The Percussion Scholarship Program: leading the way for 25 years
Photo credit: Todd Rosenberg
How this Chicago Symphony Orchestra program has been providing a world-class music education that has empowered Chicago’s diverse youth in remarkable ways.
It was a Sunday afternoon in mid August when I had to log in to another Zoom meeting. This time though, it wasn’t your typical meeting. The students of the Percussion Scholarship Program of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra were about to perform their end-of-the-season concert, referred to as Family Day. As the Teaching Assistant of the program, I had not seen some of our students since mid-March when COVID-19 forced the program to stop in-person lessons. Fortunately though, the students had continued taking lessons via Zoom with the directors of the program, Patricia Dash and Douglas Waddell (from the CSO and the Lyric Opera respectively) and I was excited to see their progress.
I was not surprised at all to find out that the students did not miss even a week of lessons when COVID-19 forced a lockdown. Ms. Dash and Mr. Waddell rarely skip a week of instruction. For more than 25 years, they have offered intensive, weekly percussion instruction on a full scholarship basis to students from Chicago. Throughout the 5 years that I have been with the program, I have witnessed how their passion for teaching, commitment, and consistency has led them to outstanding results. Some PSP alumni have gone on to attend some of the best music conservatories and universities in the country. While not all PSP alumni pursue music at a collegiate or professional level, an astonishing 100 percent of PSP alumni have earned acceptance into college – and graduated – since the program was launched in 1995.Recent PSP alumni have attended colleges such as Yale, Princeton, Harvard, University of Michigan and Stanford, and conservatories such as Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, among others.
Watching the Family Day concert from my couch that Saturday afternoon not only made me really impressed by our students’ skills, but it made me reflect on PSP’s social impact. The Summer of 2020 will probably be remembered not just because it was the summer of COVID-19, but also as the summer of social unrest in which people and institutions, including artistic ones, had to reflect on their role in society. Opinion articles in major newspapers and blogs offered ideas on how to promote more equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts – particularly concerning the underrepresentation of people of color in orchestras. Debates arose around these articles, and some well established professional musicians offered their own replies. Other musicians even questioned the role of classical music and opera in our societies.
It was then when I thought that the music world, and the world as a whole, should learn about the PSP. The program not only has had the incredible success that I described above, but additionally their student body is incredibly diverse. They come from all sorts of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds including African American, Hispanic, and Asian American, among others, and they represent the diverse city of Chicago.
When the students meet on Saturdays for lessons or percussion ensemble, they get to know kids from different neighborhoods that they would have never met otherwise. Similarly, the parents interact with each other and have built an unlikely community. In this program, I have gotten to know very committed parents from different walks of life. PSP parents’ careers are as varied as their ethnic backgrounds, ranging in everything from policemen to lawyers, professors, teachers, and computer engineers.
Perhaps the most clear example of the success that PSP can spur is embodied in Josh Jones, a PSP alumni who was recently named the Principal Percussionist of the Kansas City Symphony. Josh is a young African American man who grew up in Englewood, a neighborhood in Chicago that has been plagued by violence and lack of opportunity for years. About 18 years ago, PSP opened its doors to this enthusiastic kid who showed a passion for drumming from a young age. Mr. Waddell and Ms. Dash recognized his talent right away and empowered Josh to grow as a musician and as a person. They encouraged Josh, but they expected him to meet the high standards of their program. Students at PSP are expected to practice 90 minutes daily from the time they begin in the program – usually in fifth grade – and I believe this is one of the secrets of its success. Because of the abilities they develop after just a couple of years in PSP, students are frequently admitted into summer festivals, win young artists competitions, and are asked to perform in radio programs such as “From the Top”. One can only imagine that all of these opportunities help create an incredible sense of possibility in the student’s lives.
Such was the case with Josh. During his time in the program, he was featured in NPR’s syndicated radio show, “From the Top”, “The TODAY Show”, and “Chicago Tonight”. He was also awarded the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, and received second place in the Chicago Symphony Young Artists Competition. Not surprisingly, after his years in PSP, Josh was accepted with scholarships to all of the schools where he applied. After his undergraduate studies, he earned fellowships with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra before getting his first job as Principal Percussionist with the Calgary Philharmonic. After a couple of years in Calgary, Josh won the audition for Principal Percussionist with the Kansas City Symphony earlier this year. He became the only African American percussionist who is currently a member of a major American symphony orchestra.* **
Josh is not the only example of an African American male who has succeeded in this program. The remote Family Day concert was also Sean Edwards’ last concert as a member of PSP. He was the only graduating senior of the program this year and now he is off to New York to attend the Juilliard School under a full tuition scholarship. Sean was the last person to perform, and as you might suspect, his performance was very impressive. He had full technical control of the instruments, and the virtuosity that got him into one of the world’s most prestigious music schools was apparent.
The Percussion Scholarship Program recently presented its 24th annual Spring Recital. Due to social-distancing mandates, the recital took place virtually, where students introduced their pre-recorded pieces along with program commentary from PSP coaches. In this video, Sean Edwards performs the solo part to "Girlfriends Medley," arranged by Bob Becker.
I got to see Sean’s development from up close, and it wasn’t always easy for him. As I have described, the demands of the program can be challenging to keep up. Sean stuck with it for 8 years and eventually started reaping the benefits of his work ethic and discipline. In his last few years with PSP, he was one of the participants on an episode of NPR’s “From the Top”, was awarded the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Young Artist Award, received a scholarship to Interlochen Arts Camp and was a finalist in the CSO’s Crain-Maling Foundation Young Artist Competition. He was also selected to join Carnegie Hall’s distinguished NYO2 and NYO summer orchestral programs.
I am very excited to see what kind of path Sean forges ahead, but I have no doubt in my mind that he has drawn some inspiration from Josh and will always have him as a reference of what is possible. The program has grown to a point where the young students can look up to the older students or alumni and see what they can accomplish if they practice every day, just as their teachers suggest. The same way Sean looked up to Josh, I am sure younger kids are looking up to both Sean and Josh now. There are kids of color starting in the program now that will learn from these two outstanding black men. Hopefully they will follow their lead and join the higher echelons of the classical music world in the near future.
Research has shown that a good music education is an incredibly powerful formation vehicle for kids. It teaches discipline, creativity, resilience, teamwork, and much more. When music education is world class and reaches a large section of a community, the change is meaningful. In times when people and organizations are looking for ways to improve society and make it a more equitable place, I look at PSP as a model, and I hope more institutions and communities will take note.
Even through the distanced celebration of Family Day that Sunday afternoon, I could see PSP was still thriving thanks to the community created by Mr. Waddell’s and Ms. Dash’s vision. We are also grateful for the support from donors and the staff of the Chicago Symphony’s Negaunee Institute, the unconditional encouragement from the students’ parents and the engaged alumni, such as Josh, that are still logging into Zoom to see the progress of the little ones. Because of all these efforts, many kids across Chicago still have an opportunity to dream and start their musical journey.
Usually after every Family Day concert there is a celebration in which the students get to enjoy some pizza and treats as a sort of recognition of their hard work. Even without this happening in person, the PSP family is still strong and the beat goes on. Lessons will proceed remotely for the time being as we wish Sean and Josh best wishes in their ongoing musical journeys.
Simon Gómez Gallego
* I consider a Major American Symphony Orchestra one that is a member of ICSOM. ICSOM is the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians and it includes the largest organizations of its kind.
**I am not considering Jauvon Gillian, who is the timpanist of an ICSOM member orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra. In this statistic he is not technically considered a percussionist.