Jan 14, 2008
Redding
Chelsea Smith sets her life to music
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by LAURA MODLIN
When other toddlers were playing with blocks and dolls, Chelsea Smith was playing a violin. Since that time, the 16-year-old Joel Barlow High School student has lived a life set to music.
Chelsea, an Easton resident, was just three years old when she received her very first violin as a Christmas present from her parents.
“My mother gave me the violin and then we went to my grandma’s house,” Chelsea said. “I took the violin with me. I ran around the house playing random whatever. It felt like a toy at first, a semi-grown-up toy. I was really excited, although I’m sure my playing sounded like a chainsaw going off.”
She hasn’t stopped playing since that time and last month gave a solo recital at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City.
Suzuki method
The inspiration for starting her violin practices came from a source more than 6,000 miles away.
Edith C. Deluca, Chelsea’s grandmother, studied at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in the 1940s. When she was there, she learned of Shinichi Suzuki’s “mother tongue” method of teaching music to children, which was developed in Japan.
Suzuki believed that children could learn to play music in much the same way as they learn to speak through total immersion at a very young age. In the early days of his teachings, Suzuki applied his methodology solely to the study of violin but later expanded it to include other instruments.
Ms. Deluca was impressed by what she learned of Suzuki’s teaching methods. Years later she applied Suzuki’s technique to her granddaughter.
Ms. Deluca played the French horn and Michelle Smith, Chelsea’s mother, played the piano, so a violinist would be a good addition, she thought.
“At first they would teach them the xylophone to learn rhythm and sound. They then moved on to a little cardboard violin,” said Ms. Smith of Chelsea’s early lessons.
From there they progressed to small versions of real violins with Chelsea quickly making her way through the miniatures to a full-size violin.
“There would be lots of daily listening, and, of course, lots of daily practice,” said Ms. Smith. “But Suzuki was much more than a musician. He preached love and good parenting. He believed that filling a child with the goodness of music helped them develop into good people.”
Chelsea remembers her mother’s support and guidance during those first years.
“Whenever I was playing she was right there with me. She always knew what to do. We started bonding from large amounts of time together very young. I picked up how to play the violin naturally,” she said.
Shooting for Juilliard
Chelsea studied the Suzuki method in New Haven until seventh grade. She also joined up with the Norwalk Youth Symphony and the chamber music group, Trio Esprit, in Westport. Under this hectic schedule, her family sought ways to streamline Chelsea’s rehearsal workload.
Looking for a school where Chelsea could study one day a week with like-minded, musically talented children, the family learned about Saturday programs in New York City and decided Juilliard would be their first choice.
There are about 200 to 300 students enrolled in the school’s competitive pre-college program, according to Chelsea.
A friend told her about Dr. Ann Setzer, one of the school’s most esteemed teachers. Chelsea and her mother were then able to arrange a private lesson with Dr. Setzer.
When Dr. Setzer heard Chelsea play, she offered to take her on a regular basis.
“We were stunned,” said Chelsea. “My mom and I went downstairs onto Columbus Avenue and started jumping up and down excited.”
Chelsea spent a year and a half studying with Dr. Setzer in preparation for her Juilliard audition and was accepted into the program in spring of 2006.
“Juilliard is very different,” said Chelsea. “The transition was challenging. I was used to a very relaxed environment. I’m no longer the only duck in the pond. So many people are doing the same thing as me.
“I’m able to see all these kids just like me performing. If I feel discouraged I go to someone’s recital who is amazing and I get so inspired,” she said.
Fiddling
Chelsea’s first recital last month was well attended by fellow Eastonites and she plans to do two more before she graduates from the program in 2010.
Chelsea has not yet decided whether or not she will major in music in college. She does know that she would like to be a fiddler like Vanessa Mae, one of her idols.
“I like her style. She plays rock and country. It’s having fun instead of strict classical. I don’t want to be in an orchestra,” she said.
Chelsea was first introduced to fiddling by Dan Tressler, an Easton resident, when she studied with him for a couple of years in middle school.
“Taking lessons with Dan was a lot of fun,” said Chelsea. “The last time I saw him he wanted to play with me. That felt really good.
“We went through the same middle school. I heard about him all the time. ‘Dan Tressler did this, Dan Tressler did that...’ So it felt really good to have him want to play with me,” she said.
Mr. Tressler remembers Chelsea as an advanced student who was very mature for her age.
“There was no material I threw at her that was against her abilities,” he said. “Sometimes she would finish the lesson I had planned early and we’d move on to something else. I had to keep coming up with new material to work on just for her. In the years to come, if she’s not touring the world playing violin, I want to play with her.”
In memory
Chelsea’s family established the Edith C. Deluca scholarship awards in 2004, in memory of Chelsea’s grandmother. They are administered each year by the Easton Arts Council to one eighth grade and one 12th grade musician and are scheduled to be awarded annually through Chelsea’s high school graduation in 2010.
For more information about the award, go to eastonartscouncil.org and click on “annual events.”
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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