Drive-by concerts in Sea Cliff are not just for the kids

Although the first few drive-by concerts going on in front of Sea Cliff Elementary band director Jodie Larson's home were conducted by her students, it did not take long for older musicians to play in the street.

Trumpeter Fiona Shonik, a senior at North Shore High School, and her brother, Ruben, and their father, Lee, both percussionists, came by to perform only a few days after Marco Camps made his first appearance out on the street.

Shonik said Larson believed in her musical abilities as soon as she picked up a trumpet for the first time in third grade, which was especially meaningful because few girls played trumpet at SCE then. Now Shonik plans to major in trumpet performance and music education at Northwestern University in the fall, and she said Larson has been with her throughout her development as a musician.

“She wants the best for her students all the time,” Shonik said, “and I couldn’t have asked for a better first music teacher.”

Shonik said, though, the drive-by concerts do more than show Larson appreciation. They are intended to make people happy, she said, noting that the arts become more important than ever during trying times like these.

“It’s uniting, and it shows some people who don’t necessarily support the arts all the time that there is a reason to support the arts,” Shonik said. “And it’s a reminder that music is a universal language.”

Larson said she was also honored when her own former teachers from the Baldwin School District, Helen Bauer and Melinda Edwards, drove by in their pink 1960 Nash Metropolitan. The two sang “Cheers for Old Baldwin,” the district’s song, while parked on the street.

Bauer was Larson’s first flute teacher from fourth to ninth grade, and also conducts the Northwinds Symphonic Band, in which Larson played flute from 2007 to 2017. Bauer and Edwards have kept in touch with Larson for more than 50 years. They have always been proud of their former student, Bauer said. And seeing how dedicated and excited Larson’s students are shows just how great a teacher she is, she noted.

“A lot of teachers are not able to inspire their students the way Jodie is,” Bauer said, “and it’s not something you can put in a box and explain to people. The fire comes from within, and you have to find it yourself.”