Sistema from a teacher's point of view and the coolest double reed section ever
Submitted by Patrick Bolduc
Last spring, a friend invited my wife and me for dinner. Little did we know about his agenda! During the evening, he mentioned that the Sistema program run by the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra was looking for a bassoon and an oboe teacher. It just so happens that I am a bassoonist and my wife is an oboist. We never saw this one coming. At the time, we were settled in Ontario, raising our two kids and I was working in a different industry after putting my music career on ice for a few years. The offer would have us leave everything behind and move to Moncton, NB. Now, let me tell you that, as you develop (or wish to) as a professional musician, you picture yourself playing in major cities with a bustling cultural scene. I have to admit that never once did I consider New Brunswick! Anyway, long story short, after many (many, many, many!) sleepless nights, we decided to go for it. We felt that a new challenge would do us good and New Brunswick is bilingual after all so our kids would get more exposure to papa's language.
Fast forward a few months and we find ourselves in Moncton, full of as much excitement as doubts. Did we make a mistake? Am I really going to teach 8 to 10 years old kids from various cultural and economical backgrounds to play bassoon? How many weeks before I go crazy? It seemed quite impossible that kids would get excited about a program that runs EVERY day after school. As a kid, I wanted to play with my friends and run outside after school, not stay at school! Well, not only are those kids coming to us everyday, most are running toward our classes (I know, you're not supposed to run in a school.). And they can't seem to get enough. As a kid, I would look at the clock counting the minutes until we were done. They do the same but because they do not want to be done!
We taught them to read basic rhythms, than not so basic at all. They started showing up for class with pages of rhythms that they composed over the weekend to challenge their friends. There is no homework from Sistema; they are doing it out of sheer enjoyment. We taught them solfege. The progress they made in 3 months is unbelievable. We got some reeds out for them. Surely, they won't be able to hold a decent embouchure before months. Wrong! One of my students even went out and bought a reed for so he could practice at home (they are not allowed to leave with any instrument or accessories). When the instruments showed up and I first put a real bassoon in their hands, it suddenly came clear to me: there is no way those kids can play the bassoon; they are just too small! Close your eyes and try to imagine an 8 years old kid trying to hold a 4 ½ foot tall instrument with his fingers stretched out in impossible angles to reach the 27 keys while maintaining a good embouchure and blowing enough air that it would make most adults dizzy… If you can't imagine it, you feel the way I did! Well, I learned something: those kids can do much more than you would think at first.
It is now early December and we are working toward our first concert for Christmas. Keep in mind that we have had our instruments for just over a month… But it won't show! They want to rehearse until they can barely hold the bassoon upright anymore. We have to force them to take a break. Most of them have our piece pretty much memorized after less than a week. They are the coolest double reed section you can imagine.
Back in September, did I think I'd enjoy the task? Not sure. Did I think I would resent going to work? Possibly. Did I think Sistema was as good as they say in the flyer? Can't possibly be. Well, I was wrong, wrong and wrong. I actually like my job and Sistema is proving to be everything it says in the flyer. Those kids not only are learning to play an instrument but they are gaining in self esteem, confidence and pride. They walk with their head high and want to be the first one to play a new exercise or sing a new solfege in front of their friends. Their eyes are shinning and nothing we throw at them seems challenging enough.
Back to my point of imagining myself in a big city with a lot going on. With so many kids now learning to play an orchestral instrument and such a high level of teachers, I may really well have moved into the next big thing! I can't wait to see the results in a few years when those kids start flooding the music programs in the province and increasing the level of the already awesome New Brunswick Youth Orchestra. It was a weird dinner last spring but I sure am glad we took the plunge!