Sounds from a master: Music school features renowned violinist

The 185 students come from Hyattsville, Greenbelt and other areas

Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Photo courtesy of Nevilla E. Ottley Renowned violinist Emil Chudnovsky demonstrates technique during a master class Saturday at the Ottley School of Music.

Even so, it came as no surprise to many when Chudnovsky chose Hyattsville’s Ottley Music School to host a series of his masterclasses, the first of which was held Sunday in the atrium in front of the school.

‘‘We’re really a hidden treasure,” said Ottley voice teacher and publicity director, Nicole Williams, referring to the 33-year-old school, which is tucked away in the basement of University Town Center. ‘‘But we’ve been around for so many years and taught so many students.”

Nevilla E. Ottley established the school in 1973 when she moved to the area after earning a master’s degree in music from Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist college in Michigan.

‘‘I applied for every music teaching position I could find,” said Ottley, 60, who also earned a graduate degree in conducting from Catholic University. ‘‘But every school told me I needed more experience.”

Ottley was faced the Catch-22 that many recent graduates have. She couldn’t get a job without experience. But she couldn’t get experience without a job.

Ottley solved the dilemma by opening a music school in her home.

Why moving was necessary

In 1996, she moved to Adelphi and the school moved with her. For four years, the only evidence of the school to passersby was a small purple sign on the lawn of her house on Riggs Road across from the George Washington Cemetery.

‘‘Eventually, we were using nearly every room in the house for lessons and school business,” Ottley said, as she explained why she relocated the school in June 2000 to the University Town Center. ‘‘There were teachers and students everywhere.”

For more information Ottley Music School is located at University Town Center, Metro Center Bldg. 3, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite G-20, in Hyattsville. Emil Chudnovsky’s masterclasses will be held at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 26, Mar. 26, April 23, May 21 and June 25. For more information, contact Ottley Music School at 301-454-0991 or visit www.ottleymusic.org.

The facility consists of 14 teaching rooms and a few administrative offices.

The school owns several antique pianos for practicing, including a 1925 Steinway grand and a 1908 Erard.

The school has 185 students ranging 4 years old to adult. There are special classes for pre-school-age pupils called, ‘‘Music for Little Mozarts.” Most other students take private lessons from one of the school’s 24 instructors. Summer music camps are also offered.

Ottley Music School has its own symphony orchestra, which consists of teachers, students and community members. In 2001, the group became the official orchestra for the University Park community and regularly plays at the Publick Playhouse in Cheverly and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.

Many area public schools don’t have orchestras. The Ottley orchestra gives students an opportunity to play in a large ensemble, which is important for their musical and social development.

‘‘My school [High Point High School in Beltsville] doesn’t really have a good orchestra,” said Catherine Bennett, 16, of Beltsville, who plays viola. ‘‘And, I get to play with kids from other schools in the Ottley orchestra.”

Voice and cello teacher April Roach, 32, of Greenbelt said students often learn as much from playing together in ensembles as they do in one-on-one lessons.

‘‘We put one teacher per instrument in the orchestra,” said Roach, who works as an NIH contractor during the day. ‘‘The students are always learning and growing.”

Other Ottley students cited the school’s scholarship opportunities as reason enough to attend.

‘‘I really like the opportunities available to Ottley students,” said Kevin Powell, 15, of Hyattsville, a violin and oboe player, who attends Northwestern High School. ‘‘I got a ... scholarship which allowed me to get free lessons here.”

County supports music

Contrary to popular belief, Ottley claimed, Prince George’s County is very supportive of arts and music education.

Ottley said people just don’t know where to look to find scholarships and opportunities, which is one of the reasons Chudnovsky chose the area for his masterclasses.

‘‘There is tremendous talent here in Prince George’s County,” said Chudnovsky, who has music degrees from Yale University and the Mannes School of Music and has won nearly a dozen international violin competitions. ‘‘But kids here just don’t have as much access to the type of high-level training available in other areas.”

Chudnovsky had no trouble finding high-level music education as a child. He was born in Moscow to an acclaimed violinist mother and a father who conducted a major Russian opera company orchestra.

He immigrated to the United States with his mother in 1976. He eventually settled in the Washington area in 1996 at the behest of his good friend and former music school roommate Howard Van der Sluis, who grew up in the area and taught music at Northwestern High School.

When Chudnovsky mentioned he wanted to conduct a series of masterclasses, it was Van der Sluis who suggested Ottley Music School.

‘‘Prince George’s County needs top-flight music teachers and performers,” said Van der Sluis, who teaches music in Alexandria. ‘‘The false, unspoken assumption is that classical music is only for the affluent.”

Van der Sluis said if students continually hear lackluster classical music performances, they will be turned off the art form during their formative years, when learning music and studying an instrument is vital to creative development.

‘‘I invited Emil to perform for my students, who never listen to classical music and think it’s boring,” Van der Sluis said. ‘‘As soon as Emil started playing, their jaws dropped and their eyes widened. They were exposed to excellence and ... excellence is appealing to everyone.”

Excitement greetsperformance

Chudnovsky had jaws and eyes bulging Sunday when he performed during the first of six masterclasses at Ottley Music School.

A masterclass is a public lesson. A student performs a piece of music for a teacher and an audience. Then, the teacher critiques the performance and often asks to the student to replay difficult passages.

Chudnovsky was particularly animated when advising students.

‘‘Ninety percent of any audience has no idea what they are talking about,” Chudnovsky barked at a trepid Yuval Ravinsky-Gray, 15, a sophomore at Silver Spring’s Montgomery Blair High School who played Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G-Minor. ‘‘So, there’s no reason to be nervous when you are performing in public.”

Chudnovsky, who lives with his fiancée in the District and keeps a busy schedule of teaching, performing and recording, plans to conduct one masterclass each month through June at Ottley Music School.

Chudnovsky is convinced he can make a difference in Prince George’s County and expose students to a high level of musicianship that will inspire them and the community.

‘‘In order to appreciate a great piece of music, two ears and imagination are all you need,” he said.