http://www.mountvernonmusic.org/publicfiles/MVM_2011_Scholars___Performance_Winners.pdf

http://www.frontporchnewstexas.com/mtvernonmusicmiddleschool102010.htm

The Paris News

by Krista Goerte

Published September 29, 2010

Classical music is often looked upon as a dinosaur in a world where modern musical styles from country, to easy-listening to rap have become the mainstay.

Children grow up listening to new, popular styles of music and the rich musical history and traditional forms and influences are often hidden behind its onslaught.

Although the term “classical” music in fact refers to a specific time frame in our musical history dating from approximately 1720 to 1830, the term generalizes music that began in Medieval Europe in the 500s all the way to music composed today.

Classical music is often thought of as dated, and influences from the Gregorian chants of monks in monasteries to polyphonic development in the Renaissance period, to the composing greats Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Jean Sibelius and Claude Debussy, in modern times have often been ignored.

Groups like Mount Vernon Music embrace the classical tradition in all its many forms and transitions, and through its outreach program, are enabling others to experience it as well.

Founders of the non-profit outreach program, husband and wife Mark and Ute Miller, made their second trip to Paris Monday, playing for residents at Paris Healthcare Center and Brentwood Terrace Healthcare and Rehab Center. The violin/viola duet performed a series of short pieces originating from all over the world, dating from early musical periods to the modern.

Throughout the performance, the two explained from where and when the music originated, the thought behind the composition, and what it is to represent to the listener.

Avid listeners were taken on a musical journey from America to Hungary, Germany, Austria and France before closing with modern ragtime pieces and a version of “Amazing Grace.”

Now in its fifth year, the group of professional musicians has spread its reach all over Northeast and East Texas, playing for audiences who might not otherwise be able to experience quality live music. The musicians play at places such as nursing homes, retirement centers and schools.

The group has grown to about 10 musicians, including a flute and harp duo, a cellist, pianist, violin and viola duo and bass player. Outreach performances are scheduled for every month at different locations.

“We’ve sent musicians to you name it, all over the region, from Tyler all the way up to Omaha, Hughes Springs, Greenville, Daingerfield, Mount Vernon, Sulphur Springs — we’ve covered a lot of ground,” Mark said.

With the recent acquisition of a matching grant from the Texas Commissioner of the Arts, the Millers said the program now has great potential for more growth. Primarily serving seniors and those confined to a residence at present, the couple said the grant money will allow them to reach out more to the schools, one of the original components of the program.

Mark came up with the idea of starting the outreach program when his parents entered assisted living and then nursing care.

“Music speaks to a different part of the human being, and frequently people who are in long-term care have needs that are just not met day in and day out to meet those needs, because those people can’t communicate. Music, I think, can address that on a different level. They get nourishment for their spirit through the music that they can’t otherwise get.”

“We believe that music is not just the icing on the cake of life, where everything else is more important,” Ute said. “We do believe that music is a birthright, and that everybody has a need for it. Sometimes people don’t know it, but they do. We are trying to address that.”

“That’s why we don’t just have concerts in Mount Vernon Music Hall, which we do every month,” Mark said. “But we think it is important to bring it out to people who can’t make it there because why should someone have to do without music just because they are sick or they can’t get out of their residence.”

The group has developed a diverse program to cater to different tastes of music and familiarities, both through the outreach program and concerts at Mount Vernon Music Hall.

Ute said Mount Vernon Music feels it is a responsibility to forward the classical music style in today’s world.

“We are trying to expose them to what else is there,” she said.

“We try to level the playing field without being anti any kind of music,” Mark said. “We’re not here to oppose anything, we try and offer that part of the menu that has dropped off the page.”

Mark and Ute said they both grew up in small, rural communities and now realize how far people must travel to experience classical music in all its varied forms.

Mount Vernon Music can be found online at www.mountvernonmusic.org. Organization memberships and donations go toward the outreach program.

OVERTURE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I39j_MgcN8g

EXPOSITION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K31b2jWIg0Q

DEVELOPMENT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUsori9v7y8

RECAPITULATION http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOo0LfCG32o