Photo courtesy of James Finegan
Gianna Pileggi ’14: James Finegan, a Philadelphia native and EA music teacher, has been developing his violin skills since the fourth grade.
“I grew up in the city of Philadelphia. I started playing the violin when I was ten years old, which is pretty old because most of my friends started when they were five or younger. I don’t remember exactly how I started playing the violin, but I was one of six kids, and we all played an instrument. My older brother played the trombone and my sister played the viola, so they were taken. I liked how the violin sounded. My grandparents always provided us with private music instruction, which was great. I played the violin and guitar throughout high school. I was in the rock band, jazz band, and orchestra. I have always loved the violin and went on to play in college. When entering college, I figured I would major in violin because that is what I was good at. Sophomore year of college was when I realized that violin was what I really wanted to do. Before that it was really just a default. I worked really hard at the violin and had a really good teacher. I went on to receive my undergrad and master’s degrees in music performance from Temple University. Then, I ended up doing it as a career.”
Finegan and Katie Bechtold, another EA music instructor, met at Temple, where they had the same violin teacher and were in the same studio. “After I graduated with my masters, I knew Katie had had her job at EA for three years. She was doing lower, middle, and upper school, but she needed help in the lower school. She asked me if I would want to help out, and of course, I said agreed. I have been working here for five years now. My position in lower school is part time. I work three days a week teaching 4th and 5th grade orchestra. Part time is good because it allows me to have the time to perform on my own. Because Katie is now on maternity leave, I have seven orchestras combined across lower, middle and upper school. I’ve really been enjoying it. “
Finegan plays in multiple musical groups while he is not teaching at EA. His favorite aspect of performing is the team aspect of being in an orchestra. “ I have played with the Delaware symphony and Allentown symphony. I play in a wedding quartet, and I am a part of other orchestras also. Teamwork is my favorite part of performing. In an orchestra, you have 60 to 80 people at a time performing one piece and working towards one goal. We are like co-workers, but we are all working on the same project. There are so many of us. We have to be sensitive to one another’s needs musically. On violin, you are on the side of the stage, so you can peek out into the audience and see how the music is affecting people, and you can see some people enraptured in the music, and it’s a great feeling. You can’t imagine what it is like to be in the middle of that sound in an orchestra. It is really unbelievable.”
This past summer,, Finegan was able to play at one of his new favorite venues out in Boulder, Colorado as part of a hybrid orchestra in the Colorado Music Festival. “I’ve played at the Kimmel Center a few times with the Temple orchestra, which was really neat. This past summer I did the Colorado music festival in Boulder, which is kind of like an all-star orchestra. They take orchestras from all across the US that come together for six weeks in the summer and play together as a hybrid orchestra, and they play in a glorified barn. You walk outside and there are incredible mountain ranges…This past summer was the first time I had played there, but it is definitely one of my favorite venues. The Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE is also a great one. It is over 100 years old. The Academy of Music in Philly is also nice.”
Finegan believes that playing and teaching music complement one another. “I like both teaching and performing. When teaching, I can apply things I use in my own playing which is nice. When I’m performing, I always find new ways to do things. When I solve a musical problem while playing I always think how it could help one of my students. I think it’s important as a music teacher to keep performing. You know how it feels and how nervous you get performing and so you can relate to the kids.”
Finegan has enjoyed being able to work in the three divisions of Episcopal because he has been able to witness the growth of the students he was able to first introduce strings to. He has also enjoyed meeting the upper school students while subbing for Ms. Bechtold. “As a sub, I’ve seen a lot of the kids I started with in 4th grade. Many of them have continued in upper school, and it makes me feel great because my job is to give them enthusiasm for music and for their instrument. It is fun to see them progress especially because at EA we are all on one campus, so I still see them around campus and see them grow up. I have also enjoyed being able to meet new students in the upper school. It has been fun.”