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Update: Fletcher Forehand on the Panama Project
Photo by Linda Shockley
Back to Greetings from Panama
 Bassoonist Fletcher Forehand with Iván Navarro in an afternoon master class. |
Fletcher Forehand, senior bassoon performance major from Americus, Georgia, has returned for another year with the Panamá Project. He first taught with the program in 1998. For the 2000 program, Forehand's days begin at 8 a.m. and end somewhere near 9 p.m. The hours are spent coaching chamber music, offering master classes and leading orchestral sectionals for four students who range in age from 13 to 25. He also performs. In this "Postcard from Panamá," Forehand talks about the "language of music."
by Fletcher Forehand
"These few weeks with the Panamá Project have been some of the most exhausting weeks of my life, but they are also among the most inspiring and gratifying times of my life. What I most enjoy about teaching here are the times when I actually see that I make sense to someone. I articulate thoughts and make gestures in the hope of communicating my musical ideas to my students. It's enjoyable to share with my students what I find valuable, which is music, and to help them better understand the music."Because our time at the music camp is so tightly and rigorously scheduled and because I have only one week to meet individually with each student, the initial challenge is finding time for each student to play enough so that I can really evaluate the playing and say something meaningful. Each student is different and requires individual attention, so those times that I spend alone with each of them is very valuable. I want to have a strong balance between encouragement and criticism, and the time constraint places an added pressure on my goals and hopes.
"The best way to know something is to teach it. I feel like everything I teach is my own version of what I've been taught. Ms. Erwin, who taught at the camp, offered some valuable advice that continues to direct me. She said, 'Move from a simple and familiar concept to a new and more challenging concept.'
"I also teach through example. I've always found that effective. Demonstrate it. It's like language. It's art but at the same time, there are rules to use to communicate. I find this particularly effective in Panamá, where my lessons are often impaired by the language barrier. It slows the pace and often makes things unclear not to have total control over a language. When you teach, you strive for clarity and precision. That makes it all the more gratifying once I see that I have communicated my ideas to the students despite my bad grammar or limited vocabulary. It reinforces the idea that music is its own language.
"Teaching has taught me more about music. I learn from my students. Trying to solve their problems elucidates my own problems. I feel that I have a different prospective and sometimes clearer insight when I can stand back and listen instead of playing. That's when I am often not only teaching my student, but also myself. As a bonus, experiencing the challenges of teaching has brought to me a greater respect of my teacher, George Sakakeeny."
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