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A Few Clouds Summer Strings players express themselves in Sea Cliff
Below the high ceilings of St. Luke’s Parish Hall, a clutter of half-open instrument cases created a maze on the linoleum floor. Power cords and colorful cables attached to amps and electric guitars snaked around chairs and music stands in a dizzying pattern.
With the point of a finger, the conductor signaled his orchestra to place their bows upon their strings. And with a sharp flick of a wrist, the students began playing a gloriously melody.
Members of the local music group Summer Strings were preparing for their annual concert that was to take place at Hofstra University’s Adams Playhouse on Wednesday night. The Sea Cliff-based program offers aspiring area musicians as young as 7 an opportunity to practice, play and perform with middle and high school students and sharpen their stringing skills.
Summer Strings was founded by music teacher Matthew Schneider, of Sea Cliff after the financial crisis of 2008. Watching school districts make cuts to arts programs he knew he had to do something. “Every year they got pink slipped, so I decided to go on my own,” he said. Schneider opened Summer Strings in 2012 with only two students. Within a year, it grew to 70 stringers.
The program offers classes for beginners in orchestral music, as well as two performance groups, the Sea Cliff Stringers and the Rockestra, that are featured in the annual concert.
“The idea was to make the kind of program I would’ve enjoyed as a kid,” Schneider explained. “While I have experience in classical music, I also love playing in rock and jazz bands.”
Rather than adhering to a “boxed-in curriculum” commonly found in an orchestral repertoire, the students learn a variety of pop, jazz and rock songs, which Schneider arranges to fit each student’s skill level. The selections expose students to a range of artists like Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews, Tom Petty, John Mayer, and even Antigone Rising.
“It’s a way for the kids to experience music differently,” he said. “Everybody has a challenge in front of them, and each child is looking at music that’s doable. It’s challenging but they reach for it.”
The most exciting thing about Summer Strings, Schneider said, is watching the students learn from one another. “You have these seven, eight, and nine-year-olds playing with teenagers; they learn from their peers’ things they can’t learn from adults,” he said. “That aspect of it is very special.”
Sea Cliff resident Brendan Miller, 13, has been playing with Summer Strings since the beginning. He said that learning music outside of school with more advanced artists is a great way to grow as a musician. “It’s good to have all that experience and people near you to help you out and give you advice,” he said.
This year’s guest artist was Troy Ramey, a former contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.” He moved to the village three years ago and was approached by Schneider to perform with Summer Strings.
“As soon as I learned about it I was on board immediately,” Ramey said. “I grew up in Vermont in a town that really supported the arts, and I remember that being such an integral part of my life and kind of shaped the direction of my life.”
Ramey said the skills students develop through Summer Strings could help them pursue music later in life. “If you have the knowledge as a youngster, it’s going to be much easier,” he said. “It’s a really important way for kids to be creative and get that energy out and explore different parts of their minds.”
Opening the students up to these possibilities also creates an emotional connection to the music as well. “Creating something that doesn’t exist and making it successful is very powerful,” Schneider said. “When they connect to other kids in the context of making music, they do things they were never able to do. I’ve seen that every year.”
For more information about Summer Strings, visit www.seacliffmusic.com.
