The group has been preparing for the concert since the start of the school year
In the abundance of concerts approaching at Cinnaminson Township Public Schools, one that should not be overlooked is the Cinnaminson Strings winter concert. The concert will be held on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Cinnaminson High School auditorium, and admission will be free.
Cinnaminson High School junior and strings student Casey Koukoski, who has been playing the violin since she was in third grade, says since the Strings department is smaller than the school’s other music departments, such as band and choir, it often gets overlooked.
“Sometimes people forget about us,” Koukoski said. “We work really hard, too, and we like making music and making people happy.”
Ninth grader Genna Goins, a violin player who wants to be an elementary school music teacher when she grows up, says her favorite part about being involved with Strings is the group’s Director of String Instruction, Dave Hercock.
“He’s a good guy and he puts his heart into it. Sometimes it doesn’t work and sometimes it does, but he definitely puts his best effort in,” Goins said.
Hercock is the only Strings instructor in the district, so he teachers the Strings students from third grade until graduation. While this keeps him very busy, Hercock says he feels grateful Cinnaminson has a strings program at all.
“The district is very lucky to have a string orchestra program because there are not many schools in the country — nevermind in South Jersey — that have strings programs,” Hercock said.
Hercock also says he’s thankful for the support that comes from the parents of Strings students. The parents attend the concerts and raise funds to bring in outside artists to help teach the students — something Hercock says is very valuable.
“If they have someone else come in and just rephrase it in a different way, it can be like a lightbulb going off,” Hercock said. “I think it’s so important that they have another teacher.”
Hercock has been with the district since 2001. He is originally from England, where he started playing the violin when he was just 7 years old. He went to a music conservatory in London and moved to the United States in 1983. When he had children and began coaching their soccer team, he realized how much he loved teaching, so he decided to combine his love of music and love of teaching and turn it into a career.
“I really enjoy it. It’s wonderful seeing the happiness that they have when they succeed,” Hercock said. “I love the fact that I can pass on my knowledge and enjoyment.”
High school freshman Sara Minieri says the Strings students are all very close.
“It’s not just about playing the music,” Minieri said. “We’re like a family.”
Freshman Brandon Rohn agreed, saying that having Strings during his first period block always starts his day off right.
“It’s the highlight of my day,” Rohn said.
Rohn added he hopes the community will come out see the Strings concert and appreciate all of the work that was put in to make the concert happen.
“It’s really rewarding to see how people can enjoy all of the time and effort we put into doing this,” Rohn said. “We’ve come so far from third grade playing simple notes to this year having an electric violin part that’s almost too fast to play. It’s really fun to see how people react to things like this.”
Goins agreed with Rohn, saying it’s a big deal to the students when the community recognizes them. She also says the concert is a great opportunity for the community to see how the Strings students progress and grow from third grade all the way to senior year.
The Strings Booster Club is doing a holiday gift card fundraiser called Scrip Fundraising. Scrip is a fundraising company that partners with thousands of businesses. Participants can buy gift cards through Scrip, and a portion of sales will go to Cinnaminson Strings.
Cinnaminson Strings has been using this fundraiser for the past eight years. This year, Cinnaminson Strings will hand deliver all gift cards purchased through Scrip before Dec. 15. The order form can be found at www.cinnaminson.com/strings.
