On Monday, Dave Hart’s middle school music students were visited by Brad Hogarth, band and orchestra director at San Francisco State University. A friend of Hart’s since their time at the Eastman School of Music, Hogarth worked with the students on a section of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “English Folk Song Suite,” advising them on technique and how to sound more enthusiastic while performing. One of his methods was to ask the students for words that came to mind while playing various sections of the piece, which helped them bond with the music and deliver more sincere, heartfelt performances.

“The main thing that I was trying to get them to do today was give them permission to use all the energy that they naturally have at this age and put it into their instruments,” Hogarth said.