ACADIAN-CAJUN-L Archives

From: "Scott Michaud" <>
Subject: Looking for Violins
Date: Wed, 03 Oct 2001 12:40:01 -0400

Many of you probably know Lisa Ornstein. She works at the Acadian Archives
at the U. of Maine, Ft. Kent. If you have an old violin looking for a home,
send it her way.... Fai do do!

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St. John Valley children learn to love fiddling
By Beurmond Banville, BANGOR DAILY NEWS
Thursday, September 27, 2001

FORT KENT Lisa Ornstein has been playing the fiddle for 37 years and wants
to spread the love she has for the instrument among the children of the St.
John Valley.

Starting small, she is working on organizing a group of 14 fourth- graders
at the Fort Kent Elementary School into an after-school class she calls
Fiddling from Scratch. Its the first time fiddling will be taught in St.
John Valley schools.

Ornstein, who is director of the University of Maine at Fort Kents Acadian
Archives, frequently performs in concerts in and out of the St. John Valley.
She has been playing the fiddle since she was a child. Believing it has
enriched her life, she wants to pass that skill on to young people.

Fiddle playing is a precious part of the culture of the St. John Valleys
French and Acadian people. Many of these kids remember their peperes and
uncles playing the fiddle at some point, Ornstein said Wednesday.

I dont want the Valley to lose its fiddle music, she said. Thats the
way I learned to play, by spending time with older folks.

While there are many problems in getting such a group going, it was evident
Wednesday morning from the enthusiasm of the pupils that the major concern
will be in the selection of the youngsters who will be accepted in her pilot
effort.

Ornstein played a short piece in each classroom, and the pupils were
enthralled. Soft-spoken, she interacted easily with the children.

During her presentation, the musician showed several fiddles to the pupils
and had half a dozen children try out the instruments, as fiddles come in a
wide range of sizes. It was even a chore to select which pupils could hold
the fiddles from the many in the classes who wanted to feel the instruments
in their hands.

Ornstein has 13 or 14 fiddles ready for use by the youngsters, but the
enthusiasm seemed much greater than that. She is trying to raise money for
more instruments.

What happens if you dont have enough fiddles? one young boy in Jim
Babins fourth-grade class piped in.

Can I call my parents now, to be sure that I can be one of the first
accepted? another said when told it was a first-come, first-served
selection.

Ornstein talked Wednesday morning to 45 fourth-graders in three different
classrooms, and they all seemed to want to be part of the 30-minute,
after-school sessions to be held on Monday and Thursday.

Pupils were expected to take home explanatory letters to their parents, who
need to sign a very simple contract for their children to participate.

The violins are free, and pupils get to bring them home so they can practice
what they learn every day. Ornstein asks for 20 minutes of practice each day
from the youngsters.

You dont need to know about music, she told the pupils. We will learn to
play by ear.

You can learn to play anything you want, or hear, she said of the
instrument and training. You will learn to take whats in your head and
make it come out of the fiddle.

I hope at some point to have fiddling classes in all the schools of the St.
John Valley, she said later. I had to start in my back yard, in Fort
Kent.

The idea of teaching the fiddle to youngsters has been in Ornsteins head
for some time. She knew it would be a major undertaking, one that would need
equipment and money. She needs the instruments, plus the funds to keep them
up. She wants the program to be available to all children, especially those
children whose families cannot afford to purchase the instruments.

The first violin donated to her effort came from a museum curator who heard
of her project. Since then, shes received more than a dozen of the
instruments and money from other people. It costs about $250 to recondition
one violin.

Albert Brien, a retired New Hampshire resident, actually went on the
Internet and purchased violins for the program. He has donated eight
violins.

Hes one of our angels, Ornstein said.

Paul Perley of Vermont reconstructs violins, and he has donated his time and
effort for just the cost of supplies. Ornstein also has found a supplies
wholesaler who will sell her materials at cost.

The musician organized a concert in July to raise money, and $480 in
donations was collected. The first violins she had repaired cost $457.

Ornstein will keep trying to raise money for the effort. She also plans to
train adults to help her spread the program to all St. John Valley schools
in the years to come.

The fourth-graders asked about participating in concerts after they learn to
play.

Only if you want to, Ornstein said. If its not fun for you, it will not
be done.

-- Scott

WEBSITE: http://Scott_Michaud.tripod.com/
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