In a word, it was electrifying.
It was also easy to see how Emmy-award-winning composer, artist and electric violinist Mark Wood charged up 155 Marana and Mountain View High School students as he filled the Mountain Lions' gymnasium with high energy and enthusiasm while leading them in rehearsal last Thursday.
"This is one of the top-10 string programs in the country," said Wood, a former member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, during a break from rehearsal.
"For a thriving, energetic and fruitful string program, this has all the elements," Wood said, adding, "I try to work with programs like this every year."
The charismatic Wood held a four-day workshop called "Electrify Your Strings," a music program designed to enhance regular music curriculum in schools.
He spent two days with middle school students and two with high school students - more than 300 in all - and at the end of each two-day session, the students gave a performance.
The music for the performance is different from what you would expect from an orchestra.
In addition to a little Vivaldi, he said, "We are going to play Led Zeppelin, Kansas, Metallica."
Wood devotes his time to projects such as Wood Violins, a business he founded that makes electric violins, and Electrify Your Strings, where has worked with 40,000 students and teachers, he said.
This is the second year the artist has helped with the string program, said a grateful Terry Alexander, the Mountain View orchestra teacher.
Wood sent out arrangements and soundtracks of his work ahead of time so students would be ready to perform when he arrived, Alexander said.
"Wood is giving back to the kids, he is blazing a new path to teaching strings," she said.
"It is a great experience for these students to have a top artist say to them, 'That was awesome,' after a session."
For Marana High School student Noe Arroyo-Williams, 15, a first-time participant in the program, it was more fun than he thought it would be.
"I wasn't so sure about it, but when I got here it was very fun," he said.
"After a few months of practice, I am not afraid to play. It was hard at first and I was practicing every night," he added.
"Now I am playing it easy."
"Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas is his favorite, he said, "because it has fast and slow parts and is challenging to play."
Wood seems to get a lot of satisfaction not only for his efforts but for the teachers who work with students all the time.
"I see the commitment that teachers give their students, and that is important to see," he said.
Contact photographer A.E. Araiza at araiza@azstarnet.com or 573-4155.
