For three young musicians, composing music is a craft

12:00AM / Monday, June 10, 2002Print Story | Email Story

Many artists wait for inspiration to strike. Some are lucky â€” they see it coming and grab it when itâ€™s within reach. Others arenâ€™t so lucky â€” their backs are turned or their mindâ€™s eye is clouded by drugs or alcohol. Or maybe, to borrow from jazz musician Mose Allison, their mouth is working overtime while their mind is on vacation. But three graduating seniors at Buxton School have paved the way for inspiration, doing everything they can to attract it. All three are students of David Denhard, who has been teaching music and composition at Buxton for 19 years. Denhardâ€™s philosophy is that if you give students the tools and teach them the skills for the job, and if they have any aptitude for it at all, the inspiration will come when they put their mind to doing the work. Heâ€™s been giving these three the tools and helping them develop their skills for the past four years and the payoff came this week, when nine professional musicians from the Albany Symphony, Berkshire Symphony and Sage City Symphony orchestras performed works of the three students for a CD, recorded as a live performance in the Buxton Theater. Buxton is a private residential high school located on South Street in Williamstown. Less than 100 students attend the school, and they generally keep a pretty low profile in town, staying on campus except for two afternoons and one evening a week. The three student composers each wrote one or two compositions in classical style for string orchestra. Each student is a talented musician who plays several instruments, although only one â€” Hazel Reynolds, of Bowdoinham, Maine â€” actually played with the professionals during the recording. She played double-bass on the compositions of the other two, but not her own. According to Denhard, the student composers all read music fluently and play with the schoolâ€™s musical groups, as well as accompany drama productions. In addition, they play in groups formed on campus, and Reynolds even sat in on bass with a visiting contra dance band when they played at a school dance. Each piece is five to 10 minutes long and was written specifically to be played by string orchestra. Typically such compositions are written with five parts, two for violin and one each for viola, cello and double bass. These pieces follow that format, although there are times during each piece when the instruments within each section separate and play different parts. For instance, each of the two cellos and violas might be playing a different musical line simultaneously, adding layers of harmonic and rhythmic texture to the pieces. At times, there are eight, nine or even 10 parts, creating lush, dense sections that contrast with the lighter sections of the pieces. â€œI like my music vertical,â€ said a grinning Jacob Spector of Columbia, Conn., one of the student composers, referring to all the musical lines occurring at once in some parts of his piece, which is called Our Full Circle. The pieces are all interesting in different ways. For instance, Reynolds wrote two works for the project. The first, Winter Rye, is fairly slow and has a distinct melody. The second, simply called Scherzo, uses different syncopated lines for each section of the orchestra to create the rhythmic and melodic harmonies that make up the piece. The piece by Yi Bing Zhang, of Shanghai, China, February Hypothesis, is in two parts. The first is a happy section in a major key and the second is mellower in a slightly lower key. It was inspired in part, she said, by the warm winter we experienced this year and in part by some of fellow composer Spectorâ€™s works. The three budding composers are enthusiastic about what Denhard has done for them, in terms of inspiration, as well as tools and skills. â€œThe biggest inspiration â€” Iâ€™m speaking for myself but I could probably speak for you guys, too â€” is probably David,â€ Spector said, to the obvious agreement of the other two. â€œDave did everything a music teacher could and should have done. Instead of thinking of our music as an art form, as some sort of incredible expression, Dave kind of put it into focus for me by labeling me as a craftsman. Weâ€™ve got tools and we put things together. And that was always the biggest inspiration for me.â€ He continued, â€œOnce you have the craftsman perspective on it, then you can throw other things into it.â€ Denhard was typically modest. â€œI think these three folks, because they play really well and have done it for many years, it helps them,â€ he said, adding, â€œIf somebody wants Hazel to write a film score by next weekend and she knows what the scene is, she could do it â€” she knows what interval with two clarinets would set the mood ... Because they have the tools, any of these three people could write a piece for any situation.â€ But Denhard also said that what theyâ€™re doing at Buxton is unique. â€œPeople donâ€™t compose as high school students. Theyâ€™re not expected to, theyâ€™re not even allowed to,â€ he said, adding that he thinks thatâ€™s why many musically talented students bypass academics altogether and go the pop-jazz route. Harriet Welther, one of the professional musicians who performed the pieces, agreed. She was part of a smaller group that came last year to play student compositions, and she talked about the musical growth of the student composers. â€œThis time things were very well done, the parts were clear, the music was more involved than last year. Thereâ€™s a huge jump in what theyâ€™re demonstrating as far as their ability. ... I think itâ€™s great they have the opportunity to do this here, to compose. How many schools in the country can you actually take composition from somebody like David ... and have it performed?â€

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McCann Recognizes Superintendent Award Recipient

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:32PM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Landon LeClair and Superintendent James Brosnan with Landon's parents Eric and Susan LeClair, who is a teacher at McCann.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent's Award has been presented to Landon LeClair, a senior in McCann Technical School's advanced manufacturing course.

The presentation was made last Thursday by Superintendent Jame Brosnan after Principal Justin Kratz read from teachers' letters extolling LeClair's school work, leadership and dedication.

"He's become somewhat legendary at the Fall State Leadership Conference for trying to be a leader at his dinner table, getting an entire plate of cookies for him and all his friends," read Kratz to chuckles from the School Committee. "Landon was always a dedicated student and a quiet leader who cared about mastering the content."

LeClair was also recognized for his participation on the school's golf team and for mentoring younger teammates.

"Landon jumped in tutoring the student so thoroughly that the freshman was able to demonstrate proficiency on an assessment despite the missed class time for golf matches," read Kratz.

The principal noted that the school also received feedback from LeClair's co-op employer, who rated him with all fours.

"This week, we sent Landon to our other machine shop to help load and run parts in the CNC mill," his employer wrote to the school. LeClair was so competent the supervisor advised the central shop might not get him back.

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