Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows; 302; Tara Reese interview

Q:

TARA: My name is Tara Reese. T-a-r-a R-e-e-s-e.

Q:

TARA: I didn't get the opportunity to start playing an instrument until fifth grade and Riley School, my kids have been playing since they were five and so they really got an opportunity really early to get into playing and being exposed to music and playing in a group and they have I would say almost no fear getting on stage and playing in front of people even at five, eight and eleven and it's really cool to watch that from them.

Q:

TARA: It's important I think to do that because, uh, I think the more exposure you get to getting on stage and getting in front of people and playing all the time the less you feel hesitant about doing it, the more confident you are and it's just fun. I think it's fun for them, it's fun for us to watch, for sure. I mean, my husband and I both play but not nearly to the extent of the kids. They far surpassed us already but it's really neat to get to watch them enjoy playing the music.

Q:

TARA: Oh, I definitely think it's helped them grow as kids. I think, um, it helps them with the discipline of having to sit down and practice and, you know, at the younger age it's a lot of parent led, making you practice type thing but my oldest one has passed that bridge to where she now just will walk around and pick up an instrument and start playing in the house and she plays a couple. So, that's really neat to sit and watch her get to that level already and she just turned eleven so she's very young I think. So, it's gonna be cool I think to see in the next couple of years how far she's gonna go with it.

Q:

TARA: Um, I have Irish background in my family and I think it's neat to be able to get the traditional music traditions alive and over here where there are a lot of people who have Irish decent in their blood and I don't think that they know what the music is like. The kid's teacher especially is very set on them playing by ear for a very long time. I mean, none of 'em know how to read music. So, they completely pick everything thing up by listening and then figuring it out themselves and it's really, uh, neat experience to hear somebody do that and they get to I think get all the little nuances that I don't think you get off of a sheet of music. So, I think learning in the traditional sense which is what Riley School brings is a really... it's different than other music programs. I think it brings a different aspect to the musicality and what they learn from it.

Q:

TARA: The school does a lot of playing out for the community. They participate in a lot of different activities to support Arts Wave, they go down and play, um, in the summer time they always participate in a local music program that raises money for the arts in general down at Mount Washington Park. And, they participate in a lot of those things. Our community also sessions in a couple different venues throughout the year usually about every other week there's an Irish band playing from our school at one of the venues. And, a lot of times it's just an informal session where anybody could come and join.

Q:

TARA: I think, uh, the Riley School of Irish Music is important because it keeps alive the tradition of Irish music the way it was taught from its starting until now. Um, they really spend a lot of time focusing on all the different instruments here but making sure that people are learning by ear and that the school not only goes through lessons but they very much encourage us to stay after lunch and participate in one of the band sessions so that you're learning your instrument in your class and then you go to the band session and get to play with everybody else the way Irish music is meant to be played.

Q:

TARA: I don't know. I think it’s a very good, I mean, bang for your buck. I think Riley School is a... the place to ...

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