Seeking social change through music

The 2025 Wharton Arts Education Award will be presented to Maplewood resident Tricia Tunstall on April 10.

“It’s wonderful,” said Tunstall. “I haven’t had a recognition like that before in my life. It’s particularly wonderful it comes from Wharton Arts. I’ve been a fan of that organization for a while. I’ve been involved with them for years. They exemplify a community engagement spirit. I’m very honored that they would choose to honor me.”
Tunstall teaches piano, has written several books, publishes a newsletter, and is dedicated to social change through music.

Tunstall took an early interest in music, watching her parents who loved to dance. When she was 6 years old, she got a piano and has taken lessons throughout her childhood.

“When I went to college, I knew I was not going to be a concert pianist,” she said. “I wanted to explore liberal arts.”

She went to school for philosophy, yet she never stopped playing.

“I always loved classical music and playing,” she said. “I was equipped to be a philosopher who plays the piano. That wasn’t a job profile I saw very much.”

A graduate of Yale University, Columbia University, and Boston University, Tunstall combined her career as a writer with her work as a music educator at every level.
Tunstall lived in New York and moved to Maplewood when she had her second child. “It’s an amazing town to raise kids in,” she said. “I had two young kids and did not want to work full time.”

Teaching piano fell into her lap. She built a practice around teaching the kids of friends.

“That bloomed into a career,” she said.

She has maintained a piano studio in Maplewood for 30 years.

“I have been so fortunate to be a piano teacher in this community,” she said. “There are talented kids everywhere. The difference here is people really value music education. It’s a high priority for lots of parents. It’s really enriching to a child’s life.”

As Tunstall’s interest widened, she began to think of herself as both a teacher of piano and a teacher of music appreciation and engagement. She was then introduced, by a good friend, to Gustavo Dudamel, a Venezuelan conductor.

At that point, he was 26 years old.

“He was the most exciting conductor I’ve ever seen,” said Tunstall. “Venezuela has a commitment to universal music education for all children—free. I went to visit Venezuela to see how it worked there. There were neighborhood orchestras, community orchestras, learning centers all over the country. It was exciting to see that. To see that commitment, children learning music together. All kinds of things that are musical and non-musical for children to experience, including cooperation, including listening, including empathy, including the collective experience of making a beautiful thing, including discipline and the passion of working hard to accomplish something beautiful. That’s when I became really interested in the power of collective music education.”

Tunstall’s first book “Note by Note,” is a celebration of the piano lesson.

After meeting Dudamel, she wrote “Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema, and the Transformative Power of Music.” It won a 2013 ASCAP Award and the 2016 Prix Des Muses in France. It has been published in six languages.

“When that book was published, I realized the same idea was not confined to Venezuela,” she said. “It was blossoming across the world. I began traveling around the world to research these orchestras and music ensembles in unlikely places. Witness the energy, the delight, the tenacity of the children and the young people who were involved in these programs. My present husband (Eric Booth) is also an arts educator. Together we traveled the world, went to about 25 countries and then wrote a book together, ‘Playing for Their Lives: The Global El Sistema Movement for Social Change Through Music.’ I’ve been eager to take any opportunities I can to speak to groups who are interested in this subject, just to spread the word of what I’ve seen.”

Tunstall is also the co-founder and advisory editor of The Ensemble, a communications hub for the international field of music education for social impact.

“My husband and I started ‘The Ensemble’ in 2011 when we were beginning to make our travels, just beginning to understand what kind of movement this was. Kindred spirits educating children in musical ensembles.”

In addition, Tunstall led the formation of the El Sistema New Jersey Alliance, the first U.S. statewide alliance of programs.

Wharton Arts’ Annual Gala will feature student performances and a live auction at the Westmount Country Club, 728 Rifle Camp Road in Woodland Park. For more information about the event, visit WhartonArtsGala.org.

  Music, piano, social change