How String Thing Helped Soundscapes Musicians Discover What’s Possible
For four Soundscapes student employees, attending JMU’s String Thing this summer was more than an opportunity to spend several days immersed in music. It was a chance to challenge themselves, learn from new teachers and musicians, and discover what they were capable of.
Thanks to the James F. and Mary Winston J. Briggs Scholarship Fund, provided by the Petters Family Foundation, these students were able to attend the intensive for string students at James Madison University. They returned to Soundscapes with new skills, new experiences, and plenty to share with the younger musicians they were helping at Summer Camp.
Perhaps most importantly, they came back with a deeper understanding of what it means to learn, grow, and eventually give that same opportunity to someone else.
There is Always Room to Grow
For Arielle, String Thing reinforced an important lesson she has learned through music: there is always another opportunity to improve.
That mindset is at the heart of learning an instrument. Progress doesn’t happen all at once. It comes through practice, persistence, and a willingness to keep trying something that may not feel easy at first.
String Thing gave Arielle and her fellow students the chance to step into an intensive learning environment, surrounded by other young musicians who were also challenging themselves and growing.
Discovering That You Can Do More
That last part is especially powerful.
At Soundscapes, older students have the opportunity to mentor younger musicians, so learning doesn’t stop when the lesson ends. Students can take what they’ve learned and pass it along.
Nahzair experienced that cycle firsthand at String Thing. He learned from others, then returned to Soundscapes and shared that knowledge with the students he was helping at Summer Camp.
He wasn’t just learning to become a better musician. He was discovering that he could become a teacher and a leader, too.
The Pride That Comes From Persevering
That feeling of accomplishment matters.
Three days of intensive rehearsals, learning multiple pieces and preparing for a performance can be challenging. But getting to the other side of that challenge creates something that lasts far beyond the final note: the knowledge that you can do hard things.
For young musicians, that realization can be transformative. The confidence built through music can carry into classrooms, workplaces, relationships, and all the other places where persistence and resilience matter.
Giving Back
At Soundscapes, students aren’t only recipients of mentorship. As they grow, they become part of the network of people encouraging the next generation.
That is one of the things that makes our student employment program so meaningful. Students have the opportunity to gain workplace experience while also becoming role models for younger musicians.
They remember what it felt like to be the beginner. They know what it’s like to be nervous about trying something new. And now they have the chance to be the person who says, “You can do this.”
Becoming the People Who Insprired Them
It is cool.
At Soundscapes, we get to watch students move through a cycle that can begin with simply learning how to play an instrument and eventually lead to leadership, mentorship, and employment.
The teaching artists and older students who once encouraged them become examples of what they might grow into themselves.
And then, one day, they become that example for someone else.
Music Can Change How We Feel
Our students understand something that can be difficult to put into words: music is not simply an academic skill.
It can be a way to express emotions, connect with other people, find confidence, work through difficult moments, and feel like you belong.
That is why experiences like String Thing matter.
The value isn’t only in the new repertoire a student learns or the technical skills they develop. It is in the opportunity to discover something new about themselves and to experience what happens when they are surrounded by people who believe in their potential.
The Ripple Effect of Opportunity
The students who attended String Thing didn’t simply leave Soundscapes for a few days and come back with new music to play.
They came back with experiences to share.
They brought new knowledge to younger students. They brought new confidence to their work as counselors and mentors. And they brought back a clearer sense of what might be possible for themselves.
That is the ripple effect of investing in young people.
One student gets an opportunity. That student learns and grows. Eventually, they become a mentor. Then they help another student discover what is possible.
We are incredibly grateful to the Petters Family Foundation for making this experience possible through the James F. and Mary Winston J. Briggs Scholarship Fund.
Because when we invest in our students, we’re not only helping them become better musicians. We’re helping them become leaders, mentors, coworkers, and community members who can pass what they’ve learned on to someone else.
And sometimes, the most powerful thing a student can learn is simply this:
I can do more than I think.
