Moorhead orchestra students rock
by Dan Gunderson, Minnesota Public RadioOrchestra students in Moorhead are playing a concert unlike any they've ever played before.
Warning: classical music purists may find this report offensive.
Moorhead, Minn. — In addition to playing to capacity crowds across the county, Mark Wood regularly visits schools to give orchestra workshops.
Mark Wood is a Julliard trained classical musician. But he couldn't play Van Halen or the Beatles on his viola, so he started building electric violins.
Moorhead orchestra teacher Brian Cole met Mark Wood at an orchestra educators conference and invited Wood to visit Moorhead schools.
Wood says this is the first time he's brought his entire band to perform a full fledged concert with orchestra students as young as 10 or 11.
Mark Wood says he has a special interest in Moorhead because the orchestra program is committed to trying new approaches to teaching kids to embrace string instruments.
Mark Wood says he knows he annoys some classical music purists, and he enjoys that. He says he's not out to harm classical music, but to augment what students learn in traditional orchestra classes.
