This week we would like to introduce you to another amazing music educator, Carter Simmons. Carter was nominated by the Laurie Tuner, the parent of two musicians who have been blessed to have Carter as their orchestra director and mentor.
Here is what Laurie shared with us:
"I would like to nominate Carter Simmons. Carter works with students through the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra. He directs the Metropolitan Symphony, which is the second-highest full symphony, and the Chamber Orchestra, which is a select group of musicians in a smaller 1-player-per-part chamber sized orchestra.
My older son played under Carter for two years, and my younger son has played under Carter this year. They both had the experience of having Carter notice their musical ability and desire to learn while in Met, leading to their being invited to join the select Chamber Orchestra their junior years of high school--my older son on bassoon and my younger son on trumpet.
Carter has a way of drawing the kids towards excellence in preparation and performance. During this time of quarantine, they have missed countless hours of rehearsals together. Still, Carter sends the students links to practice along with and videos of himself encouraging them and giving them tips. In addition, he meets with each group via Zoom on a regular basis to encourage them and just build relationships with them while facilitating their building of relationships with each other.
Though their grand performances have been placed on hold and/or cancelled, the students are still preparing their music because Carter has built into their music psyche the notion that the pursuit of musical excellence is a worthy endeavor.
Our family has been forever changed by the influence Carter has had on our two boys!"
As a winner, Carter recieved the cuff links you see above made from french horn valve caps. Thank you Carter for going above and beyond and being such an great leader and mentor to your orchestra members! Also, we would like to send a big thank you to Laurie for taking the time to recognize Carter!
We will be introducing you to our final contest winner in our next newsletter. As we continue to navigate this "new normal" we want to send out a huge THANK YOU to all the music teachers and orchestra directors out there keeping our kids engaged and challenged. You are all AMAZING!