By Shula Neuman
Maria Valdes took cello and piano lessons at the school from the time she was 9 until she was 18. She now works for the International Music Foundation, an organization that arranges musical performances in public schools. “I thought it was odd with Rita,” says Valdes, who’s 26. “Everybody was really scared of her, but it was really challenging. Everybody was trying to be the best. When it came time to perform, the performances weren’t nearly as nerve-racking as it was to hear Rita’s comments.”
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Simo laughs at the thought that she sometimes intimidates the students. “I have one kid who wrote me. She said, ‘I was ready to kill. I hated you. But now I realize that I could have gone to jail.’” But, she adds, “We are not a social service. We’re a school. All the other things the students gain are a result of the discipline they get from learning how to play an instrument.”
Simo is just as firm with five-year-olds who want to become students as she is with adults. Before she allows new children to start taking classes, she has a serious discussion with them about the school’s expectations. “With the little ones we have a conversation to analyze the name of the school. I ask them what ‘people’ means. It means that the school is for everyone, all people. ‘Music.’ The music is what we do here–it is what we come here to learn. And ‘school.’ School means that they must work, and that includes homework. From the beginning we ask them to practice 20 minutes a day. Ten minutes of practicing, then they can take a break. Then ten more minutes later on.”
Barron’s counting is barely audible over the music, and when the troublesome eighth notes appear his tempo slows to accommodate his fingers. Marin’s slows down too. When they finish the piece Marin encourages Barron to go through the difficult passage six or seven times slowly until he can play it up to tempo.
That attitude is apparent at the school’s annual “performathon” fund-raiser, which runs all day. At 7 PM a skinny girl who’s about 12 climbs the stairs to the stage and timidly looks out at the audience. She takes a deep breath and begins to play a simple Bach sonata on her clarinet. The instrument squeaks, and she frequently stops to gasp for air and look hopefully toward her family. She seems on the verge of tears, but she finishes the piece and curtsies politely. The audience applauds warmly.
