by Meredith Laing
Older and younger generations, with widely differing life experiences, often have trouble seeing eye-to-eye.
However, through intergenerational orchestras, veterans, baby boomers, and those from generations X, Y, and
beyond come together in harmony.books and I figured it out.”
Three multi-age orchestras, the New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra (NJIO), the Florida Intergenerational
Orchestra of America (FLIOA), and the Emerson Intergenerational Orchestra (EIO), have members ranging from age
five to 95 who work toward a mission of connecting generations though music. Playing everything from Haydn and
Mozart to themes from The Pirates of the Caribbean, these groups prove that music is timeless.
Downbeat
As a teenager, Lorraine Marks, 53, founder of the NJIO and the FLIOA, discovered that she had a lot to learn from her elders. Marks started making music with a group of elderly musicians when her viola teacherinvited her to join him and his friends in their string quartet. Although Marks felt that she was not yet very skilled as a violinist, she remembers that, “Having the opportunity to sit down with them and play along really helped my musicianship. They were very encouraging.”
The older musicians she played with were so encouraging, in fact, that Marks continued to pursue music through college, eventually becoming a public school music teacher in New Jersey. When she found that she needed to seek out new ways to encourage her students to practice, she returned to her intergenerational quartet experience. “I kept thinking, what motivated me to practice and do well? And it was that experience that I had with the older musicians,” she recalls.
Along with some friends and colleagues, Marks started an after school program for string students, which allowed them to play beside older and more knowledgeable musicians. Given the opportunity to see firsthand what they could achieve, Marks found that her students began to work harder and take more of an interest in their instruments.
With funding from the county’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the program grew into what is now the NJIO. Then in 2005, Marks formed the FLIOA after moving to Boca Raton, Florida.
Bill Atkerson, 57, founder of the EIO in Houston, Texas, had a somewhat different inspiration for starting his orchestra. A member of the Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, Atkerson noticed that younger and older church members would sit through the services together but didn’t seem to interact much outside of church. “I wanted to create something where children and adults could work together regularly,” he says.
An orchestra was the natural choice for Atkerson, who has a master’s degree in music. Working primarily as a lawyer,
Atkerson also understood that it can be difficult for those working nine-to-five jobs to find opportunities to make music. He explains, “I thought it would be nice to find an outlet for people to perform, one that wouldn’t be too stressful.”
Harmonize
Music making in an intergenerational setting seems to benefit everyone involved. According to Marks, the benefits for
children include exposure to positive role models, the opportunity to learn from the past, and an understanding of the skills and capabilities of elders. Older adults are able to make new friends with common interests, create meaningful connections with the younger generation, and share their musical knowledge.
Susan Feldman, a 69-year-old cellist, has experienced these benefits during her time with the FLIOA. Feldman played the cello through high school, but hadn’t picked up the instrument in almost 50 years until she joined the orchestra three years ago. Sitting in the back of the cello section, she says that she was nervous and not very confident in her playing at first. Now, she is first cellist and is proud to be a mentor to younger players.
"I see their progress as they sit next to me and try to pick up on what I’m doing, and I feel so proud that I’ve been able to help enrich these young people’s lives,” Feldman says. “The orchestra has given me joy, friends, something to look forward to, and something worthwhile to practice every day.”
One of the most fascinating things about intergenerational orchestras is that typical age roles are sometimes reversed. Atkerson, for example, mentions an adult violinist in the second violin section of the EIO who picked up the instrument after following the lead of his two daughters, both violinists in the first violin section.
"It’s not always young people learning from older people,” agrees Marks. “Sometimes it’s the older people who are learning an instrument, and the kids are their role models. It works both ways.”
The relationships between orchestra members extend beyond music, too. The FLIOA has parties and often takes trips to museums and different cultural events. Marks has noticed musicians getting together for dinner before rehearsals, and Atkerson has organized movie trips for his orchestra.
Lately, Sam Marder, a 13-year-old cellist in the FLIOA, has been spending time with fellow orchestra member Dr. Barry Schwibner, a retired plastic surgeon who also has experience in the movie industry. Together, the two of them are creating and editing a video of some of the orchestra’s concerts. Marder, who has earned the nickname
"Sammy Spielberg,” feels that he’s been able to learn more through the FLIOA than he could have through his school orchestra alone. He explains, “Adults can share theirlife experiences and their morals; they can
pass on the things that they’ve learned.”
Crescendo
The spirit of intergenerational orchestras seems to be contagious. The Emerson Intergenerational Orchestra started with only seven members, but its numbers quickly grew, as church members were inspired to reunite with their old instruments or to try something new. “We have a tuba player who, before he joined the orchestra, hadn’t played in probably 30 years,” Atkerson says about Kevin Harris, 45. Atkerson also tells the story of one flute player, 12-year-old Megen Routbort, who started playing the flute because she wanted to be able to play with the orchestra.
The orchestra now boasts more than 40 members, although Atkerson admits that one of the biggest challenges in directing the orchestra is the instrumentation, which can vary year to year. “We don’t have auditions, so we could end up with the same number of trumpets as violins,” he says with a laugh. Luckily, Atkerson is skilled in composition and orchestration, and is able to arrange music to meet the orchestra’s needs. That way, everyone has an opportunity to play, no matter what his or her instrument or ability level.
Marks too, welcomes anyone and everyone into the orchestras, which have three divisions: beginners, intermediate, and advanced.
NJIO and FLIOA have received an outpouring of recognition since being featured on national television news. In
recent years, the groups have performed at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Capital Building in Washington, DC, and at the International Conference on Aging in Madrid, Spain.
Repeat
Marks, who jokingly calls herself the "intergenerational orchestra guru,” hopes that her orchestras will encourage others to begin similar programs. “I can give my wisdom to others now,” she offers. “I’m happy to do that.”
She wants people to understand that multi-age orchestras are valuable, regardless of their level of artistic prestige. "People always ask me why I have to have that big word—intergenerational —in the name?” she says. “It’s because these orchestras are not only about the music, but about the relationships that are being built.” Atkerson echoes this sentiment. “Our performances are not perfectly polished—but that’s not the point. We just want people to have a good time making music.”
