Cello Professor David Bjella participated in an international music program in May in the capital city of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, teaching cello lessons to students, ages 7 through college age.

Invited by Kirsten Yon, associate professor of Violin at the University of Houston, Bjella was invited to be part of a project called Cuerdas de Enlace (“Binding Strings”), which brings music training to young musicians in Honduras. Yon has had success in previous trips to Tegucigalpa in the past and wanted to enlarge the group of professors so they could reach more local students.

“We gave masterclasses designed specifically at the request of the Honduran university professors, sharing pedagogical ideas with them in an advanced masterclass format,” said Bjella.

Collaborating with the Escuela Nacional de Musica and the Conservatorio Victoriano Lopez, they performed with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Honduras. They also presented a full chamber music concert which featured North American music.

“I found this trip to be incredible in many ways,” said Bjella. “The level of the students throughout was very high despite incredible odds; most of them have very limited resources and live in conditions we would consider poor at best. There was always a sense of ‘what can we learn today from Maestro David.’ The attitude was amazing and their work ethic equally strong. I found it hard to leave on the last day seeing the students with tears in their eyes. It was quite an eye opener for me and something I will never forget.”

By Heather Teschner, intern, Stetson University Marketing