PRESS RELEASE
The Venice Community Orchestra has joined with the Island
Village Montessori School to enhance the K-9th grade charter
school’s new string instrument instruction initiative. Under the arrangement
between the orchestra and the school, the school will provide weekly rehearsal
space at its North Venice campus, and provide opportunities for beginning music
students to sit in and play along with them. The artistic director and
conductor of the orchestra, Angela Navarro, will also collaborate with the
school’s music director, Peter Simms, to plan programs and concerts that will
entertain and educate the entire student body while providing the valuable
experience to the string students to play side-by-side with seasoned
performers.
At the formal kick-off to the joint program, the Venice
Community Orchestra recently performed a program of classical works and a
sing-along of holiday favorites for 200 of the school’s pupils and faculty.
During the concert’s intermission, two orchestra players, violinist Martin
Himmelfarb and flutist Jeanette Himmelfarb, donated a violin outfit formerly
used by their son David, when he was a beginning player, to the school’s string
training program.
According to school executive director Kym Elder, who also
plays cello in the orchestra, the string program, though only underway for a
few weeks, has already attracted
18 violin students, three cello students and six guitar students, not counting
the children who are taking private lessons. The demand has become so strong
that the school has retained well-known Venice area performer and string
teacher Karen Tuttle to instruct the new string students.
The Venice Community Orchestra was organized in 2011, by
founder John Mabardi, a cello student, to provide a place for players of all
ages and levels, from retired professionals to beginning amateurs, to come
together to have fun making music. Today the orchestra is composed of 20
musicians who rehearse weekly at the IVMS. During its brief existence, one of
its high-school age violinists was hired by the Venice Symphony Orchestra and
an 8-year-old cellist was recruited by the Sarasota Youth Symphony. “There are
no auditions required to join us, just the desire to enjoy making music
together,” the retired corporate executive noted. “Our friendship with the
Island Village Montessori School will be a wonderful experience for our players
and the kids, both.”
Founded in 1976 and established as a Sarasota County charter
school, the Island Montessori School provides individualized education for
students from pre-K through 9th grade. In addition to its core
curriculum in language, humanities, math and science, the school offers
programs in art, music and athletics.
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| Kym Elder, IVMS Executive Director introduces the VCO to the audience |
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| The children are full of enthusiasm in anticipation of the concert |
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Following a most recent performance by the VCO to kick off the joint program between the VCO and IVMS, Kim Elder accepts on behalf of the school, Martin and Jeanette Himmelfarb’s donation of the ¾ size violin that belonged to their son when he was 6 years old.
From left to right, John Mabardi, Founder of the VCO; Angela Navarro, Artistic Director and Conductor of the VCO; Peter Simms, Head of the music program at IVMS, Kym Elder, Executive Director IVMS; Martin and Jeanette Himmelfarb both amateur musicians with the VCO
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Contact:
John Mabardi, Founder VCO
VCOinformation@comcast.net
941 350 0311
