In our house we have "The Boys" which refer to Jonah and Noah and "The Girls" which refer to Rachel and Jackie. Twin girls that I started in band in the 5th grade and then started private lessons with after I quit teaching in public school. We have had lessons about once a week, sometimes once every two weeks, for the last three years. (Our longest hiatus was when Mae was born...) This includes through summer vacations.
Watching them grow and develop as musicians over the past five years has been incredible. As a director of a band you see growth in a lot of students over the years. But working with them privately opens up a whole new world. I don't get to watch them bloom just as musicians, but as girls growing into women.
They do not come from what many would consider the "best" circumstances. Adopted at 18 months here in Lewiston they moved to Texas. (They are, of course, big TCU fans!) Then before 4th grade they moved back to Lewiston. I first saw them when I was doing the band preview speech the spring of their 4th grade year. They were absolutely the *cutest* little girls I had ever seen. Identical twins. Very polite. Very energetic. After I had given my whole spiel one of them said, "Um, we want to play the violin." Oh no!! We do not have a strings program in Lewiston and even when we did, I did not teach it. But I knew that I wanted these girls. "Come to the show and try and we'll find something for you to play in band!"
They did and were sold on the french horn. The school was able to provide TWO free french horns for them to use. (They are also very low on the financial side of matters.) Amazingly enough I had a student teacher both semesters of their 5th grade year so I was able to pull them out to work with just them very often during that first year of band. Since they don't have a lot to do at home, or the means to go out and do a lot of things, they started practicing. A lot. And it showed. They were into book II of our band series by the end of the year and showed no signs of slowing down.
During sixth grade they just kept right on going. My maternity leave was the end of that year. I had heard that they were going to have to go to school at Lapwai the next fall due to a move that they had to make to different housing. I was devastated. Here were these two phenomenal musicians who were about to go into a music wasteland. Bob had left there the year before and his replacement left a lot to be desired musically.
So I contacted their mother in hopes that I could give them free, private lessons to make sure they were still challenged. She readily agreed to this arrangement. It would mean a lot of extra driving and waiting long hours after work for her, but was worth it in her mind.
The day before school started their seventh grade year I received a call from their mom. Low and behold they had found different housing in Lewiston and would be going to Jenifer. She was wondering if I would still do lessons. Of course!! I was going to miss having them in band but I wouldn't have to miss helping them become better musicians. We started the next week.
After a year of doing lessons on just the french horn they decided they wanted to be in jazz band. Now, I was the kind of teacher who let pretty much any instrument be in jazz band, but even I would have said no to french horns. They read completely different music and it is a huge headache writing out parts for all of the songs. So, if that wasn't an option they wanted to learn to play the trombone. I just happened to have two extra trombones whom no one was using, so we started up lessons on the trombone also. And after a year of those lessons they auditioned and made the junior high jazz band for their 9th grade year.
These girls are amazing. They practice both instruments on average of 30 minutes a day. It is like pulling teeth to get "average" kids to practice 30 minutes a WEEK! If I tell them to practice something particular and they don't, I call them on it. And then they fix it. I am hoping to get them into college on scholarships when they are done with high school. With maybe a few stops at All-State along the way.
In the 7th grade they wanted to try some different sports. Decided it didn't really work for them and decided to focus on their music. And? Just before Christmas we received my Grandmother's upright grand that had been at my Aunt's in New Mexico. When the moving van got here with the piano they loaded up our piano and took it up to the girls. Their Christmas gift from me? Beginning piano books. I have all of the faith in the world that they will be as proficient on the piano as they are on the french horns and trombones.
It is students like this that make teaching worth while. Thanks, girls.
Their mom works at a local nursing home so they go often (at least five or six times a year) to play for the residents. I join them when I can. Such as at Christmas. The residents LOVE them. After we played our trombone trio I had a piano student play a few songs. The resident I sat down next to leaned over and said, "They ARE going to play their french horns aren't they?"
Having them play at the nursing home really helps with their self confidence and self motivation. They normally pick out the duets and practice them with just a bit of guidance from me. They now know if they make mistakes it's not the end of the world. They are going to be MUCH BETTER performers than I ever was or could hope to be.
The last few years they have joined us for our Christmas production at church and our Christmas Eve service. After enjoying themselves they have now started coming to our church! This past Sunday was their first day. I am hoping that they enjoy themselves and continue to attend.
"The Girls" and their mom, Michelle.
