'Music Matters' nets Mayo High School senior $10,000 – Post Bulletin
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“I give free lessons because I know what it’s like to start with limited access to music education,” says Mayo High school senior and violinist Ramon Campos. “I didn’t take private lessons until years after I began playing for financial reasons. I just want to make it easier for others to begin their journey with music.”
Even though he frequently offers private violin lessons for free or at a reduced fee to students in financial need, Campos’s love of teaching music has paid off in a big way. He won a prize of $10,000 through the “Let Music Fill My World” Music Matters challenge. He’ll be using the prize to provide infrastructure to support an annual fundraiser he started called the Donut Dash, a program that provides scholarships for student-athletes involved in the arts.
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In part, Campos is interested in supporting this population because besides his love of music, he is also the captain of the Mayo High School cross country team.
“After helping organize the first Donut Dash last year, I was looking for a way to get a head start on this year’s Donut Dash,” says Campos. “I searched online for grants high school students could apply for and found the Music Matters Challenge. Since the challenge was made to fund and support music educators, I knew it could be a good way to support Donut Dash infrastructure.”
To win the $10,000 prize, Campos made a video of himself teaching people to play the song “Let Music Fill My World” on a fun electronic instrument called the Otamatone.
“I reached out to people through door-knocking and phone calls,” explains Campos. “With my brother’s help recording audio, we filmed each participant playing the Otamatone twice — once before and once after I gave them a lesson for the instrument. I edited all of these clips together into my final submission. Voting took place over a 10-day period, with people from all over the country able to vote online for their favorite submission.”
As part of his award, Campos also gets to play a part in choosing a recipient for a $300,000 grant to fund a music teacher. The awards are made possible by the Tullman Family Office organization, which sponsors the Music Matters competition, which states as a goal “that every child in America has access to music education in their schools.”
“I connected the Let Music Fill My World team with Rochester Public Schools leadership, including Superintendent Kent Pekel, to ensure the $300,000 grant is used effectively,” says Campos. “I’ll also be meeting with a group of RPS faculty to discuss how this grant could bring additional opportunities for RPS students.”
Now 17, Campos started playing violin in sixth grade at age 11. He got started by learning songs from his favorite video games. “I never learned how to read sheet music for a while,” he says, “so I relied on YouTube tutorials that displayed the notes like a game. It wasn’t the most efficient way to learn, but it kept me excited about practicing for hours after school.”
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Campos’s musical journey has been supported by several important music teachers. “My private teacher, James Buchan, has been one of my biggest influences,” says Campos. “He welcomed me into his studio free of charge and now offers me lessons at a reduced cost. His generosity and teaching style have greatly shaped me as a music educator.”
Campos also credits Keehun Nam, his conductor with the Southeastern Minnesota Youth Orchestra (SEMYO), and his middle school director Lori Ringen-Poencet as being important to his musical growth.
“My high school orchestra director, Mrs. Kuisle, has been a constant source of guidance and support, always encouraging me to seek new opportunities,” says Campos.
For her part, Katie Kuisle says Campos’ dedication and musicality are unique. “Ramon diagnoses or hears someone else diagnose a problem and immediately works to fix it,” she says. “Kids can’t afford lessons? I’ll teach them for cheap or free. No time for high school and middle school collaboration? I’ll work to start a violin club. The music department needs money? I’ll find a gig and a quartet for donations.”
Kuisle describes Campos as an excellent violinist. Despite the fact that Campos had never had private lessons, she says she was “blown away” by his ninth-grade audition. “Needless to say, he made the top group,” she says.
Since then, Campos has played violin with the Symphonic Strings Honors group at Mayo High School. “He has played with each orchestra for every concert since the very first concert of his freshman year. He does this to help fill out the sound, help the other members, learn the music to work with the other members, and be a welcoming presence to all members of the orchestra,” says Kuisle.
Besides his school orchestras and the regional SEMYO, Campos also successfully auditioned for the Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2) ensemble. It is one of the top orchestral training programs for young musicians across the country. As part of the program, which began earlier this summer on July 12 and included three weeks of intense rehearsing, he performed with the NYO2 orchestra at Carnegie Hall on July 27 earlier this summer then gave two concerts in Scotland with the ensemble as a resident orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival on Aug. 3-4.
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Ultimately, Campos says his love of music stems from its ability to bring people together. “Music is my way of connecting with people,” he says. “It’s a cliché statement for a reason; it’s true for a lot of us. Whether it’s teaching or performing, I think it’s so cool how music can help people feel seen, inspired or just amazed.”
Ramon Campos’s winning Music Matters challenge project at can be found online at letmusicfillmyworld.com/challenge .
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