Assistant Editor Jerry Lindsey wrote this feature; Tyler Sutton supplied the photographs.
One of the significant casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic has been shared creative activities, particularly singing and producing music together. Producing music together as a group carries a certain satisfaction of accomplishment, that goes above just earning a grade in school. The restraints placed on the local school, when music creation was curtailed, have opened new avenues of opportunity for Morrison High School band members.
Students showed understanding when it came to closing the cases of their wind instruments, due to the aerosol generation of various instruments and possible spreading of COVID-19. However, their desire to “make music together” lived on….[They] challenged MHS Band Instructor Tyler Sutton to find an alternative, that allowed them to play music within the restriction of the current virus pandemic.
The Illinois K-12 teaching license requires the Music Instructor to be able to play every instrument that they teach. So, teaching a string instrument to the group of anxious musicians became an option that deserved consideration. Sutton has been a student of the guitar and mandolin for over ten years, Upon School Board approval, he offered students the opportunity to learn string instruments, while wind instruments were labeled “off limits.”
After losing only three band members with the switch, instruments were chosen and rented. The orchestra at Morrison High School was formed. Noting that older students own an advanced physical ability to adapt, Sutton rates the progress to date as “Good” and showing very rapid advancements as the instruments becomes more familiar. He remarked that a recent playing of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” brought many smiles and excited facial reactions from the young orchestra.
Anticipating a steady return to normalcy, the orchestra is hoping to perform a spring concert in May 2021. This concert would introduce the orchestra as well as smaller groups, quintets, and quartets. Each group will hope to create that smile of appreciation for their talent and their desire to “make music together.”
