OSU and NY Philharmonic partner to provide music mentorship program

Mar. 25—Hannah Hartwig didn't plan on studying music at first.

Although the Tulsa-based sophomore and flute performance major at Oklahoma State University played the flute for eight years — taking lessons and performing in high school and college — she decided on a medical career at first.

But when she realized her passion was music, a new world opened up.

Hartwig was one of 11 students who had the opportunity to attend a unique residency mentorship program at the New York Philharmonic, part of a three-year partnership with the McKnight Center at OSU.

Professor Thomas Lanners and Darin Williams, The McKnight Center's Director of Education and Community Engagement and the program's liaison, also traveled with the group.

The students were selected from the Greenwood School of Music after a music competition at OSU. They traveled to New York City to receive one-on-one instruction and mentorship from accomplished musicians.

They also performed at the Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens and La Guardia High School.

The partnership between The McKnight Center and the New York Philharmonic is an opportunity for OSU students to not only be mentored by world-class musicians, but also to enhance their learning experiences that may not be available at other universities.

"We've had a strong relationship with the New York Philharmonic since they performed the inaugural concert when The McKnight Center opened in 2019," said Mark Blakeman, executive director of The McKnight Center. "When we created this multi-year partnership we knew how special it would be to include an opportunity for students to travel to New York and build upon this relationship to have true mentors in the orchestra field."

Music involves several layers, Hartwig said. Not only does a musician need to focus on notes and rhythm, but also they need to focus on the musicality of a piece of music.

Watching Liang Weng, Principal Oboe and one of their group's mentors during the week, was how Hartwig learned the most.

"As soon as they start playing, it's so impactful and meaningful," Hartwig said. "Those are my role models, and I want my sound to impact someone like the way their music has impacted me."

She said getting more information about the field, learning history and being exposed to repertoire were some of the benefits of the trip.

"These experiences are truly eye-opening and will forever broaden their horizons as musicians and as human beings," Lanners said. "I always maintain that the finest musicians I meet are also the kindest and most generous in the field, and the many New York Philharmonic members we interacted with resoundingly confirmed that belief yet again."

Hartwig and her group's ensemble, called "Camerata Nouveau," or "New Chamber Music," performed a one-minute song for the competition at GSM. The group consisted of a bass trombone player, a trombone player, a French horn player, an oboe player and a flautist.

"It's a very unconventional group," Hartwig said.

Ethan Do, a trombone player and composer from Edmond, wrote several pieces for the trip, including "Fletcher's Song" — which they performed for the OSU competition — and "Petals" and "Fanfare and Flourishes."

"I am very grateful for such a unique opportunity," Do said. "It is rare for the average student to have the opportunity to work so closely with our heroes."

The students who attended the mentorship program are among some of the best and brightest in their respective programs at GSM. They are from Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and China.

As a piano professor, Lanners said he enjoys meeting musicians with similar training, ambition, mindsets and skillsets when he travels, because it reminds him why he's in this often exhausting, but also ultimately rewarding field.

"As musicians, we are never 'standing still' — we're either continuing to learn and improve ourselves in every way possible, or we're gradually losing our skills and becoming stale and complacent," Lanners said. "The former benefits not only each singular musician but everyone they come in contact with, including the public, their students and colleagues, and the musical field at large."