John Zeretzke’s “Flutes Across The World” is a multi-faceted, educational and humanitarian music program designed to nurture cultural understanding, he says. But that is just a fancy way of saying that what he does is all about hope. It’s about kids helping kids.
Zeretzke was encouraged by Sir Edward Artis, founder of Knightsbridge International, to get musical instruments to give to children in need, he says. A master artist/educator and award-winning composer, Zeretzke has been working with children and arts education for almost 30 years.
As images flash across the screen showing last year’s flutes being delivered to children in Haiti, he tells his audience the stories they don’t already know: How he went to Ronald McDonald House to have children battling cancer make flutes for children in less-advantaged countries suffering the same fate.
Sick and despondent and all too often alone, the children wait in hospital beds for a better day to come. Like the Pied Piper, Zeretzke walks the halls playing his flutes, flashing his quirky smile, making silly jokes. Even the heavy of heart let him in. Then he gives the little ones a curious plastic cylinder with holes cut in it. Brightly decorated, there is a photo attached. It is of the child who made it, smiling proudly. Tucked inside is a love note, from one child to another.
“Dear Friend, I am Sam. I hope you like the flute. The symbol on the bottom stands for peace . . .”
Every child chooses an ancient universal symbol of goodwill, friendship or prosperity to color onto each of two flutes they will make – one to give, one to keep. It is not so much the image as the thought behind it that forever connects the flutes together, Zeretzke tells them. The campers at Circle V Ranch Camp during the week of July 16 made flutes that will again go to Haiti.
Circle V was founded by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Council of Los Angeles in 1945 on 30 acres of Los Padres National Forest in the Valley. The six-day and five-night sessions are for boys and girls ages 7 to 13. Activities include hiking, swimming, nature study, games from archery to ping pong, arts and crafts, along with old campfires favorites of skits and songs.
This session also offers the opportunity to engage in a little philanthropy. That is why 12-year-old Arely chose the symbol of friendship to put on her flute. “It’s going around the world to someone who barely has electricity,” she says. “It will bring them happiness.” There are two types of flutes that children learn to make and decorate – a simple bamboo flute for younger children and a PVC plastic pipe flute similar to modern-day recorders for the older kids. Permanent markers are used to decorate them.
Children on both ends of the world receive a concert and a little musical education. “I can tell you the whole history of the violin in four minutes,” Zeretzke tells a moaning group of campers. But groans quickly turned to giggles as he shows them the evolution from a simple string tied to both ends of a stick right on through to his pink plastic Barbie violin, along with a teeny tiny version and even a trumpet violin.
The journey, punctuated with laughter, takes less than the promised four.
Zeretzke actively brings children a deeper understanding of world cultures and an appreciation for others in need by teaching geography, cultural traditions, history, language arts, visual arts and music, all with a silliness that keeps them engaged. Zeretzke has written numerous ballet, dance and theater scores and has received a lengthy list of accolades, including the Lester Horton Dance Award, the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur International Composing Competition for Dance, and the lifetime achievement award – a Professional Artist Service Award – for his work in arts education in the state of California.
He was both the music director and a soloist with the Aman Folk Ensemble in Los Angeles for more than 13 years, has composed numerous scores for films and theater, and recorded with musical artists, among them Kenny Loggins.
In 1999, he was awarded the Medal of Honor from the White Helmets of the United Nations for peace-keeping in the world and for his joint efforts with Knightsbridge International and Operation Smile. He also won a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 from the City Of Ojai where he currently lives.
So Zeretke isn’t kidding when he says he knows a bit about the art of engaging students. This evening is no different. It is a participatory concert, one with more volunteers than time and opportunity for all who want to take part. All too quickly the evening draws to a close.
With the stars sparkling brightly against an ebony sky, and shadows cast long from the cabin’s glow, he plays the sounds of ancient whales whispering softly the magic of music, of giving of one’s self to another, of moments to last a lifetime. And the concert, but not the power of the message, ends.