Brazos Valley Youth String Chamber Orchestra training families to become artists
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Sadie Schroeder grew up wanting to play the violin.
“I felt like at the time, it was seen as an expensive thing,” Schroeder said. “Like it was something for rich people to do.”
Although, that dream was awakened when she went to register her daughter for The Brazos Valley Youth String Chamber Orchestra.
“I thought I was just signing her up, so when I found out she was like ‘Ok it’s time to get your instrument,’” Schroeder said. “I was like oh my God. It was a really nice treat for me to get to do it as well with her.”
Schroeder’s daughter Bailey Davis said she loves learning to play the instrument with her mom.
“I’ve been like her mini-teacher,” Davis said. “Every single time she’s been getting notes wrong, I’ll be looking at her.”
This is exactly what violinist Marianne Henry wanted when she created the group in 2023. Her goal is to make string instruments more accessible to families no matter their background or economic status.
Henry and her faculty work with families step-by-step to perfect the instruments.
“We’re striving for excellence and so when you’re building technique, you build it on top of excellence,” Henry said. “It’s not mediocre because when you build on top of that, everything crumbles.”
This will be on display at the group’s final concert for the semester, May 10 at First Methodist Church in Bryan at 7 p.m.
This will be the first time the mother-daughter duo will go from plucking their strings to playing with bows.
“They get to do what all beginner violinists and violists and cellists want to do,” Henry said. “They wanna play fast…they get to do that.”
By getting to this point, Schroeder and Davis said they’ve learned that all great things take time.
“Patience and that perseverance and believing in yourself,” Schroeder said. “Even if you’re not great right away, there’s greatness still to be had.”
To learn more about The Brazos Valley Youth String Chamber Orchestra, click here.
