Amundsen Orchestra and Musicians Team up, Tug at Heart Strings

When she first saw orchestra on her class schedule, freshman Kelly Rodriguez thought it was a mistake.

“I looked at my schedule and said, ‘What’s orchestra?’ I remember not even knowing where this class was at, and walking in late, everyone knew I was a freshman,” she said.

Despite the initial misdirection, Rodriguez stuck with orchestra, and is now a senior bassist in the advanced class at Amundsen High School.

“Playing my bass overall has probably been that one high school memory that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Rodriguez said.

The senior added another one to the memory books on Wednesday. The Amundsen orchestra played a special concert at the school with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO).

The Chicago youth program’s accelerando strings played with the students for a first-time collaboration. For six songs, parents and friends were mesmerized at the performance.

See more photos from the concert on our Facebook page. 

For Rodriguez, it meant meeting fellow students that shared her passion for music.

“It’s people that are devoted just like we are and look at playing their instrument as a necessity now,” she said. “It’s not playing your instrument just because you need a grade for it, it’s because you love it.”

The partnership between the high school and CYSO began with Amundsen orchestra director Sean Reidy. Growing up in Elmhurst, Reidy started playing a musical instrument in fourth grade. When he came to teach at Amundsen, he was surprised to find 99 percent of his students hadn’t had formal music training.

The music teacher has been at the school five years and revamped the program with partnerships like the CYSO concert. He’s even gotten assistant principal Kristi Eilers to play with the students on occasion.

Reidy has about 180 students in his program, with 46 in the advanced class. 

A testament to the added enthusiasm, seven musicians made the all-city orchestra this year.

But the CYSO isn’t the only partnership for Amundsen. Every Tuesday, a group of students teach younger kids how to play the violin and cello at McPherson Elementary.

“It’s very good for them to be in that position as far as leadership,” Reidy said. “They’re going to find things about themselves they didn’t even know were there.”

The music director received a service-learning grant that bought $4,000 worth of mini-instruments for the after school program.

“When you pull out a violin this big, even the rough and tough kids go, ‘Awww,’” Reidy said.

The students are teaching children like Fatima Aldana, a fifth-grader at McPherson Elementary.

Fatima is learning to play the violin and was clear on her favorite part of the lesson: “We get to hear beautiful music.”

“She couldn’t wait to start with it, she was that interested about learning,” Fatima’s mom, Monica Aldana said.

The partnership came from a parent night at Amundsen High School, where Reidy explained the program to McPherson Principal Carmen Mendoza.

“She couldn’t have been more open-minded about it,” Reidy said, adding that he can’t wait to expand the program to other elementary schools.