Foundation provides violin lessons for kindergartners

laura emerson/viewInstructor Andrew Travers, left, assists Sunrise Acres Elementary School kindergartner Luiz Ruiz during a violin lesson sponsored by the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians at the East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., Jan. 12. Advertisement

Inside a small room at the East Las Vegas Community Center, tiny musicians stand tall with their bows at the ready.

Andrew Travers, a cellist for the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and Antonio Dias, a violinist, are teaching five kindergartners to hold a bow properly. Small violin cases lined with royal blue velvet sit open at the children's feet, with kid-size instruments resting inside.

The two men continue to lead the group through a series of exercises that will help the little ones with hand dexterity.

After the regimen, Dias leads the group in a call-response playing activity that will teach the children to play by ear initially. Intermittently, Travers and Dias help the children with a proper playing stance, as well.

"If we're like this, we're like a ballerina," Travers tells kindergartner Melanie Nava.

The students, who hail from Sunrise Acres Elementary School, 211 N. 28th St., attend the music lessons free of charge thanks to the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians. The organization, led by trustee Hal Weller, seeks to help youngsters succeed in the musical arts. In all, 16 kindergartners from the elementary school take lessons.

Joana Martin and Zitlaly Esparza are among the students who receive violin tutelage from the foundation. The girls said they enjoy their lessons very much.

"It's cool," Joana said.

The Sunrise Acres piece of the puzzle began out of a friendship between retired Sunrise Acres Principal Arturo Ochoa and Weller. The two men had met previously when Ochoa was running violin lessons for kindergartners at his campus with the help of the 21st Century Grant. Weller stopped by to watch the lessons when he could. At the time, Weller was the conductor and founding music director of the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

"He had this big smile on his face," Ochoa said. "It was just such a gratifying thing to have support from the community."

Eventually, the violin program at the elementary school was cut, and the 80 instruments were put in storage.

Years later, both men are "retired" and working together to bring music back to the children at Sunrise Acres with the help of volunteer instructors and the instruments that previously were stored away.

"These kids and their parents, that's where it's at," Weller said. "I think the primary goal is to develop self-esteem."

Weller and Ochoa hope to expand their kindergarten music program into other elementary school campuses across the Las Vegas Valley. That can happen if the foundation is able to pay teachers in the future.

"I'm not a rich man at all, so I'm relying on people to step up and help the program," Weller said. "I'm convinced that the arts are a savior for especially underprivileged kids."

Weller's goals for the program include giving young people an ear for classical music, building discipline and developing young artists.

At the East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave., the students take both group and semi-private lessons from the professional musicians on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One parent or guardian is required to attend all lessons with his or her child and take an active part in their musical education.

Bertha Picazo's son, Jesus Romero, takes the violin lessons.

"It's very important, and it can help a lot with their studies," Picazo said.

Frequently throughout the one-hour class, Picazo was right behind her son, helping him with his violin progress. She said the lessons may help open up a new world of possibilities for her son, including a career path in the arts.

"We encourage the parents to be a part of this," Ochoa said. "All I want is to open doors."

For more information about the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians, e-mail FAYM@live.com.

Contact View education reporter Laura Emerson at lemerson@viewnews.com or 380-4588.