After 33 years of teaching elementary school and nurturing young minds, it wasn’t a surprise when Marilyn Stuckert didn’t pursue a relaxing retirement from Tri-Creek School Corporation in Lowell.
Instead, the Crown Point resident accepted a part-time position as the manager of the Northwest Indiana Youth Symphony Orchestra last June where she is now helping to encourage and provide opportunities for some of the most talented young musicians in Northwest Indiana and Illinois.
“I didn’t feel that I wanted to retire,” Stuckert said. “I enjoyed 33 years of teaching and was ready to move on to something else. I’m adapting my skills to a different context.”
Stuckert describes her new position as a “go-between” for the conductor/director Philip Bauman and students and parents.
“I do all of the legwork for the business end of the organization: collection of money, registration, attendance, music prepped for students, paperwork, so he can spend his time focusing on the music aspect of it,” she said. “I’m there for the kids if they have an issue. I’m there for the parents and for all of their questions and concerns.”
The Northwest Indiana Youth Symphony Orchestra is made up of select high school and middle school students who have achieved their positions through competitive open auditions. The orchestra accepts members entering seventh grade all the way up through age 22.
“The youth orchestra supplements their orchestra work in school,” Stuckert said. “It is an additional outlet to express and use musical talents above the classroom. Students gain real world exposure.”
As an example, she cited the Halloween Pops Concert that will feature each member of the youth symphony orchestra playing side-by-side with the members of the adult symphony. The event will take place Oct. 24 at the Star Plaza. All musicians will be in costume, and the audience is encouraged to dress up too.
Stuckert said that a portion of youth symphony members who graduate go on to study music education or performance in college. Others, she said, do not pursue a music career, but instead become involved in musical things in college.
“Being a part of the Northwest Indiana Youth Symphony Orchestra is a good part of their resume for college,” she said.
“I like the people I work with. I like the kids and parents. I like the performance end of it,” Stuckert said of her first few months with the organization. “I like the exposure to working with the adult symphony, which just had a gala at the Star Plaza where I worked with the kids as volunteers. I’m really enjoying all aspects of the orchestra.”
Her new position didn’t happen by chance. Stuckert was introduced to the organization when her daughter, Julie, now a junior at Crown Point High School, achieved a spot on the orchestra when she was in eighth grade. While waiting for her daughter to finish rehearsals that took place at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster, Stuckert assisted the former manager with her duties and volunteered her time every Sunday for the last two years.
With a daughter who plays viola and a husband who plays clarinet, Stuckert, can now say she brings a new musical angle to the family.
“Ironically I’m not musically talented whatsoever,” she said. “I cannot play a musical instrument, I cannot sing, I cannot read music. I don’t even understand it when I look at it. My music is a love of music, not a talent.”
Besides working in the background of the organization to make sure everything works smoothly, Stuckert is also in charge of fundraising and helps the students raise money for their accounts, which can be used toward the travel experiences that the organization presents to its members.
Next June, 20 youth orchestra members will visit Germany and Austria, one of the bigger trips the organization has planned in years. To help the students with expenses, Stuckert plans fundraisers like the spaghetti dinner that is scheduled for Oct. 12 at the First Presbyterian Church, 218 S Court St., Crown Point. The event is specifically to assist the students planning to travel abroad.
In addition to the dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread, meatballs, salad and a tempting bake sale for dessert, guests can expect some music and fun.
“The people working the event will be the students who are traveling to Europe,” she said “They will be waiters and bus boys. Some of the students will bring their instruments and play tunes for tips.”
Raffles and door prizes will also be a part of the evening event. Stuckert said that there will only be a few $10 tickets available at the door for the seated dinner, which will take place at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. Anyone interested in attending should call her to reserve their tickets, 219-836-0525, ext. 207.
According to Stuckert, fundraisers vary from year to year. Upcoming fundraising activities for the group include Fannie May candy sales, Carson’s Community Days, Gordon Food Service pie sale, and Leap into the Arts, a fundraising gala held in partnership with the South Shore Dance Alliance and the Southlake Children’s choir. The gala is planned for Feb. 21 at the Halls of St. George in Schererville.
For more information on the upcoming events for the Northwest Indiana Symphony Youth Orchestra, visit www.nwisymphony.org.
On retirement and starting a different career, Stuckert advises, “You’d be surprised at the jobs out there whether you need them or want them. Find that niche. Take a love of something you enjoy and put it somewhere. Surprisingly, all of your skills will translate.”
With the additional free time in her life, Stuckert is spending more time with her family and expanding her love of canning. She’s also catching up with old friends. In addition to the youth orchestra, Stuckert is also finding herself attending marching band events, as her daughter has now expanded her love of music to percussion.