Eleven-year-old Zachary Detrick might barely stand as tall as a cello, but his imagination soars as high as a New York City skyscraper.
Zachary participated in Youth Works, Metropolis Ensemble’s after-school program at Public School 11 in Manhattan, where elementary students get to explore creativity and self-expression through music composition. He also had the opportunity to collaborate with Metropolis composer fellow Brad Balliett. Over the past year, Brad has helped Zachary prepare his new piece, “Divertimento on a Mad Tea Party,” inspired by the Mad Tea-Party scene from Lewis Carroll’s famous book Alice in Wonderland.
And on June 8, 2010, students at PS 11 were in for a treat, as one of their classmates had a magical world premiere… part of the annual end-of-year Youth Works concert. Metropolis musicians, including conductor Andrew Cyr and special guest narrator Postell Pringle, performed Zachary’s new work to the delight of every student (and teacher) present, complete with its wild storytelling, arithmetic riddles, and sweeping themes.
Brad and Zachary explain the project and their work together on “Divertimento.”