World-renowned violinist Carla Trynchuk has a burden to give of her talents to the Benton Harbor community. Trynchuk, an Andrews University associate professor of music, is working to bring music instruction to youngsters in the neighboring city, which re
World-renowned violinist Carla Trynchuk has a burden to give of her talents to the Benton Harbor community. Trynchuk, an Andrews University associate professor of music, is working to bring music instruction to youngsters in the neighboring city, which recently suffered days of rioting and other disturbances.
With Benton Harbor Street Ministries, an Andrews-based outreach team, children between the ages of eight and 10 will receive free private instruction in violin, viola and cello on Saturday afternoons. As director of the string program at Andrews, a Seventh-day Adventist institution, Trynchuk plans to utilize her string majors and graduate students to teach string instruments using the Suzuki method.
Trynchuk was inspired to begin this program several years ago after she read a story about a plumber who would spend Saturday afternoons offering his services to families in poor neighborhoods as an outreach. Adapting the idea to fit her skills and expertise, Trynchuk plans to visit several Benton Harbor schools with some of her students this fall to get the kids interested. The Benton Harbor area schools’ magnet program no longer has a string program, and Trynchuk is doing her part to make sure that the opportunity to learn a string instrument is still an option.
A native of Canada, Trynchuk began piano lessons at the age of four and violin lessons at the age of six. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, New York City, and studied violin with Dorothy DeLay, a foremost violin instructor whose students have included Itzhak Perlman, Sarah Chang, Gil Shaham and Midori. Trynchuk studied under Louise Behrend in New York City to become Suzuki-certified and will use this as her primary teaching method with the Benton Harbor children. She has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras and as a recitalist throughout Europe, Asia and North America. In November 2003, Trynchuk will collaborate with Maestro Paul Freeman and the Czech National Philharmonic Orchestra in the world premiere recording of Tibor Serly’s Concerto for Violin for distribution on the Albany label.
Though string lessons will not begin in Benton Harbor until fall, assistance is needed now to make the program successful. Donations of instruments (violins, violas and cellos—one-fourth size to full size), shoulder rests, Suzuki books, and CDs and tapes are needed. In addition to collecting string instruments for this outreach program, Andrews also accepts donations of any kind of instrument for children who can’t afford to buy their own.
Trynchuk believes strongly in the power of music. “It has been proven that students that play the violin score significantly higher on standardized tests,” she said. Through this program, she hopes to help students gain discipline and add another dimension to their lives.
