The kids of St. Paul's Harmony strings are taking the stage once more

On a Thursday morning before the elementary school day began, the sound of "Ode to Joy" echoed through the halls of the Riverview West Side School of Excellence in St. Paul.

Rows of students sat on the wooden floor of the Riverview gymnasium with their instrument cases at their feet. Upon the director's instruction, students dressed in navy and khaki and multicolored masks stood up straight and tall, with their bows, violins and cellos at the ready before starting in on a new song.

The students are a part of Harmony, a Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies (GTCYS) and Riverview West Side School of Excellence youth orchestra. As they practiced, the 65 students were reminded that "how we practice is how we perform," a mantra that is more important than ever this month as the group prepares for its orchestra performance on Feb. 26, the first concert since the pandemic began.

The strings instruction program serves students of color and those from lower-income families who may not otherwise have access to music education. It's been co-hosted by GTCYS and Riverview since 2016, when it started with 15 kids.

Students from second to fifth grade wake early to arrive at school before their classmates three days a week to learn and practice the violin and cello.

Conductor and Harmony artistic director Mary Sorlie held the students' attention with jokes and passionate demonstration, while other instructors helped individual students tune their instruments or hit a note. Students were reminded to keep their eyes to the front of the room and listen respectfully as each section practiced each string of a song.

When one instructor told a group to start at the wrong place in Beethoven's classic, Sorlie asked the group to raise their hand if they've never made a mistake in their life. A few students raised their hands, and the whole group broke out in laughter.

"I like that you get to learn new songs, play at concerts and meet new people," fourth-grade violinist Ulisses Aguirre Armenta said after school. He wanted to play after watching his older brother Allen go through the Harmony program.

Going through the pandemic with a musical community has been huge for the young musicians, said Sorlie. Though the students are mostly attentive during rehearsal, their friendships were evident in their chatter and laughter before and afterward.

Last school year, COVID shuttered Riverview and St. Paul Public Schools, making their in-school rehearsal schedule impossible. Harmony shifted to a Saturday school model, gathering for an hour and a half masked and distanced at St. Matthew's Catholic Church.

"We had not near the numbers that we had, but those kids that came were so committed, and they loved being there because it was for some of them the only chance that they could see their friends in person," Sorlie said. "That was really important for them."

With other activities canceled, some musicians progressed so quickly that they moved to entry-level orchestra Philharmonia East a year and a half early.

Sixth-grader Allen Aguirre Armenta is one of those who's now playing with the Philharmonia East program. He wants to stay with the violin through middle school and beyond.

"I really never thought that one day I'd be playing violin or an instrument in general," Allen said.

That is Harmony's goal — that students will continue on through GTCYS to other orchestras. Harmony students receive need-based scholarships to help them continue on in their artistic careers.

Their Feb. 26 performance at Humboldt High School will give the young students a taste of that — performing alongside middle-grade orchestra Camerata so they see where their hard work could lead them, said Sorlie, who often hopped on a chair during rehearsal, completely captivating the group.

Some struggles remain even with the doors of the elementary school open, such as absences due to quarantines. Still, there is no doubt that the students will rise to the occasion, said GTCYS Executive Director Megen Balda.

"They've been learning about concert etiquette, how to bow, which is always fun to see in progress. I think they're just really excited to play for their families, because they haven't been able to do that in a traditional sense for quite some time," Balda said.

In addition to "Ode to Joy" they'll perform "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," a song called "Boo," and body percussion, like stomping or clapping, to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme.

"It's hard work for the kids. It's so hard. But one of the mantras of Harmony is that we can do hard things," Balda said.

The Harmony and Camerata concert is a free event.