From coaching shy sixth graders out of their shells to mentoring graduating seniors, Waterford’s middle and high school orchestra teacher, Lynn Masciarelli, is an integral part of the Waterford community.
At just three years old, Ms. Masciarelli began her career as a violinist. She describes how her father was a jazz trumpet player, composer, and arranger who “believed that the violin was the complete instrument and wanted all his daughters to learn how to play.” Ms. Masciarelli and her four older sisters followed their father’s wishes and were enrolled into private lessons at a young age. Ms. Masciarelli received these lessons from a master teacher who would tell her stories about how he used to play duets with Albert Einstein. Additionally, she would often accompany her sisters to their own lessons, absorbing all that there was to learn.
She admits that she follows her “interests with an excitement and enthusiasm that usually goes beyond a hobby. I leave it all on the stage. The more demanding the job becomes, the simpler my life at home gets.” In essence, Ms. Masciarelli gives everything, including a large portion of her spare time, to the orchestra programs. She has learned a lot through her years as a violinist and works hard to share this knowledge with her students.
Not only is Ms. Masciarelli a talented violinist, but she is a beloved, highly respected teacher. WHS sophomore chamber orchestra violist Casey Jadamec explains that “Ms. Mas is a teacher that I would go to and ask for advice about pretty much anything. I’ve always thought very highly of her and I’m honored to be able to learn from her.”
First chair violinist and senior in the chamber orchestra, Alex Seltzer agrees, stating that Ms. Masciarelli “really keeps the students in mind first, exceptionally well. She always looks at what the students next step will be and has discussions on style as well as about college and the world.” She helps and engages them by relating their musical learning to real life situations, becoming someone her students can look up to and can seek out for guidance.
Marina Matsas, a sophomore violinist who plays in the WHS string orchestra, adds that “Ms. Masciarelli is a good teacher. She really wants her students to play well, and succeed.” Ms. Masciarelli cares about her students, always making an effort to help them flourish whether that be musically, academically, or in life in general.
Although, the job is not an easy one and Ms. Masciarelli expresses the difficulty of not having a designated teaching space or the time to give small group lessons. She recounts how “back in the day, before block scheduling, high school students all across the nation still had small group lessons during the school day.” She references how “this provides equal access to the arts for students who can’t afford private lessons.” However, this is not the case anymore with few schools in the nation still providing private lessons. Ms. Masciarelli mentions that this makes it “difficult for students to make meaningful progress.”
Despite these complications the WHS orchestra program has grown substantially during Ms. Masciarelli’s years. Seltzer recounts how “about 10-15 years ago, there were about 20 people in the program. It’s been an amazing development under Ms. Winters and Ms. Masciarelli.” He continues by stating, “the orchestra has 10-15 people who made it into eastern regional this year. Ms. Masciarelli spends hours and hours every day preparing for orchestra.” With Ms. Masciarelli leading the cause, the WHS orchestra has grown and become substantially more successful. Furthermore, Jademec believes that “the orchestra program at our high school is really strong, and has a mix of really good kids.” She then adds that she loves “playing viola, and I think that Ms. Mas creates a program worthy of pride and praise.”
Ms. Masciarelli shares both her music, and life related wisdom, helping her students become the best versions of themselves. The WHS orchestra program would not be the same without her, and she has had a large hand in growing it into what it is today.
