The Phoenix Symphony and Salt River High School students perform Side-by-Side for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

One Nation education program gives students the opportunity to learn about music from musicians firsthand

(PHOENIX) - After a semester of music practice and lessons, Salt River students take the stage with The Phoenix Symphony on April 15 for the annual "Side-by-Side" concert performed for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

The Phoenix Symphony, dedicated to developing music education opportunities for students, conducts an after-school residency program at the Salt River High School and Elementary School. This program, entitled One Nation, is a partnership developed between the Symphony and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and is designed to promote cross-cultural awareness and increased access to the music programs offered by The Phoenix Symphony.

Sixty students at the Salt River High School and Elementary School receive private and group lessons with Phoenix Symphony musicians.

"There is not one student who doesn't value his or her lessons and who doesn't thank me sincerely after every lesson," said Lenore Wilkinson, Phoenix Symphony violinist and sixth year One Nation instructor. "Every new concept learned is viewed with excitement, as though a new light just turned on inside of someone's life. I believe that these students are learning to express themselves in new ways, and I see them finding confidence through learning and accomplishment."

Learning and accomplishment are key goals of the One Nation program, and with a belief that an education without the arts is fundamentally lacking, Salt River High School music teacher Chris Wakley is emphatic that, "One Nation has had a huge impact on our students, not just musically but also socially and behaviorally." Each week students are not only receiving private lessons, they are also receiving important mentorship and guidance from Phoenix Symphony musicians.

The culmination of a year of lessons and learning is the Side-by-Side concert on April 15, 3 p.m. at Salt River High School, at 4827 N. Country Club Drive, Scottsdale. The concert begins with selections performed by The Phoenix Symphony. Led by Resident Conductor Lawrence Golan, the performance features movie soundtrack favorites including Star Wars, E.T., and Magnificent Seven. The Salt River music students join The Phoenix Symphony and perform Raiders of the Lost Ark. As the students sit next to their music teachers and mentors, their eyes will be shining with pride in their accomplishment.

One Nation Education Program Background
Through a series of Master Clinics and performances in the pilot 2000-01 season, the Symphony utilized its resources to enhance the fundamental music education programs of the Community's elementary and secondary schools while simultaneously reaching new audiences in the Native American community.

During the inaugural season, the program served more than 600 students and community members. Based on successful feedback on the pilot year from both partners, and with support from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Symphony and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community expanded the program into a school-year-long residency during the 2001-02 season. Supplementing the pilot year's activities, regularly scheduled private lessons with members of the Symphony were built into the program, along with increased opportunities for concert attendance, both in the Community and in downtown Phoenix at Symphony Hall.

Entering its seventh year in 2006-07, this partnership between The Phoenix Symphony and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is a project designed to increase access to the Symphony's programs and performances for a broader community. This program builds relationships in a manner that develops new audiences for the performing arts and enhances the fundamental music education programs of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community's schools. This program is supported, in part, by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and Cox Communication, with additional support from Fry's Food Stores.