The 50 String Players Group presents a program of classical music on Saturday, February 11, at Princeton United Methodist Church in Princeton. The ensemble is composed of 50 students of the Princeton String Academy, from tots to teens, who perform pieces by Bach, Schumann, Telemann, and others. The school, based in West Windsor, has a Suzuki-based teaching philosophy. Hyosang Park, music director at the church, accompanies the concert. Admission is free.
“I am delighted that the Princeton String Academy continues to grow with more than 60 students ranging in age from four years old to advanced high school students,” says Paul Manulik of West Windsor, who founded and established the school in 2005.
Manulik was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and began to play the violin when he was 10. In college, he switched to the viola and holds a master’s degree in viola performance from University of Iowa. His bachelor’s degree is from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
Manulik moved to West Windsor from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2001. Manulik’s family is a musical one — his brother plays the string bass, and his sister the cello and piano.
Princeton String Academy has grown to more than 60 students and three faculty members. “I am especially pleased with the growth of the school and the addition of new faculty members,” he says.
New instructors include two violinists from New York. Emily Kalish has a master’s degree in violin performance from the Manhattan School of Music and Suzanne Davies has her bachelors of music degree from Columbia University. “All the instructors of the Princeton String Academy have taken courses on violin pedagogy certified by the Suzuki Association of the Americas,” says Manulik.
“The Suzuki method offers students a very logical progression of musical training,” says Manulik. “Imagine learning to play a string instrument as naturally as we learn our native language and that all children have musical ability.” Suzuki programs provide both a group class environment along with individual private lessons.
“Listening to music, repetition of skills, and a positive learning environment provides confidence for a young student,” says Manulik. “The mother or father of a very young student helps practice with their child to provide a good follow through to the weekly lesson. As the child matures, more responsibility is given to the student. After learning the Suzuki musical literature, students go on to learn the major concerto repertoire of their instrument.”
“I appreciate Mr. Manulik’s patience and dedication at every viola lesson,” says Suzanne Huang, mother of Catherine Huang, 12, who has been studying viola for four years. “His lessons are excellent because they help students grow as string players. His group lessons are fun and create many opportunities for young musicians to perform.” Huang plays in Community Middle School’s orchestra and received high honors at the New Jersey Music Teachers Association Spring Festival in 2011.
All students play in their school orchestras and many also participate in the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey or the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra. Students from the Princeton String Academy have at times been the concertmaster or principal players in those youth orchestras. Students have also been members of the regional and New Jersey All State Orchestra. Student regularly win state and local competitions and this past fall two students won second place in the New Jersey Music Teachers Association Young Artist competition for ages 10 and younger and 15 to 17 age division.
“Princeton String Academy has given my daughter a lot of opportunities for recitals,” says Jyothy Padmanabhan. “Their discipline of performances is awesome. Children are given personal as well as group attention. We are really proud to be part of Princeton String Academy.” Sadana Padmanabhan, a seventh grade student, is a member of Grover Middle School’s orchestra and was recently accepted into the Youth Orchestra for Central Jersey. She began playing the violin in Chicago when she was four years old and has been with the Princeton String Academy for the past six years.
More than 90 percent of the students live in West Windsor and Plainsboro. The students attend the following schools:
Maurice Hawk: Max Xu, Sophia Khan, Sresth Gupta, Sabrina Wang, and Elizabeth Chang. Dutch Neck School: Jenny Wang and Ethan Wang. Village Elementary: Simron Datta, Peter Wu, Bryan Liu, Serena Chen, and Jessica Xu. Millstone River: Jeffrey Yang, Joseph Xie, and Ribhav Bose.
Community Middle School: Jonathan Wang, Sonal Gupta, Lute You, Naveen Nathan, Catherine Huang, and Wilson Cai. Grover Middle School: Sadana Padmanabhan, Aayush Gupta, Aum Chatterjee, Marihah Atif, Aditya Shankar, Samrath Singh, and Viviane Liao.
High School North: Naomi Niggerman. High School South: Matthew Chin, Mona Agarwal, Sanjana Bhat, and Gujiri Singh.
The school offers a full range of weekly lessons and the academic year coincides with the West Windsor-Plainsboro schools. The summer program includes a six to eight-week summer session. In addition, this summer the school also offers a week-long summer for kindergarten to fifth grade students. String and Rhythm Camp introduces the violin along with drumming and basic fun musical activities.
For parents of young children who are interested in violin and viola instruction, the reception following the performance February 11 is a perfect opportunity to meet the director and staff and learn about the academy’s musical education program. For more information about the program, call Paul Manulik at 609-751-7664 or visit www.stringacademy.net.
— Lynn Miller
50 String Players, Princeton String Academy, Princeton United Methodist Church, Vandeventer and Nassau streets, Princeton. Saturday, February 11, 7 p.m. Concert featuring music by Bach, Schumann, and Telemann presented by 50 students from tots to teens. The school, located on Colonial Avenue in West Windsor, focuses on a Suzuki philosophy. Paul Manulik directs and Hyosang Park accompanies. Reception follows the concert. Free. 609-951-7664. www.stringacademy.net.
