Music In Literature Presents Maestro Hector Guzman at McGill Elementary

San Angelo Independent School District partners with the San Angelo Symphony to participate in the cross curricular program Music In Literature each year. This year, McGill’s third grade classes had the opportunity to meet and learn from San Angelo Symphony’s Maestro, Hector Guzman, who presented the book The Remarkable Farkle McBride by famous actor John Lithgow and illustrated by C.F. Payne.

The book is about a young child prodigy who played every instrument, but he was never satisfied until he became a music conductor. Guzman explained the various instruments that make up an orchestra as he introduced the book the children.

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“I’m the guy who stands in front of the orchestra and moves the little baton and has fun. It’s quite an experience.” Guzman explained.

After the reading of the book, Guzman opened the floor to the children to ask their questions. One child asked, "Is it hard to conduct a whole bunch of people and different instruments?"

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"Yes it is very hard," Guzman responded. "You have to go to school for many, many years. I don’t play every instrument, and I’m not a rascal like Farkle McBride. I didn’t throw the instruments out on the floor (He laughed). But yes, it takes a lot of effort, so you need to love it and be talented.

Another student asked Guzman how long he's been a conductor.

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He responded, "Ever since I was 17 years old. I was very young when I started. I started playing the piano when I was 5 years old."

Another student asked, "What kind of instruments do you like to conduct?"

Guzman told the students he likes to conduct every instrument of the orchestra, and explained how a symphony orchestra has strings, woodwinds, brass, and the percussion.

"I love the strings," he added. "In fact, that is our concert this Friday if you would like to bring your parents to hear the orchestra. It’s just strings: violins, violas, cellos, and bass--then the woodwinds like the flutes, clarinets, and oboes."

Guzman continued and said next comes the brass instruments like trumpets, French horns and the tuba.

"And then percussion includes anything you can hit except your brother and sister," he laughed. "Those are the four families of the Symphony Orchestra and I enjoy conducting all of them."

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Students also questioned Guzman on mastering an instrument, if he wrote the The Remarkable Farkle McBride, and how long it took him to be a conductor.

Guzman responded, "Yes, it is very difficult [to master an instrument] because it requires a lot of discipline. In other words, if you want to play the piano, you have to sit at the piano and spend hours and hours trying to get better at it. It takes a long, long time to master any instrument. But, it’s very fun!" As for the book question, he said, "No I didn’t. I wish I had. The author of the book, John Lithgow, is a movie star. He’s a great actor and he has written several books, not just this one." In answer to the last question, Guzman noted, "I am still working on it. It takes forever. You have to study every day, and learn your music and the music of everybody else so that you can lead them.

After the questions were taken, the children requested Guzman to play some music for them. As Guzman sat behind the piano, requests for Chop Sticks filled the air from the children. Guzman obliged while also adding in his little twists to it. He also played Mozart and Beethoven for them.

Guzman also said he comes from a family of musicians.

“My father was a musician; my grandfather was a musician, my two sisters are professional musicians, and my younger brother is a drummer and a jazzer, also a professional musician. Everyone in the family are musicians.” Guzman elaborated.

The Music in Literature program means a great deal to Guzman. 

“Anything that had to do with children means the world to me because these guys are your future. The earlier they get involved in any kind of art, we employ both music and literature. I think it is always good for the kids. It means a lot to the Symphony and it means a lot to me. I hope they take from this enthusiasm and appreciation of music,” Guzman stated.

Guzman has been doing Music in Literature for many years, but stated that the program is now developing into a more concise program in which they incorporate good books, the reading of those books and music. It has been in the past three or four years that the programs has really developed and taken off. He is also not the only musician involved in the Music in Literature program. Many musicians from the orchestra also come to the schools, play their instruments and talk about the music and books.

JD Ward, the McGill Music teacher, has been at McGill for the past six years and has very much enjoyed and appreciated the Music in Literature program.

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“You have some of the local musicians [who] are in the symphony that come and they read the story, tell their story that goes behind it and they play the instrument. It accentuates what I am teaching here. What I like is that, in the stories, not everyone is like a Farkle McBride, a child prodigy. Like the story about the boy who plays baseball and wants to play the violin, he came from a poor family. It shows how a child can grow up without the benefit and privileges that many assume come with the instrument players. They want to do something great with themselves and they dedicate themselves. [Children] see these adults come in and see them playing their instrument that is ‘Wow’ to them. It is inspiring to the children; it is a teaching tool. It’s a classroom outside of the classroom coming in. Sometimes, the [children] get bogged down in the rigors of music, and they can get bored with that, as we all can. I’m hoping they can see that when they dedicated themselves to something, the payoffs, the dividends, are just fantastic. Plus, that pure satisfaction of knowing that you can do this. I think that is what a lot of them don’t realize.”

After the book reading, the San Angelo Symphony donated the book, The Remarkable Farkle McBride to McGill Elementary.

In March, all third graders across the Concho Valley will attend the Youth Concert performed by the San Angelo Symphony, The Magic in Music. The concert is about magic and introduces The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. If this song is not familiar, look at Disney’s Fantasia. There will be music from Cinderella, and a selection from a piece called "The Planets: Flight to Neverland" from the movie Hook. Then they will finish with "Harry Potter." In addition to the music and musician’s, and live orchestra, a hired magician will perform between the numbers. 

Children can also enjoy Disney in Concert on April 23, 2016 at the ASU Junell Center, which will feature music from Pinocchio, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Tangled, Frozen, and more.