Though Metallica, Journey, and Guns N' Roses songs aren’t typically part of an orchestra’s repertoire, they’re top priority for Lincoln High School’s new electric orchestra. Not only are the students playing electric instruments and focusing on rock music, they got the chance to learn from a rock icon.
Recording artist, performer, producer, inventor, Emmy-winning composer and music education advocate Mark Wood rose to fame as string master and original member of the internationally acclaimed Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He has spent the past four decades electrifying the orchestra industry and his most recent stop was in Tallahassee, thanks to Clara Knotts.
As the director of orchestras at Lincoln and Swift Creek Middle School, Knotts is determined to “meet my students where they are. What’s on their phones? It’s not always Beethoven and Mozart. I love that kind of music and it’s important stuff, but we’ve got to change what we’ve been doing.”
Students have eagerly embraced the school’s new rock ensemble which launched at the beginning of this school year. “They’ve only had a few months of work and they’ve done well,” said Knotts. “They love to come rehearse after school and they ask how long they can stay. To see kids go from super introverted, not wanting to talk, not moving, to literally jumping around my classroom. It’s really cool.”
Wood has seen this transformation many times. “We’re doing two to three school groups a week. Orchestras of all different sizes at universities, high schools, middle and elementary schools,” he said.
As a classically trained violist who attended Juilliard on a full scholarship, Wood understands that some musicians feel constrained by tradition and the industry.
“Musicians like us, we live in a bubble, in our own planet from touring. We’re focused on that, playing arenas in front of thousands of people. Students are much more interested in something that’s cutting edge, otherwise it just continues to be the same. The new messaging for our students is to amplify the experience you’re having and share it with the community.”
Wood and his wife, vocalist Laura Kaye, co-founded Electrify Your Strings!, a music education program that boosts student self-esteem and motivation, increases school-wide, family and community engagement, and helps raise money for participating schools. Through an Arts Education Grant from the Council on Culture & Arts and additional support from many other area businesses and organizations, Knotts was able to bring Wood and his band to Lincoln for an unforgettable learning and performance experience.
Over the course of three days, Wood worked with about 80 emerging musicians from Lincoln, Swift Creek and Montford Middle School. There were rehearsals where students perfected technique, choreography, and stage-presence; a master class offering tips on songwriting and learning music by ear; and a public performance featuring Wood’s own compositions and his arrangements of classic rock and contemporary music.
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