Photo Credit: Rensselaer/Daria Robbins

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Announces Purchase of Instruments for Troy School District

This spring, beyond the aroma of fresh cut grass and blooming flowers, music is in the air. After being silent for 40 years, the sound of string music — violins, violas, and cellos — can be heard throughout the halls of three elementary schools located in the Enlarged City School District of Troy, N.Y., thanks in part to a partnership with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Rensselaer held a press conference today to announce its purchase of 55 string instruments that have provided the Troy School District with an opportunity to reinstate its string instrument and orchestra program for third and fourth grade students in Public Schools 12, 16, and 18. A total of 45 students are enrolled in the program.

The event — held on the Rensselaer campus in the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center Concert Hall — featured remarks by Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson; Johannes Goebel, director of EMPAC; and Fadhilika Atiba-Weza, superintendant for the Troy School District and Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian.

“Last summer, we learned through a newspaper article that the Troy School District had to abandon its elementary school string instrument and orchestral program 40 years ago — in 1969 — because of financial issues,”  said President Jackson. “Last summer, also, Rensselaer was preparing to open this important research and education center focused on performing arts, and animated by the latest research capabilities. It seemed to us that it was imperative for the children of Troy have the opportunity to learn about and experience the joy of creating music.”

In remarks to the audience, President Jackson also noted that Rensselaer is committed to the Troy community. “As The Rensselaer Plan emphasizes, ‘Greatness in a university is inextricably linked to the vitality of the region in which it is situated.’  We believe that enabling string instrument instruction for students attending Troy’s elementary schools strengthens our community, and makes it an even more attractive place to live and raise children.”

“This generous donation from Rensselaer will have a long lasting impact on the students that will benefit from the purchase of these instruments,” Tutunjian said. “As the Mayor of Troy I am thrilled with both the expansion of the music programs in the district which I graduated from, and the investment Rensselaer has made today. We can all see the physical improvements the school has made to our City in the past few years, but this gesture, an investment in our children, and our future, carries just as much weight.”

Rensselaer purchased the instruments from Northeast Music Inc., a company based in Latham, N.Y. The new strings instruments — totaling more than $24,000 — were delivered directly in February and March to the Troy Schools and include 25 violins, 16 violas, and 14 cellos. The district also hired an instructor for the program.

“I personally had my greatest music education when I was an exchange student from Germany attending a high school in Los Angeles, Calif., that included daily one hour classes in concert choir and music history,” said Goebel, an internationally known curator and composer.

“As a parent, one of our children attended Troy High School for a few years, and I learned a little more about the situation facing Troy schools,” he said. “But when I read the newspaper article last year, and learned how arts education has been impacted in our own community, it made me more aware of what has been lost. With EMPAC under construction at the time, it was a signal coming from Rensselaer that a new era focused on integrating and supporting arts, music, and technology was on its way. It also provided a wonderful opportunity to establish a partnership with the school district to revive their program and plant seeds for connecting students and their families to Rensselaer and EMPAC.”

“The Troy City School District is honored to be the recipient of Rensselaer’s most generous commitment to purchase string instruments,” said Fadhilika Atiba-Weza, the district’s superintendent of schools. “The gathering here today at EMPAC highlights a collaborative effort between the university and the district to keep the arts alive and well in Troy’s public schools. This is a unique opportunity for our young musicians to perform in an unprecedented experimental center dedicated to the integrated pursuit of the performing arts and sciences.”

Superintendent Atiba-Weza also stated that while the strings program has been introduced to three of the six elementary schools in the district, they are optimistic that it will expand to include the three remaining schools in the near future. 

The partnership also provides Rensselaer with an opportunity to encourage young children to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Many have heard President Jackson speak of the “Quiet Crisis” in America — the growing gap between the nation’s increasing need for scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to mitigate national and global challenges, and the rate at which we are educating young people in these disciplines. Through Rensselaer’s pre-college pipeline initiatives and partnerships, the Institute is committed to educating the next generation of leaders in these fields.

“Music enables students to learn about—and experience — fractions, ratios, symmetry, geometric shapes, and patterns,” President Jackson added. “These skills have proven extremely valuable in understanding complicated math concepts introduced later in their academic careers. Music students learn about the science of sound and acoustics, the engineering of instruments for the finest sound, and the teamwork required for playing an orchestral composition. They, also, enhance their cultural and cross-cultural awareness. They appreciate the beauty of music. They enjoy it.”

Following remarks, the audience got a chance to hear a group of 21 budding musicians as they debuted their first official concert. Led by Kenneth Kelly, strings music teacher for the district, the students played three songs, including “Ode to Joy,” “Lightly Row,” and the classic childhood favorite “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” and variations.

Each of the students also will perform during their respective school’s end-of-year concerts planned for May and June. 

“Today is a wonderful day to celebrate the revival of the strings program in the Troy schools and the students are excited about using the new instruments,” said Rhonda Hermance, performing arts curriculum leader for K-6 grades and a music teacher for the Troy district. “This was really a community endeavor that will serve to introduce an entire culture of music to our students, and create future opportunities for them to pursue playing in the high school orchestra or school musicals. Students will come away from this experience as better learners because the process of improving musicianship requires, practice, focus, attention to detail, and physical coordination, which are beneficial qualities to improving academic success.”