Revitalizing The Woodlands High School Orchestra with Aaron Michaelson

Since taking over The Woodlands High School’s Orchestra 5 years ago, director Aaron Michaelson has worked tirelessly to revitalize the program.  Like any other new conductor, he’s worked to incorporate more challenging pieces and sought to keep the students active with concerts and gigs.  But first and foremost, his most ambitious change has been in redefining the style of performances the group played.

High school orchestra programs are pretty much as far away from trendy as it can get.  They’re known for being one of the most neglected groups on campuses, playing a couple of serenades and sonatas a couple of times a year for a tiny crowd of bored parents.  This was exactly the stereotype Aaron has worked to defeat; he has not only incorporated electric instruments, vocalists, and percussion sections into concerts, but has deviated from Bach and Beethoven and brought in Rush and Nirvana.

Aaron’s groups have performed pieces by Journey, Metallica, and Jimi Hendrix, rewritten for string orchestras.  They’ve played soundtracks from Star Wars, the Avengers, and Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as the over-the-top Christmas ballads of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  They’ve even had concerts with guest artists such as Mark Wood, a “rock violinist” who has recorded with the likes of Billy Joel and Lenny Kravitz.  In an effort to compound the successes of past endeavors into orchestral rockstar-dom, Michaelson has just this year founded a permanent Rock and Roll Orchestra this year, whose students will meet every week to transcribe and play modern music for strings.

The Woodlands High School Orchestra has become anything but ordinary.  I sat down with him to ask him a few questions about what it’s like to bring a string orchestra into the 21^st century with the new Rock and Roll Orchestra.

Woodlands Journal: Thank you for sitting down with me! First of all, how did you get interested in music?

Aaron Michaelson: Oh man… that’s a hard question. I’ve known since the fifth grade that I’ve always wanted to be in orchestra.  I’ve been determined to now provide a program that’s a place for students to belong and grow.

WJ: Can you tell me how you got interested in being an orchestra director?

Aaron Michaelson: Pretty much for the same reasons as my last answer.

WJ: What are the students like?

Aaron Michaelson: I have a wonderfully talented diverse pool of students here in the orchestra program with many different interests and likes and backgrounds, which is one of the reasons that I want to start this alternative program because its more authentic to their personal background!  It’s music their parents exposed them to, from different cultures and time periods.  Its one of the reasons I wants to start this group, to give students more options to explore their interest in music, and to not just have the violin be used for 18^th century art music…

WJ: Do you have any specific stories worth sharing from your time directing at The Woodlands High School?

Aaron Michaelson: Several guest artist have come in in the last few years.  Students responded very well to [them], and I wanted to further explore this genre of alternative styles or more modern music and give students an opportunity, who may not excel in traditional orchestra music, to be involved in this group, such as students who play more by ear. I wanted to explore other avenues of music, and to offer it on a permanent basis.

Woodlands Journal: Where did you first grow interested in “modernizing” the orchestra? 

Aaron Michaelson: I’ve been doing research on music’s effects on the brain and brain based learning and the power of creativity, and I want to incorporate more creative elements into our program.  Offering this as an after school program means more freedom to incorporate more diverse choices

WJ: What sort of music will the group be playing?

Aaron Michaelson: Classic rock, 90s punk, fiddle music, jazz explore areas and let the students pick.  It’s not a traditional program where the director teaches.  I’m going to be the facilitator to help them find things and they’ll be the one to decide what they want to explore.  They’ll do the arranging and find the music.  It’s all about students… student driven and student led, and it’s something that doesn’t fall within the scope of a normal orchestra system.  It’s an opportunity to give more students more chances at leadership, especially people who wouldn’t normally be leaders within traditional programs.

WJ: What are your goals for the first year?

Aaron Michaelson: I want this group to go out and play in the community in the spring, and I’d also like to see it create its own arrangements of things, not just playing notes off of pages but engaging with the music.  They [will have] to go home and transcribe and write and run rehearsal. It’s experimental and about enjoyment and furthering their playing abilities through alternative techniques.  The program will get off its feet this year, and in future years I hope to establish more performances.  This year is about building and and experimenting, and future years will be more about performing and continuing to build.  It needs to get off the ground, so no set in stone goals yet.

WJ: Gotta start somewhere, right.  What else do want to do for this group?

Aaron Michaelson: Incorporate non orchestra players. People who play in garage band, guitar, percussionists, people into jazz, bring them in and crate unique ensemble experiences.  Open another outlet for other students at the school who don’t fit the mold of band choir and orchestra but who still want to be involved in the music.

WJ: Great! Thank you so much for your time.

Aaron Michaelson: No problem.  Thank you.

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As you can see, Aaron Michaelson is a man with a plan.  Ambitious yes, but with his past endeavors under his belt, there’s no reason to believe the new Rock and Roll Orchestra won’t be a huge success.