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‘Dying art' gets revival
Friday, March 27, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL
Sunderland Elementary School second grader Kevin O'Dell gets some help from Ron Fleck to play "Do Re Me" Wednesday at the school. Fleck, of Owings, gave students at the school a taste of organ music. His wife Marci Fleck is the school's music teacher.
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Sunderland Elementary School sounded like everything from a church to a stadium to a scary movie on Wednesday when organist Ron Fleck of Owings gave special performances to each grade, playing songs from "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" to "Do Re Me."
"This is the international year of the organ and organ playing is a dying art; there aren't many real organists left. And since this is National Music in our Schools Month, this is perfect timing," said Sunderland Elementary School music teacher Marci Fleck, who is also the performer's wife.
She arranged the performance as an opportunity to expose the students to the organ, which she said only seems to be played in churches these days.
"I think electronic, more popular music is taking over our society," she said.
Ron Fleck, who has been playing the organ at churches for more than 40 years, said that the Sunderland show is the first performance of this type that he has done at a Maryland grade school.
He added that he first came upon the organ more by coincidence than choice.
"When I was really little I took piano lessons but when I started hearing the organ in church it was really more interesting than piano," laughed Fleck, who has a master's degree in music from Marshall University in West Virginia.
He said the most rewarding aspect of playing the organ is "being able to lead the church congregation in singing, and aside from that it's a challenge to create the different sounds on the organ to sound like the composer intended."
Marci Fleck said that though the majority of her students were previously unfamiliar with the organ, they had a background lesson on the instrument the week before to get the students ready and enthusiastic for the performance.
Two students who did have some prior knowledge of the organ were fourth-graders Madison White and Mazzy McMillan.
"I've heard of it before," Madison said, while her friend added, "in scary movies."
Though both 9-year-old girls admitted they prefer to listen to country and pop music in their spare time, they said that they can appreciate classical music.
"Classical music is cool; it's kind of deep," said Madison, who currently takes violin lessons.
Mazzy, who said she wants to someday play the drums like her dad, agreed saying, "It's really good in movies."
