Making the Grade: ASO program has student musician apprenticeships

“They brought us into a lab filled with orchestra instruments, and I loved the viola,” said the Fayette County High senior. “It had the deepest, richest tone. I had never played before, but that’s where my appreciation for music started.”

Through his music teacher, Farquharson heard about an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra initiative to give African-American and Latino students the chance to attend concerts for free. He also learned about the ASO’s Talent Development Program, a rigorous route that requires a substantial commitment from students who well may be the orchestra leaders of the future.

Farquharson auditioned for the program twice before he was finally accepted as an eighth grader. Since then, his music has become the primary focus of his studies: he plays in the school orchestra and with the Atlanta Youth Symphony, and he takes a private master class with a symphony member at least once a week.

“I spend between two and five hours every day on music,” he said. “My goal is to major in music at a conservatory and then be in a professional string quartet or a symphony.”

For students determined to make music their lives, TDP can give them the foundation they need. Now in its 22nd year, TDP has evolved from its initial mission, which was to diversify the ASO’s audience and increase the number of students of color who were joining the youth orchestra.

“They achieved that purpose and more, and our goals are different now,” explained Adrienne Thompson, who became the program manager in February after having shepherded her own three children through it. “This is not an extra activity; it’s an apprenticeship.”

Students in fourth through ninth grade who play an orchestral instrument are invited to audition. If accepted, they’ll have a weekly session with an ASO musician, participate in an ensemble such as the youth orchestra and agree to attend a summer camp. Once a year, they’ll play for a jury of professionals who will give feedback, and students and their families will work out a specific set of goals to ensure progress. All of the work is designed with a the objective to get students in a top-tier music school and on their way to becoming professional musicians.

“In the last four years, we’ve started working with students on that planning,” said Thompson. “We’ve had about 75 students stay with us through to high school graduation, but others have dropped out when they decided not to pursue music as a career.”

The program is free for the 25 students from around the metro area who are accepted. The funding comes from the ASO operating budget and fundraisers, including the program’s annual musicale slated for Nov. 15. The event features performances by TDP students, guests musicians and TDP alumni who have gone on to prestigious music programs such as those at Carnegie Mellon University and the New England Conservatory.

For oboe player Mekhi Gladden, a junior who attends North Springs High, TDP has put him on the road to achieving his goal to play with a major symphony.

“I didn’t know much about the orchestra world at first, but I saw the benefits of this program once I auditioned,” said Gladden, who has been in the TDP program since ninth grade and also formed a woodwind ensemble at school. “But now that I’m serious, music has taken a focus in my life.”