Musical Legacy

Carla Wilson

Flute/Piccolo

For the past several seasons, we have focused attention on our musicians in their familiar orchestral context with the "Signature Season" series and, more recently, offered a glimpse into their everyday lives with "Player Portraits". This year we shift the focus slightly to explore and celebrate their less well-known professional contributions in the community as teachers, mentors and role models.

Our "Musical Legacy" series premiere features flutist Carla Wilson, who, with her years of commitment to music education, is a prime example of the dedication to those efforts represented throughout the orchestra. Whether as part of an Oregon Symphony program or on their own initiative, Carla and all of our musicians fill multiple roles as performers, conservators, and teachers-all in the interest of sharing the joy of music and guaranteeing its continuing presence in our communities.

For the past three years, Carla Wilson has worked closely with Kim Heron, Music Specialist at Atkinson Elementary and Paul Steger, Principal, Lent Elementary, as part of the Oregon Symphony's ArtsPlan Partnership, supported by the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Carla and other Symphony musicians visited each of the schools to conduct teacher workshops that included instrument "petting zoos", then visited each classroom over a two month period to acquaint students with the various instrument families of the orchestra. In follow-up sessions, students constructed their own instruments from "common household" materials and shared them with their classmates and Symphony musicians. But perhaps the most engaging event was the Family Night held at each school where parents, teachers and members of the community enjoyed an evening program featuring students' demonstration of their handmade instruments, instrument petting zoos and other music activities that focused on using music as a teaching tool across the curriculum.

From the teachers' perspective, Kim Heron and Paul Steger suggest that the partnership's success has gone far beyond lesson plans and creatively answering curriculum needs—it's about vision and about dreams. Over the past three years, Kim commented that these programs "have enabled the staff…to see the symphony not just as a performing ensemble, but as individuals who work hard at their craft. People who embody music; people whose passion is music." And, at least partially as result of this partnership, Atkinson now has an arts team comprised of teachers and parents and an Arts Curriculum Consultant staff position.

Carla finds great satisfaction in such partnerships because it creates meaningful programs to help teachers meet their curriculum needs while at the same time, provides an introduction to symphony orchestras in general and the Oregon Symphony in particular. But this project is only the most recent of Carla's contributions to music education; she has taught private lessons for many years, is an adjunct flute professor at Linfield College, served on the orchestra's Education Committee and participated in the educational activities sponsored by the orchestra both in Portland and as part of the annual NEA/Meyer Memorial Trust Regional Tour.

For information on Oregon Symphony Education and Community Programs, please call 503-228-4294 or e-mail educate@orsymphony.org.

Biography Musician Moment
Player Portrait Musical Legacy