Pull People Up Alongside You: An Interview with Calida Jones

Calida Jones is a violinist with her Masters in Violin Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Hartt School. She has taught in a variety of music settings including Suzuki and El-Sistema-inspired programs. Calida is an activist, consultant, and speaker. She is the former Director of Engagement at the Hartt School and has just begun a new role as Vice President of Planning and Capacity Building for the Arts Consulting Group.

We talk about how she started her journey as a musician (which I’m sure you can relate to if you are a musician or are supporting one), what practice was like for her growing up, what led her to teach, and how we can make a difference where we are and see that more students have a chance to learn music and see themselves reflected in the leaders around them. 

Here are some of my takeaways from this episode:

1. Let go of the expectation that your child will “want” to practice.
2. Take stock of the actions you are taking to help create change. Start doing something!
3. Students need to see themselves represented in the role models they see.
4. Review, Review, Review – There is so much benefit to learning things deeply… Especially skills on our instrument. 

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Highlights include:

• “I started in a school program. So it happened early in the morning and I think that’s a different experience versus starting privately. And once I’d started the early morning lessons, then I shifted over to additional private lessons and group class, which is a privilege. And I acknowledge that. And so, you know, I think for me –  because I started in the group setting, that part was the most interesting for me because I was, and I am a very active socializer . . . “

• “When it comes to practice, you just always know that there’s an expectation in your mind that you want to see them achieve, but be okay if it doesn’t happen. Because if you start adding that pressure to their lives early, what I’m noticing is, when they get to high school (or) college age, they really have challenges with their self-esteem, their confidence, their ability to use discernment for what they want, because they’re looking for who can they please in that process. . . They’ll figure it out.”

• “I love Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy. I love this idea that every child can, and there’s a way to make that happen. I love the parental involvement because my parents were involved and I recognize that that is not the case for every child. It’s a gift, it’s a privilege, but not every child can have that opportunity. So I was really intrigued by that aspect of teaching. . . How do we find a way to modify the approach so that more students can have the opportunity to learn what this philosophy is? I think that’s what really drew me in.”

• “Inclusivity means that there is some sacrifice that has to happen both personally and then, you know, organizationally and across the country. And that’s not a bad thing because many people sacrificed before us so that we could be here now, having this conversation.”

• Real talk on the need to take action: “If you’ve been on this earth for a little while (maybe you’ve had to renew your license more than 10 or 15 times) and you aren’t moving stuff forward, or you’re not using your role as a leader to pull people up alongside you, then sit down, don’t lead . . . because it’s not actually leading, it’s taking up space for someone who could actually lead the change.”

• “If we are to have more leaders of orchestras and organizations and companies and government . . . if we’re going to have people that are going to step into those roles, our kids need to start seeing people that look like them in those roles. Period.”

• “Review is so important because it layers – it builds upon the skills. And then the process of review will intersect with life things, as you become an engineer, or if they become a lawyer, they become a judge, if they become an HVAC worker, an entrepreneur, they’re going to have to have those processes in place. And that starts at review believe it or not. So if I couldn’t encourage anything else, it would be to review. It’s like my favorite thing to do!”

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Resources from this Episode

Find Calida on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnjassociates/

Find Calida on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cnjassociates/

Calida Jones TEDx talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoffq0iYwg8

To submit a question for an upcoming Pep talk (google form) 

Full interview transcript available in the next few days

Reach out: TimetoPracticePodcast@gmail.com 

Find Christine on Instagram @SuzukiTriangle 

Sign up for one of the upcoming Time to Practice Pep Talks HERE