DWSA students learn from and play alongside the Terra String Quartet

Denzel Washington School of the Arts Orchestra majors were visited by the Terra String Quartet, the Yale School of Music’s fellowship ensemble-in-residence, on Monday morning. Learning directly from professionals provides students with enriching first-hand experiences that give them a deeper understanding of their classroom learning by seeing, and practicing, the methods in which experts use their knowledge. 

The musicians, who are also the quartet-in-residence at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, performed and listened to student performances. They visited DWSA through a grant-funded residency at Caramoor and gave instruction and advice to students after their performances. Organizers at Caramoor reached out to Allen Maracle, orchestra and music theory teacher, to set up their visits to DWSA in the fall.

This was the second visit by the Terra String Quartet, who also visited DWSA in November. 

They began by playing a few different pieces, while also giving context and backstory for each piece. They discussed information about different composers and talked about different musical elements in each piece. 

They then opened up the floor for a Q+A, where teachers and students learned about each member of the quartet’s experiences with music and how they work together in their performances.

“I think that they heard a lot of really helpful tips from another perspective,” said Mr. Maracle. “They work with me every day, and sometimes it really helps them out to hear new things from new people.” 

Students then came up to the stage to perform alongside the quartet. As they played, the professional musicians gave tips to students and led them through exercises to help improve their skills. Some of these exercises included singing portions of their songs and lightly swaying to help with rhythm. 

 “I thought it was pretty enriching; I got to be a bit more expressive musically, and they really helped me out with that,” said Evan Gilliam, an 11th grade cellist at DWSA. “I learned to make sure I stay with my other principal players and to be more expressive and breathe more.”