Helping Young Artists prepare and Serve in Their Community
by John Wunsch

I will close out my contribution to this academic year's teaching series fittingly at the time of year when our Interlochen Arts Academy high school guitar studio has our most meaningful, enjoyable and successful performances- April and May.

We will be on a one-day-per-week kind of "tour", going out about 4 times during the next 6- 8 weeks. The venues consist primarily of local hospital wards, nursing homes and retirement communities but will include at least one "fine stage" appearance of the group at another high school. It is always a fun gig for our students to appear before their peers, but I seem to get the best feedback from students after performing in a nursing home or hospital setting.

I hope all of you, in whatever setting you teach, play, etc. have had as good a time reading as I have had playing, teaching, and writing this Mel Bay series. I invite you to join me when I resume writing the Teaching the Guitar Column in a few months. It's likely that I'll report next from this year's Interlochen Guitar Festival Weekend held during August, at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. At this point of my year I get to act as the artistic director for a truly remarkable guitar festival. http://www.interlochen.org/college/2008_program_offerings/2008_guitar_festival

In my January "Teaching the Guitar" column I mentioned some good places to get your students before a supportive audience. You may guess, I am suggesting you also try some of the community service venues I mentioned above.

Just like any gig, before they go out, you'll want to give them a short reminder of what to bring to avoid problems. Like good scouts, we need to be prepared for anything. I remind them to consider these four points:

1. Be sure you have the equipment you need at the performance, including picks, nail files, music (if necessary), and music and foot stands.
2. Take care of yourselves ahead of time by getting some sleep.
3. Do your practicing appropriately ahead of time, not on the day of performance. (On this issue, please see the "Teaching the Guitar" article in the January 2008 issue of Guitar Sessions.)

Now for us teachers: Time is limited, so you may just want to find a single location for this spring. Make it close by so it is easy to reach. Nursing homes and hospitals love receiving visits from the young. Most such institutions have an activities director, and some may even have a music therapist. When you call ahead to make your arrangements, ask for that person first.

Remember, time is short and if 2-3 quick phone calls don't produce a venue that is ready for your group before year's end, you may have to leave your name and telephone number and take the wait and see approach. Simply offering to bring in a group of young music students will usually result in a return call, although it might be for next fall. It will definitely come back to you over the next year, at a time when everyone is ready for action.

Finally, for the teachers are thinking about organizing such performances, here are a few likely Q&A scenarios to consider:

Someday you may hear returning students ask, "Are we going to get to do some more of those hospital ward performances?" It does feel good and, down the line, worth the effort. After a few years of this kind activity my response is, "Sure."

Then from newer students, a question I often hear is, "When would that be likely to happen?"
My response is, "When you are ready, I'll set something up."
No need to give them any more worries unless you sense it is time. You may end up using these responses next year, so you might want to bookmark this April Guitar Sessions issue. Every performance setting has different rules and expectations. Think of public service performances as something to take on "when the time is right."

Here's one last tip you may want to use: Check out any potential venue ahead of time for a staging area where a few students can easily wait and maybe watch each other play. To avoid stress on young players, you'll want enough students in one venue to easily fill 20 minutes. There is no need for any of them to be pressured to come up with more material.

Students should perform only material that is truly ready. My simple rule of thumb is, "Have they played it successfully in front of me, and others? Do I know they made it across the bridge as discussed in the November issue of Guitar Sessions? If so, then they are probably ready to play at a nursing home or hospital. You may want to refer to "Teaching the Guitar" articles 1-3, in the October, November, and December issues of Guitar Sessions to clarify your perspective.

You can be sure that your students will be loved for showing up and showing interest. Then, if they play well and consequently see joy in someone's eyes, they will experience musical self worth. I have always been amazed at how well people understand the power and presence of music whether performers or listeners- young, old or in between.

By the way, if you do a stop in at your 1 or 2 locations which show interest in your student group, try to get a sense of how loud or quite the setting will be. Keep in mind that due to the "changes brought on by age and" normal hospital circumstances, these are not always the easiest or quietist audiences. Some student players may need to wait to join these outings or simply observe at first. Better a good toe in the water, than the whole foot if it's not right quite yet.

Finally, I prefer to talk to students a good ways ahead of time, asking them to pass the idea on regarding an upcoming performance opportunity. The point is that parents and other involved parties need to be informed well in advance so they are able to contemplate the idea of their child participating in a performance. You may also want to send out a simple announcement about an upcoming performance when you have an idea who might go.

Well, until next time, I am not sure if I had more fun or you did, but thanks for reading. I can only hope you and your students have some performance experiences this spring or summer that qualify as steps to better performances.

From what I have seen over the last 18 years, it is entirely possible for any student to have a peak experience playing music for listeners in the right setting.

John Wunsch

© Copyright 2008 John Wunsch. All rights reserved, used with permission.

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About the Author

John Wunsch has combined his folk roots, classical training, and jazz experience to specialize in solo guitar performances which include a wide range of music from classical tangos and Malagueñas to bluesy renditions of popular music, jazz standards, and gospel-tinged versions of hymns. His original compositions include rhythmic Latin-inspired music, unique fingerstyle 12-string pieces, and heartfelt ballads.

John has released seven recordings and toured extensively, appearing in Europe and Japan as well as the United States. He has appeared in such venues as the Newport Jazz festival, the New York Seagram's Festival, The Philadelphia Seaport Festival, Blues Alley, and the Blue Note. He has been nominated three times for the "Best Instrumental" category of the New York Music Awards and received numerous grants from Meet the Composer, New York State Council for the Arts, Arts Serve, and The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, among others.

John is currently the Instructor of Guitar at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the Director of the annual Interlochen Guitar Institute on the Interlochen Center for the Arts campus. He formerly served as Music Theory Instructor at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Guitar Instructor at Oakland University, and Director of Guitar Studies at Northwestern Michigan College. He studied with Jesus Silva, Nicholas Goluses, Fred Hand, Oswald Rantucci, and in master classes with Maestro Andrés Segovia, Janos Starker, and David Russell.

His music has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, network television's Entertainment Tonight, and in films and documentaries in both the United States and Europe. He has shared performance billings with B.B. King, Dave Brubeck, Kilimanjaro, Special EFX and others.

Critics have described John's work as:

"Pure enjoyment..." (Baltimore Evening Sun)
"Extraordinarily original" (Boston Globe).
"First rate!" (Guitar Player Magazine)
"Subtle and elegant... especially sensitive..." (Frets Magazine)

For more information, bookings, and downloads of recordings please visit:
www.allguitar.com