have music in both the classroom and during homework, remain calmer, study longer and have a higher rate of retention, in addition to better grades.

In particular, the music of composers such as Mozart, Vivaldi, Pacabel, Handel and Bach, greatly enhances the quality of life and learning of both adults and children. This is the music familiar to the students of NHS orchestra!

We don’t have to travel to Jackson, Baton Rouge or New Orleans to hear an Orchestra, we have one right here in Natchez.

The NHS Orchestra, under the direction of Sean Smith, is a bright spot in our public schools and deserves our ongoing support and encouragement.

 

Gwen Ball

Natchez resident