Prescott, AZ—February 12, 2025—Teaching artists, Maria and Henry Flurry have long been dedicated to introducing people young and old to music. Maria says they’ve been facilitating group compositions in classrooms from Phoenix to the Navajo Nation for about 12 years. Their latest venue is in Prescott music classrooms. The Arizona Philharmonic, Prescott Unified School District, the City of Prescott and the J.S. Acker trust all came together to further their goal with the formation of the Composition Collaboration Project.

The Collaboration—It Takes a Village
The Composition Collaboration classroom instruction began February 3rd, teaching music and composition to PUSD third grade classes at Taylor Hicks and Lincoln, with Abia Judd the week of the 10th. Recorders, a pipe-like instrument, are purchased with funds from the J. S. Acker Trust Grant and City of Prescott for PUSD students to have classroom sets plus each child receives a recorder that they can keep forever. “I’m very excited about this program. This wonderful coalition is already working toward buying in-classroom sets for the fourth grade, and individual recorders for the incoming third graders as fourth graders, who are new to PUSD. The students’ faces show pure joy when they receive their home recorder,” Maria commented.

Henry and Maria begin their coaching after PUSD general music teachers have prepared students in the foundations of music. That includes pitch, rhythm, steady beat and tempo, care of the recorder and how to produce a beautiful tone from it. The students have already mastered beautiful tones on the notes B, A, and G. Composition instruction begins at the first session with Henry and Maria. Students analyze famous music in animated cartoon scenes to identify the building blocks composers use to create images and emotions through music.

The composition process is fast-paced and collaborative as the students practice using the building blocks of music to express their group’s emotion through sound. “Henry notes students’ musical responses on an orchestra score on the computer that is projected simultaneously on a large screen. Everyone can see the progress of the composition. We ask open-ended questions to judge how much students like a particular musical idea and we emphasize that everyone’s opinion counts. By the end of the first class, students will volunteer to sing the idea they have in their mind. Sometimes their depth of understanding brings tears to my eyes,” added Maria.

Students to Perform Their Compositions with AZ Phil
Within three lessons, all eight classes will have composed their musical pieces, to be the source material for the overall composition Henry and Maria create. It is expected students will perform their compositions on their recorders live with Arizona Philharmonic musicians on a field trip to PUSD’s Ruth Street Theater April 25th. The lingering impact of this year’s composition and recorder training can be measured two years later in fifth grade when students may choose band, orchestra, or choir as an elective. The number of fifth grade students who registered for those classes this year has been recorded and will be compared with the number of students to sign up in two years.

Maria said she and Henry hear students talk enthusiastically about what the music they composed what it means to them. “We listen to their body language, too. Flagstaff [third graders] heard their composition live at a Flagstaff Symphony concert last year and were practically dancing with joy.”

About Arizona Philharmonic

Founded in 2018, Arizona Philharmonic (AZ Phil) is Prescott’s only professional orchestra focused on classical music, presenting large and small concerts that engage and inspire listeners. In its seventh season in 2024-25, AZ Phil draws musicians from across Arizona and is committed to offering transformative music, while nurturing community participation and supporting the needs and growth of the Prescott area performing arts scene. Recognized in 2021 by the Prescott Chamber of Commerce for Excellence in Arts and Culture, Arizona Philharmonic is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Ticket information, sponsorship and volunteer opportunities can be found at AZPhil.org or on Facebook.