Friendships Bloom in a Culturally Diverse Arts Program

By Leila Javitch

Kestrel Thorne-Kaunelis )left) and Michalah Reid practice outdoors as part of the Norfolk Summer Program for Music and Theater.

If, as they say, the future lies in the hands of our children, music lovers in Connecticut just may be lucky. This August, youngsters from Norfolk and the Hartford Magnet Middle School spent two weeks living, eating and working together here in Norfolk. During this time they rehearsed intensely for a play and string orchestra performance, which were jubilantly performed on the 16th of the month. Organized by Pat Daly, the Norfolk Summer Program for Music and Theater offered training in string playing and acting. Emily Werne, Ms. Daly’s daughter, and Katie Daly, her mother, acted as chefs and[R1] Norfolk parents contributed in many invaluable ways including hosting the visiting inner city children and providing transportation when needed. The theater students were directed by Bruce Connelly, an actor known across the country for his role as Barkley the Dog on Sesame Street, and known in Norfolk for productions he has directed at the Botelle School[R2]. The youngsters, ranging in age from 11 to 14, were invited to apply based on teachers’ recommendations for the entirely free program. All of the string players had studied with Ms. Daly, who is a violist with the Hartford Symphony and who initiated Botelle School’s violin program. She is director of the orchestra program at the Hartford Magnet Middle School where eight of the children study[R3]. Every day was packed with activities: music or theater rehearsals in the morning and individual coaching and group activities in the afternoon. The latter included hiking to Haystack, and fishing and swimming at Tobey Pond. Quieter occupations included a writing workshop (each participant was asked to keep a daily journal) and library visits. There was even a trip to the 4H Fair in Goshen[R4] to see Snowflake, a heifer belonging to classmate Larry Wilcox Many of the string players have been studying for four or five years. Those with the most music training were selected to form a quartet. The entire orchestra learned a piece especially written for them by Norfolk’s Kim Scharnberg. It was then incorporated into a play written by Mr. Connelly, which was an adaptation of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer[R5].” The extremely motivated children made dramatic improvement over the two weeks. During rehearsals their attention and focus hardly faltered. With the exception of a few groans of embarrassment over a missed note or a forgotten line, they behaved like older professionals. One parent, Jim Thorn-Kaunelis, was delighted with the artistic strides his two children had made, but said that the most important benefit was that of the kids of different backgrounds getting to know each other. “Norfolk isn’t known for its diversity,” he succinctly put it. His sixth grade daughter Kestral seconded her father’s view saying that her favorite part of the program was making a new friend, Sonia Morant, who shared her bunk bed. Together the diverse band of children built a remarkable rapport of community. Initially they were quiet, polite and watchful of each other. However, by the second week they were totally in “mixed mode.” Playing a variety of indoor games on a rainy afternoon, they moved in and out of pairings and groupings with ease and friendship. When asked what they liked best about the program, “making new friends” and “playing in a quartet” were the most common responses. Ms. Daly plans to repeat this program next summer. She received generous support this year from several organizations including the Norfolk Children’s Foundation, the Battell Stoeckel Associates and the Hartford Magnet Middle School, and there are additional foundations who have expressed interest in keeping the program tuition-free. She would like to increase her budget so that she can hire someone to take charge of non-performance activities, plus an additional music coach. She summarized the experience by saying, “I consider this first year to be a great success and was particularly pleased with the way new friendships were formed through enthusiastic participation in creating music and theater.” [R1]What else did they do? [R2]How many productions/years? [R3]What time did the day begin and end? [R4]Was this a first-time rural experience for some of the kids? [R5]Name of the play