Residency at Belmont Day School

Last month, we spent two weeks being schoolteachers. We were the artists-in-residence at Belmont Day School, where Emily and Julie went to school when they were kids. Their parents were kind enough to let us live with them during that period in Cambridge, MA. This was fantastic because between Debby Bruskin’s fantastic cooking and Sam Bruskin’s extensive CD and wine collection, we were fairly happy coming home after a long day of work!

We spent our days at the school, working with each class (pre-Kindergarten to Grade 8) on music. We incorporated many ideas and themes, including how to listen to music, the history of the piano trio, as well as improvisation and composition! It was really rewarding to be able to work with the students as we saw all of them more than once during our two-week stay. We even played with some of the students in their school assembly, which was really fun.

The students and staff at Belmont Day School welcomed us with open arms and open minds. They made me feel like a part of their family, even though I had never attended as a student. Students came to us with gifts and food, and here is an example of a wonderfully sweet card made by a little girl.

Note how the instruments all have happy, smiley faces!

We even had a snow day! Having grown up in Vancouver, we did not get too many snow days, so this was really exciting for me. Everything was so beautifully covered in a blanket of white snow. This was a view out of the bedroom where I stayed (thanks, Amanda!).

While we were in the Boston area, we also visited our friends at WGBH. We recorded a live performance and in-studio interview with Cathy Fuller, which will be aired next month. WGBH had moved into a new location recently and the studio was beautiful and airy, with a beautiful new piano.

On the right, Emily and Julie are pictured with the members of the beginner string ensemble at Belmont Day School, along with the wonderful String Instrumental Music Director, Debra Thoresen. It was such a treat and so much fun to work with the young students!

Having spent two weeks living the life of a schoolteacher, I gained a new appreciation for teachers. It is a wonderfully rewarding job, but it takes absolute devotion, time, patience and energy to inspire young people.