Middle School Honors Clinic

Soda Springs High School was the site of last Thursday’s Middle School Honors Clinic, which gave local and regional music students a chance to perform in a larger and more dedicated group than they usually have access to.

Debbie Hansen, Kathleen Campbell, Mark Jackson, and Sharlie Winder.

 School District 150’s Debbie Hansen helped to coordinate the event, which is held in alternating years in Soda Springs and Blackfoot.  According to Hansen, “I think to see other kids with their same talents and interests, and hear what it’s like to play with a bigger sound is always good for them,” Debbie Hansen said.

The importance of that aspect of the clinic was also stressed by the other clinicians. Sharlie Winder, who worked with the First Violins; Kathleen Campbell, who led the Second Violins; Teresa Norton, who worked with the Violas, and Mark Jackson, who led the clinic on Cello and Bass, all made similar comments about the difference between practicing alone or in a small group setting versus in this type of collective ensemble.  “It’s really important to get that practice in,” Mark Jackson said.

Throughout the morning, the clinicians worked through the musical selections for the afternoon performance, “Jupiter” by Gustav Holst (arr. Deborah Baker Monday) and “Spartacus” by Brian Balmages.  The instructors were able to talk from their significant experience about the instruments themselves, approaches to the piece, and how to create a larger, shared sound within the larger musical group. 

Sectionals were held throughout the school for each group of instruments.

A total of at least 74 students joined in the clinic, including those from Grace, Soda Springs, Blackfoot Charter School, and Snake River Junior High.  Despite an earlier departure time for some of the students, the majority were able to perform the two assigned pieces as an orchestra, conducted by Sharlie Winder.

“I have been working with these amazing musicians since about ten o’clock this morning, and they have made amazing progress since then,” Sharlie Winder said, prior to the performance.  “They have never worked together as this group together.  We add new people and it’s a whole different sound.”  The group played through the pieces together for the audience of friends, parents, and other students who had gathered to listen.

“I think it went quite well,” Kathleen Campbell said.  “We only have a little bit of time with them, but they came together and worked really hard.  They’re attentive and disciplined—that was the thing that struck me.  The value of a clinic like this is very high.  They get to play with a large group.  Doing things together and seeing so many others doing the same thing helps to encourage them to go on.  We’re in a small community, and this is one of the best ways to do something like this. Anytime you can play with a larger group and have a clinician who can really help them move forward with their playing, and as a group, that’s pretty amazing.”

Naomi Crofts was the clinic's representative from Grace.

 Sharlie Winder has a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from BYU-Idaho, and has 30 years of experience as a dedicated and educated director to the ISCS Youth Orchestra.  She began her public school teaching career by establishing and developing a thriving orchestra program in School District 93 in the Idaho Falls area.  For the past three years, she has served as an orchestra director in the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25, at both Franklin Middle School and Highland High.  In addition to her work in education, Sharlie has maintained a private violin studio for three decades, fostering technical experience and a lifelong love of music in students of all ages. 

Kathleen Campbell, of Soda Springs, began playing the violin. At age 20 in the Boise public schools.  She played throughout her elementary school year and then in the university symphonies while attending Arizona State, BYU-Provo, and later Idaho State University, where she graduate with a bachelor of Music Education with emphasis on violin.  She enjoyed teaching band and orchestra during her career, and currently teaches private violin and piano lessons.  He greatest satisfaction in music comes from the many friends she makes and in seeing the progress of her students through their diligent practice.

Terea Norton earned her degree in Music Education from ISU in 2015.  With 11 years of experience teaching orchestra, she is committed to developing strong musicianship, ensemble skills, and a lifelong appreciation for music in her students. 

Soda Springs musicians after the concert.

Mark Jackson began playing cello at the age of 5 and quickly fell in love with the instrument.  His passion continued into an undergraduate education in Music, where he studied Voice at West Chester University.  Now he enjoys sharing his musical talent with private lessons and playing/singing in the Caribou Community Orchestra/Choir.