My definition of an optimist is a 92 year old who goes out and buys a clarinet for himself after participating in one of my Australian summer camps for adults who have never played a musical instrument before and cannot read music. I believe passionately that it is never too late to learn.
So, on my arrival at the start of 2005 as the new Musical Director of the Christchurch School of Music, recruiting some adult students to learn the clarinet seemed an obvious thing to do.
I signed up some CSM parents, I spoke on local and national radio programmes and I even went on CTV’s “Shopping with Jo” and “Good Living” programmes to sell the idea that It Is Never Too Late To Learn.
I wasn’t overwhelmed with numbers but I did start with a group of five adults and soon the word got out that these classes on a Saturday afternoon were not only seriously good fun but very productive and enlightening.
By our annual Showcase Concert on August 19th we had a group of fifteen adults, late starter clarinet players, who were able to walk out onto the stage of the Christchurch Town Hall auditorium and perform to a rapt audience. I had written a piece especially for them called “We Are Putting On A Concert” and in this upbeat piece they were required to play just about all the notes they had learnt with a big clear tone, count bars’ rest, play with dynamics and all in front of an audience of over two thousand people.
I am sure none of these adults at the start of last year ever imagined that they would or could have done this and in fact even now some of them still think it must all have been a wonderful, surreal dream.
Of course the effect on the audience of seeing these not so young people in action meant that lots more mums and dads, grandmas and granddads decided that they wanted to learn. Fortunately they didn’t all decide to learn the clarinet so now at the CSM we have late starter classes in flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, violin, cello and ukulele.
As we redefine the role of the Christchurch School of Music, it is fast becoming a centre for lifelong learning and enjoyment of music. Our Late Starter programmes are growing at a wonderful rate. Adult students will struggle with certain aspects of learning but with the right teaching and encouragement and by setting realistic goals, learning to play an instrument is possible at any time of your life.
In my original class of five we had Cyril, aged eighty, who heard me throw out the challenge on Concert FM. Cyril has listened and loved music all his life but never played or read a note. He is now a valued member of our adult junior woodwind ensemble and doesn’t miss a week. Owen, aged seventy two, also started in the original class and he likes to learn something new and exciting each year. In 2005 he learnt how to fly which he found exhilarating so his 2006 challenge was learning the clarinet. Owen has had various medical problems including the loss of feeling in his left hand so initially it was a challenge for both of us. But Owen’s perseverance made his fingers much more supple so that he can now play fluently down to the lowest note on the clarinet – and he rightfully feels so very proud of himself.
These class are not just about learning how to play a musical instrument, they are about living, laughing and saying to the world “life gets better as you get older”.
It really is never too late to learn!
Mark Walton
CSM Musical Director