Oct. 16, 2023
WOLF fifth-grader Izzy Wilkins sits tall and proud in her chair, clutching her cello. She checks the placement of her fingers on the strings, looking at her sheet music and smiling as she begins.
“It’s fun to play instruments and learn new things,” she says. “I think it’s really cool because my brother plays in orchestra too, and I wanted to learn. He plays bass, but I play the cello.”
Izzy is one of hundreds of SPS fifth-graders in the fifth grade orchestra program at Springfield Public Schools. Since the 1960s, SPS has offered orchestral music to elementary students, first in grades 3-5, then in 1991, exclusively in fifth grade. SPS is one of the only districts in Southwest Missouri to offer instrument music education to elementary students.
For more than 25 years, Juliana Georgiades has been teaching orchestra students at SPS, in both the classroom and private lessons. Her journey in orchestra began as a third-grader in her Pennsylvania home school district.
“The way I learned the violin is similar to the SPS fifth grade orchestra program, with small groups of interested students pulled out of their regular classrooms to study with a specialized music teacher twice a week,” she says. “Now, I love teaching strings because I get to see students joyfully grow from playing pizzicato on open strings to becoming accomplished, confident musicians, capable of moving from middle to high school orchestras, the Springfield Youth Symphony, All-State Orchestra and beyond.”
Brandon Huddleston is one of those former SPS strings students who went on to do big things. He began playing violin at Portland Elementary School, going on to play at Jarrett Middle School and Parkview High School. After high school, he pursued a degree in music composition, composing music for Hollywood for years. When the pandemic began, his opportunities ended, and he became a substitute teacher, subbing as a music teacher at Weller Elementary School.
There, he rediscovered a love for music education, and now teaches orchestra at Pleasant View K-8 School and its feeder schools. In his classroom, he teaches a high standard of excellence, poise and confidence, as well as a general love of music -- all things he learned from SPS orchestra teacher Esther Clifton at Jarrett and Parkview.
“Orchestra has a high standard and an aura of excellence, and it can fully envelop students in a sense of belonging,” he says. “In every note, we act as one, and we play together, so I teach my students to be young professionals individually and as a group. Posture, body language, the way we dress, these are skills we have to learn to represent ourselves well. In addition to a love of music, that’s what orchestra taught me.”
Surrounded by eight students at a magnet school, orchestra teacher Jamie Brown tightens bows, tunes violins and constantly encourages students to try again -- and try again.
“Fifth-grade orchestra is the beginning of being an instrumentalist,” she says. “No matter where these students go, learning dexterity, reading music, hand placement, these are all core skills for band, orchestra, choir and beyond. Fifth-grade orchestra opens up students to a world of music, and I’m so glad we offer it.”
In total, more than 700 fifth-graders at SPS participate in Fifth Grade Orchestra across more than 40 schools. But after more than 75 years, the history -- and impact -- of the SPS Fifth Grade Orchestra program remains the same, says Jessica Wagner, fine arts coordinator at SPS.
“Fifth Grade Orchestra helps students to become curious, confident listeners and performers of music,” she says. “It’s not about mastery, it’s about discovery."
