Note Worthy: Professor’s program Jump-starts Musical Aspirations for Dallas-area Youth

Pyle spends the academic year as the Franco professor of humanities and an assistant music professor. During the summer months he pours his energy into a classical music program he founded, called ChamberWorks Summer Music Institute, and its offspring, the ChamberWorks Youth Orchestra.

Since 2010 ChamberWorks has introduced children of color and children from underrepresented Dallas-area communities to classical music. That’s how he met Strouse ’28, now a first-year Davidson student and ChamberWorks alum.

Not your average summer camp, ChamberWorks is modeled on a conservatory education. Students ranging in age from 10 to18 practice and improve on their instruments, and dive into music theory, music history and electives. They work on practical skills, too, from hitting difficult notes to overcoming stage fright. Each session ends with a concert designed and performed by the students.

“Students come in not knowing what they’re going to play, and it’s always a little scary. We wonder whether we are going to be able to put on a concert,” Pyle says. “And within two weeks, they are putting on a concert. They always exceed my expectations.”

Every other summer, Pyle and ChamberWorks students travel to cultural hubs like Boston, New York and London, where they attend performances, meet with musicians and educators, and play in iconic concert halls.   

As a student, Pyle received multiple scholarships and awards. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Other degrees include a master’s in music from The Juilliard School, a master’s in comparative literature from Dartmouth College, graduate studies at Columbia University, and a doctoral degree in historical musicology from New York University. He has played at top concert venues around the world.

His connections help students—both at ChamberWorks and Davidson—achieve their musical and higher education goals. On one summer trip to London, the Academy loaned ChamberWorks students some of their most valuable instruments to play in a concert at St. James’s Church.

“It meant a lot to me that my alma mater supported us like that,” he says. “I’ve been really lucky to have so many people donate their time, money and instruments to this.”   

The ChamberWorks musical education covers genres from classical to jazz to opera.

“A lot of people think you can’t teach 10-to-18-year-olds about opera, but they love it,” Pyle says. “They’re very curious and want to make the music, which goes against stereotypes. When they see it, they love the drama and spectacle of it—it’s something they wouldn’t get to watch on TV.”

Making a Musician

Music filled Anthony Strouse’s childhood home. His great-grandmother, who helped raise him, introduced him to mariachi music as a small child. His mother loves music and his stepfather, a musician, always had instruments in the house. When Strouse’s mother learned about ChamberWorks, she enrolled him.

“It helped me become a better musician, my playing got so much better after two weeks,” Strouse says. “I’ve stuck with it ever since.”

Strouse credits Pyle’s mentorship and other skill-building aspects of the camp, including resume and portfolio work, for preparing him to apply for college.

“Dr. Pyle challenges everyone,” he says. “As I got closer to applying to college, that motivated me more.”

Strouse now majors in music and minors in Hispanic Studies at Davidson and is a recipient of the J. Estes Millner Scholarship for music. He’s already joined a student rock band, and wants to play with the Charlotte Symphony someday, like Pyle does. He led a mariachi band in Garland and hopes to start one on campus.

“I’d really love to share that aspect of Mexican culture here,” he says. “I think people would enjoy that.”

The vast majority of ChamberWorks students go on to attend college. Some end up in musical careers as performers or music educators, and some forge different paths, like one who founded a startup in Silicon Valley. Pyle has great hopes for Strouse.

“We’ve had some outstanding students, and Anthony is one of them,” Pyle says. “He’s a very hard worker. He is as musical as he is ethical. He cares deeply about creating community through music and is just as disciplined and committed to both projects.”