The Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Norfolk Public Schools have started an initiative to deepen music education for young musicians while honoring an arts educator.
The Mary Goode Brooke Music for Young People Legacy Program brings professional VSO musicians into schools for an immersive chamber music experience. It is named after Brooke, a longtime Norfolk resident, teacher and performer who passed away on May 2, 2023, at the age of 97.
The Norfolk native showed musical promise from an early age. By 11, she was studying the piano at the Bristow Hardin School of Music in Norfolk. At 15, she performed as a soloist with the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra, now the VSO.
Brooke later earned a scholarship to Smith College in Massachusetts and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She graduated in 1947 and went to New York City, where she taught piano at the Diller-Quaile School of Music. She returned to Norfolk to teach at the Williams School and, for decades, shared music by playing her Steinway with her home windows open.
The legacy program was created by Brooke’s nephew, Peyton Robertson, who wanted to expand on his aunt’s commitment to music education.
“While Aunt Mary never married or had children of her own, she extended her love of music to countless students over the years,” Robertson said. “It’s fitting to extend that outreach to Norfolk’s public high schools in her honor.”
This year, VSO musicians will coach string quartets at Booker T. Washington, Granby, Lake Taylor, Maury and Norview. Each school will participate in six coaching sessions during a semester. The program emphasizes chamber music, which is performed in small ensembles without a conductor, encouraging students to collaborate and take responsibility for their individual roles.
“Chamber music develops communication, cooperation, independence and leadership,” said Helen Martell, VSO director of education. “These skills extend far beyond music and are valuable in students’ future careers and relationships.”
All the quartets and a VSO string quintet will perform at 7 p.m., May 12, at Norview High School, 6501 Chesapeake Blvd. The free recital is open to the public.
