Concert was an ‘incredible’ night for WBS musicians

An article by Michael Shelton    No Comments

Grammy-award winning violinist, fiddler and composer Mark O’Connor (left) performs with West Bloomfield School District students during a Saturday, Dec. 17 concert. “I am sure that this concert will be one of the biggest highlights of my teaching career, to have my students perform on stage right along with Mark O’Connor,” said Lynn Brosnan, Abbott Middle School’s orchestra director. (Photo submitted by the West Bloomfield School District)

The West Bloomfield High School Auditorium on Saturday, Dec. 17 was alive with the sound of strings from the school district’s orchestra students and a Grammy-award winning musician.

Students from West Bloomfield High School, Abbott Middle School and Orchard Lake Middle School joined Mark O’Connor, a renowned violinist, fiddler and composer, for a special concert program entitled “An American Festival,” a show that was part of a contest won by Abbott students.

“The concert was an incredible experience, one that I hope will stay in the hearts and memories of all who participated,” said Lynn Brosnan, Abbott’s orchestra director. “After the concert, Mr. O’Connor was very complimentary about how well our students performed and their enthusiasm for playing.

“For my Abbott sixth-grade students this was their very first public performance,” Brosnan said. “What a way to start, by being on stage with a multi Grammy-award-winning artist.”

Brosnan previously asked her students to write essays to SHAR, the contest’s sponsor, for the chance to win a performance with O’Connor. Her school ended up being one of only four winners nationally, along with schools in Texas, Florida and North Carolina.

O’Connor is also known for his nationwide fiddle camps.

“It was an honor to win one of four national awards for my string program at Abbott Middle School,” Brosnan said. “Mr. O’Connor worked with the students during the day. He gave them some lessons on bowing technique and a bit of improvising advice.

“All of the music that the students performed was from his method book,” Brosnan added. “His philosophy is that we should use our own American musical heritage to teach music to students.”

The show not only featured O’Connor performing solo, but also music from his O’Connor Orchestra Method, which has been used by violin teachers across the country and encourages improvisation and collaborative engagement.

That set the stage for the show’s grand finale.

“We couldn’t fit everyone on stage, so the bass students, high school students and seventh- and eighth-grade students from Orchard Lake Middle School were performing in the aisles for the grand finale, while all of the cellos and sixth-grade students from Abbott and Orchard Lake (middle schools) and the seventh- and eighth-grade students from Abbott were on stage,” Brosnan said.

“I am sure that this concert will be one of the biggest highlights of my teaching career, to have my students perform on stage right along with Mark O’Connor.”