Music filled The Church of Saint Gregory, 330 N. Abington Road in Clarks Green, as 28 youths in grades 5 to 12 came together to create music through the church’s String Program.
The students participating in the String Program came from Saint Gregory’s and outside the church on Wednesday evenings throughout August. They played violin, viola and cello, and have been playing their instruments from a year to more than 12 years.
“This is the first String Project and the first offering in the church’s new Music in the Green program,” said Danny Marx, director of worship and mission at The Church of Saint Gregory. “This program’s goal is to encourage people of all ages to explore the joy of making music together. Involving the youth in our area has always been part of the mission of our music program here at Saint Gregory’s. We have had success in previous years with our children’s choir but an instrumental group never quite got off the ground.
As the names of more and more talented young musicians particularly string players were shared with me, the idea of a youth string ensemble seemed feasible. Since there is still uncertainty surrounding the return of vocal ensembles this fall due to COVID, this String Project was a safe way to make music together.”
Adam Paranich is entering 9th grade at Abington Heights High School, and was admitted into the Abington Heights Honors Orchestra where he will play the violin. He also plays in the Sinfonia Youth Orchestra.
“I joined the String Program because I wanted to further gain experience playing the violin,” he said “I’ve been playing the violin for about 2 years and any opportunity to gain more experience — especially in group playing — showed itself to be a great opportunity for me,” Paranich explained.
Leah Valenches is the co-director of the String Project. Her late husband, Fritz Valenches, founded the Sinfonia Youth Orchestra over 30 years ago.
Danny Marx has been an accompanist for this orchestra. She runs the Valenches Music Company, where she privately teaches violin and viola, runs the Sinfonia Youth Orchestra and freelances as a violinist.
“When Danny Marx gave me the opportunity to help kick off a new youth orchestra project, I jumped at the chance,” she said. “When I teach another human, especially a child, to play the violin or viola and their eyes become wide with excitement because they realize that yes, they can do this incredible difficult thing if they focus and maintain their efforts over a long period of time, they get inspired and that’s what makes my heart soar. When a child becomes part of an orchestra, it’s a given that their musical skillset will improve. However, what excites me most, is watching them learn to function as a community working together for the good of the group. That’s building their human skillset.”
“I have thought about a program like this for a while, and happily Danny Marx and Leah Valenches helped make it happen,” said Mary Kay Kuzma, co-director of the String Project. “We haven’t had any middle school concerts for a year-and-a-half, so this is a great way for the students to ease back into playing with a group.”
Kuzma teaches 5th through 8th grade orchestra at Abington Heights Middle School and has been teaching in the district since 1998. She has also taught in both private and public schools in Scranton. In addition, she teaches privately and has done so for over 40 years, and plays freelance violin in and around the area, including at The Church of Saint Gregory.
“I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a rehearsal and was delighted to experience young people from our area, including several young members from the Church of Saint Gregory, sharing their time and talent in such a wonderful way,” said the Rev. John Lapera, pastor at the Church of Saint Gregory.
“The students have many different ability levels,” said Kuzma. “It is extremely beneficial for all these ages and abilities to come together like this and share knowledge with each other. It is not about playing all the notes, it’s more of a community feeling and joy they get when the music comes together.”
“The students learned some new music, ranging from sacred to pop, and they are learning the techniques and intricacies involved with playing in an ensemble setting,” said Marx. “Music is such an important dimension in the lives of young people, whether singing, playing an instrument or even just listening. Offering young people the opportunity to share their love of music in a positive, encouraging community will hopefully inspire them to continue to love music, share music and make music for years to come.”
The String Program concluded with a pre-Mass performance at The Church of Saint Gregory on Aug. 29 prior, to an outdoor Mass.
