May 27, 2026
A String Project Student in Class at the Butler School of Music
For 77 years, the String Project at the Butler School of Music has introduced young students to the joy of learning a string instrument. This fall, the program will take that mission farther than ever before, all the way to Alaska.
Beginning in October, the Butler School of Music String Project will launch a new three-year residency partnership with ISLAND MUSIC, a program of the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council. As part of the residency, a cohort of Butler faculty and college student teachers will travel to southeastern Alaska for an intensive week of performances, music education, and community engagement in the coastal communities of Ketchikan and Metlakatla.
The residency will feature performances by Butler faculty members Sandy Yamamoto, Professor of Practice in Violin; Wilhelm Magner, Assistant Professor of Viola; and Joel Braun, Associate Professor of Double Bass. Concerts will be presented in Ketchikan and Metlakatla, two communities deeply connected to the cultural and geographic landscape of southeastern Alaska.
Ketchikan, a waterfront city of approximately 8,200 residents, is known as the “Salmon Capital of the World” and serves as a major hub for the region’s fishing and timber industries. Nearby Metlakatla, located on Annette Island, is home to roughly 1,400 residents and is the only federally recognized Indian reservation in Alaska.
Ketchikan, Alaska
The partnership was developed by Christopher Koch, artistic director of ISLAND MUSIC, whose mission is to bring world-class chamber musicians and music educators to Ketchikan, Metlakatla, and Prince of Wales Island. Through conversations with new String Project director Marissa Guarriello, the two discovered a shared belief in the power of music education to strengthen communities and create meaningful cultural exchange.
In addition to the faculty performances, Guarriello and current String Project teachers Andres Hernandez, Jennifer McKeeman, Courtney Nottingham, and Natalie Reitzes will work directly with approximately 40 local students, many of whom will be playing an instrument for the first time. Throughout the week, students will receive daily instruction in the fundamentals of violin playing and ensemble performance. They will learn posture, instrument and bow hold, tone production, rhythm skills, and basic music reading while progressing from pizzicato playing to bowed performance. Through open-string pieces, call-and-response exercises, rhythm activities, and layered ensemble music, students will build confidence, listening skills, and the experience of making music together as a group.
A String Project student in a group violin class
The residency will culminate in a community concert featuring the beginning students alongside Butler faculty and teachers. After the week-long residency concludes, participating students will continue their studies through weekly Zoom lessons with Butler String Project instructors, allowing them to continue developing their musical skills throughout the year until the program returns to Alaska the following October.