ATHENS, Ga. — More than 60 Cedar Shoals High School students got a chance to see their classroom lessons come to life through a unique combination of literature, film, and live music.
The Athens Symphony Orchestra raised $2,240 to send students to a special performance of the original 1931 Frankenstein film at The Classic Center Theatre in downtown Athens, accompanied by the movie’s score performed live by the orchestra.
The idea started with Cedar Shoals English Department Chair Tara Stuart, whose AP Literature students were studying Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein.
Stuart saw the symphony’s upcoming performance as a chance for her students to compare the classic novel with a very different adaptation. Hoping to remove the cost barrier, she contacted Athens Symphony conductor and artistic director Brad Maffett about allowing the students to attend a dress rehearsal.
Maffett decided to take the idea a step further.
He organized a fundraising effort among symphony members and supporters that raised enough money for Stuart’s AP Literature students and about 40 members of the Cedar Shoals orchestra to attend the full Oct. 25 performance for free.
“When Tara first contacted me, I immediately felt that we needed to find a way to bring these students to the performance,” Maffett said. “More importantly, I wanted them to experience something truly unique, a live symphony orchestra performing alongside a classic Universal Studios monster movie.”
For senior Sa-Ida Arnold, the experience provided a new way to examine a story she had already studied.
“From the previous unit we had worked on, I was able to make comparisons with the storyline and the movie and explain how they were different and similar,” Arnold said.
Senior Litzy Pinto Mojico said hearing the orchestra perform made the movie even more powerful.
“While some things varied between the book and the movie, having the orchestra playing made the experience more interesting and added depth and thrill to an already great movie,” she said.
The trip also offered a different kind of lesson for Cedar Shoals orchestra students.
Sophomore cellist Zackary Green said watching professional musicians gave him ideas about how to improve his own performance.
“It was a great experience to see how professional musicians perform, communicate, watch each other, and move together,” Green said. “I was able to make connections between their ensemble and ours and reflect on how I can improve as a musician and cellist.”
Maffett said giving young people access to experiences in the arts is important to him and hopes the performance stays with the students long after they leave high school.