Two Washington Township students receive national honors for compositions.
By: Mark Moffa
WASHINGTON Peace and a painted butterfly. Two local students recently used these two different yet similar concepts to compose music that earned them national recognition.
Alexa Lesenskyj, who will be entering the fifth grade this fall at the Sharon School, and Daelyn Kauffman, who will be a second-grader at Sharon, were recognized through the National PTA’s Reflections Program for their compositions.
The girls had to finish the phrase, "I hold in my hand…." Alexa, 10, composed a piano piece titled "I Hold in My Hand, Peace." Daelyn, 7, composed "I Hold in My Hand a Painted Butterfly" for violin.
The two progressed through the local, county and state PTA levels, before earning recognition from the National PTA.
According to the National PTA, the Reflections Program is designed for children from preschool through high school "to create works of art for fun and recognition." The four contest areas include literature, musical composition, photography and visual arts.
Alexa, who plays piano and clarinet, says she prefers the piano.
"She likes to just sit around and tinker with it and play with melodies," said her mother, Vera Lesenskyj. Ms. Lesenskyj said Alexa plays piano for the neighborhood children as they put together plays and movies.
"They have a lot of fun with it," she said.
Alexa said she enjoys making up music and finds it relaxing.
"I try to picture myself in a story," she said.
For her winning piece, "I Hold in My Hand, Peace," she pictured a candle shop and a song that may be playing in the shop to soothe the customers. Alexa admitted that the events of Sept. 11, 2001, were on her mind as well when she selected "Peace."
So, with the candle shop and peace in her mind, she went to work writing the song, which had to be less than one minute long.
Her song won her a Merit Award from the New Jersey PTA Reflections Program at the third-to-fifth-grade level.
Locally, musical composition judge Anne Marie Gibson, an East Windsor resident, provided musical composition entrants with comments on their pieces. Ms. Gibson, a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, studied piano for 14 years and studied piano performance while at F&M.
"This is a lovely composition that communicates the composer’s intentions regarding her inspiration for the piece," Ms. Gibson wrote. "Alexa’s use of melody was very effective. I particularly like how the opening melody returns later on to complete the universal message.
"Alexa describes how she wants the listener to have a sense of peace and contentment upon hearing her work," she continued. "I think she achieves her goal with ‘I Hold In My Hand, Peace.’ I am left with an overall sense of the beauty and tranquility of her music. I commend Alexa for appreciating and effectively using music as an art form."
Daelyn, who won the Award of Excellence from the state PTA for the kindergarten-to-second-grade level, is rather shy about her accomplishment.
Her mother, Deby Kauffman, said Daelyn already has made it to the national competition twice.
Daelyn said she thought of the title for her piece while admiring a painted ceramic butterfly the Kauffmans own. She said she received help with composing her piece from her sister, Deberly.
Deberly, who will be entering the fifth grade at Sharon, made it to state level as well with her composition, "I Hold in My Hand the Wisdom of Age."
Ms. Kauffman said Deberly used to watch violinists on television when she very young, and one day said that she wanted to play violin herself.
"I just thought that it looked like fun on TV," Deberly said. She began lessons when she was 4 years old. "I just kept doing it."
Ms. Kauffman said the sisters seem to work well together. "They seem to be feeding off each other somehow."
Deberly plays in the New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra with a 92-year-old woman. The group practices every week and recently played in Spain at the United Nations Global Conference on Aging.
Her parents say the experience teaches her something that can’t be taught anywhere else respect for senior citizens.
According to the National PTA, the Reflections Program offers unique experiences as well.
"When children express themselves through words, pictures, music, photography and other art forms, they grow intellectually," the organization states. "They learn to analyze their thoughts, feelings and ideas. They learn to look at things, people and experiences in a fresh and exciting way, and they become more interested in the ideas and works of others. The Reflections Program also helps parents encourage and recognize the continuous self-discovery process of their children."
The Reflections Program was started in 1969 by then Colorado PTA President Mary Lou Anderson.