Hard work and dedication
to music produces results

Christine McCall

Tony Rymer knows firsthand that performing at the level of a Project STEP (String Training and Education Program for children of color) student requires countless hours of practice, dedication, passion and, above all else, a deep love for music.

Rymer, a 16-year-old Dorchester resident, exemplifies all of those qualities, as do many of his friends in the Project STEP program, which held its annual Spring Recital May 14 in the Higginson Room at Symphony Hall. The recital featured solo performances by students ages 6 to 17.

Coming from a musically talented family, Rymer says that he was constantly surrounded by music as a child. He began playing the cello at the age of 5 and has been involved in Project STEP for the last 11 years. A junior at Walnut Hill School in Natick, Rymer said, “I’m thinking about music all the time.”

An accomplished cellist, Rymer placed second in the Sphinx National String Competition in Detroit last year. This year, he came in fourth and has won numerous other awards prior.

But winning takes work, and a demanding practice schedule — Rymer practices for four hours every day — makes it difficult to fit everything in.

“It takes a lot of time and there are certain things I can’t do,” he said. He gave up basketball because he did not want to take the chance of injuring his hands. “[Playing an instrument] makes things harder to do.”

“I have classes and I practice and I still have to do homework after that,” Rymer said. “A lot of times, not much time is leftover for friends.”

Part of his inspiration for performing comes from his parents and teachers. Rymer said that his mother used to practice with him everyday when he was younger before his teachers motivated him to practice on his own.

Executive Director of Project STEP Mary S. Jaffee said, “The demands that this program places on its students are substantial, and require great parental support and extraordinary perseverance on the part of the students.”

Rymer agrees. “I don’t think I would have made it that far without [my] parents and teachers,” he said.

One person in particular who has impacted his development is Eugene Kim, a former teacher with whom he worked for seven years. “He was a really great guy and helped me a lot,” Rymer said, adding that he still goes to Kim for advice.

As for Rymer’s future, he said that he would like to continue his music career and go to conservatory. He plans to audition at a few schools in Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Rymer wants to continue performing and has thought about becoming a teacher one day.

Another Project STEP standout is senior Barbara Vanté of Mattapan. She also attends Walnut Hill and will graduate in June. Vanté plays the viola and has been a student at Project STEP since she was six years old. She is currently studying the viola under James Buswell’s instruction. Among her many highlights from this year, Vanté reached the finals of the Sphinx Competition, where she earned honorable mention, and was the final performer in last weekend’s recital, after which she received a standing ovation. Vanté has decided to continue her music career at Oberlin Conservatory in the fall.

“Tony and Barbara are dedicated, committed students” who have “worked terribly hard from the time they began Project STEP at the age of six,” Jaffee said. “They have done so beautifully and we are very proud of them.”

Mariana Green-Hill, a STEP alum and teacher, was honored as the guest speaker at this year’s recital. She performed one piece for the audience and also shared her life story and journey of how she reached the point where she is today.

Green-Hill began playing the violin when she was 4 years old. She describes herself as “a little woman in a child’s body,” forever curious and wanting to know about the world. Green-Hill added that she has been blessed and credits her mother for instilling in her a true love for music.

An accomplished violinist, Green-Hill graduated with bachelors and masters degrees from New York’s prestigious Julliard School, and later received a professional studies diploma at Mannes College of Music. She has won numerous awards, including the Sphinx Competition’s Best Tone Award and first place prizes in the Boston Symphony Orchestra Competition, the Harry and Marion Dubbs Competition and the 17th Annual NAACP Act-SO Competition.

In addition, Green-Hill is a member of the Young Eight, a group of African American musicians that convene for chamber performances in Austin, Texas, Greensboro, North Carolina and Seattle, Washington. She is also the concertmaster of the Soulful Symphony.

She said that she was honored to call herself a student and teacher, noting that “parenting and teaching are two of the biggest responsibilities we as adults have to pass on to our children.” Green-Hill also advised students to remember their teachers and what they teach, even after the music lesson is over.

The Project STEP program was founded in 1982 through the cooperation and collaboration of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New England Conservatory and Boston University School of Music to address under-representation of musicians of color in classical music.

The unique program helps talented music students and their families deal with financial burdens and cultural barriers that may get in the way of preparing them for a career in classical music. Project STEP provides more than 30 students with instruments, private instruction and theory classes every year.  When students become more advanced, Project STEP adds chamber music, orchestra experience and performances to their routine.

Since the program’s creation, every STEP graduate has continued his or her education or music career by attending college or conservatory. “Through the Project STEP program all of our students acquire self confidence, discipline, poise and the great joy that comes from expressing themselves so beautifully with their music,” Jaffee said.