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Tecumseh Schools Orchestra

Tecumseh Schools Orchestra

Tecumseh Schools Orchestra


Amy Marr has played the violin almost as long as she can remember. “I’ve been playing the violin since I was three years old, so I have played for almost 39 years,” she said. “My mom is a violinist—she has both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from the University of Michigan—so violin has always been a part of my life.”

Her talent took her from Saline Schools and the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic to Eastern Michigan University to Tecumseh Middle School (TMS), where she landed in 2004. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” Marr said. “I love watching my students experience music. I learn every day from them—you could say they are my people. I love learning who they are as both people and musicians.”

From the time Marr arrived in Tecumseh, she made a thorough musical education her priority. The Tecumseh Schools Orchestra (TSO) launched just a year before Marr arrived by retired Saline Schools teacher and Saline Fiddlers’ founder Bob Phillips in 2003. The TSO includes students in grades five-12. Each year, Marr brings professional artists into the school to expose students to different musical styles—classical, jazz, contemporary, folk, and many others. “The professional artists come and spend the day doing workshops with the students, then they perform a concert together,” she said. “It is always a great opportunity for students and I love watching the dynamics between the professional musicians and our students.”

The program helps students understand what goes into a professional musical concert and what those who follow that career path do to make a living as an artist. Some students might put their instruments away after high school, while others continue to play for the rest of their lives, and still more seek a professional life in music.

That professional life will be in the spotlight in April when Marr welcomes her former Saline Fiddlers band mate and lifelong friend Jeremy Kittel to TMS. “Jeremy and I were in Fiddlers together,” Marr said. “He was a couple of years behind me in school, but we’ve known each other forever.”

Kittel, a Saline native who is now based in New York City, is an American violinist, fiddler, and composer. He received a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition in 2019 alongside John Williams and Terence Blanchard. "We are really lucky to have him here,” Marr said.

Kittel & Co. includes Kittel on violin, Josh Pinkham on the mandolin, Jacob Warren playing bass; Quinn Bachand on guitar, and Simon Chrisman playing the hammer-dulcimer. The group is known for its “classical and acoustic work, Celtic, and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities,” according to its website.

The TSO includes violins, violas, cello, and bass. Marr and her colleague Kim Kang, the high school orchestra director, are responsible for making the magic happen for their 250 students in grades five-12. Kang co-teaches the fifth grade orchestra with Marr as well as the high school orchestras and high school guitar, while Marr teaches the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade orchestras.

Marr also performs with the Adrian Symphony Orchestra and is involved in a number of state programs dedicated to music education. She and her husband, Bryan, have two children, Aiden, 10, and Allison, seven, both of whom play the violin. Aiden also is learning the euphonium, or “baby tuba,” Marr said. Bryan also plays the euphonium.

Marr and Kang are excited about the upcoming concerts in April. Two concert dates are on the books. Kittel & Co. will perform Monday, April 15 at 6:20 p.m. with TSO6, the sixth grade orchestra, and then at 7:20 p.m. with the TSO High School orchestra. On Tuesday, April 16, the TSO5, the fifth grade orchestra, will be in the spotlight with Kittel & Co. at 6:20 p.m., followed by TSO7 and TSO8, the seventh and eighth grade orchestras at 7:20 p.m. “One thing I want to emphasize is that these events would not be possible without the support of the Friends of the TSO, which is our orchestra booster organization,” Marr said. “We also received a generous grant from the Elizabeth Ruthruff Wilson Foundation, which is helping defray expenses involved in bringing artists of this caliber to our town.”

Admission to the concerts is by donation. Friends of TSO also seeks concert sponsors. For more information about becoming a concert sponsor and/or donating toward these opportunities for TSO members, please contact friendstso@gmail.com.

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