Gail Barnes conducting the orchestra. Photo contributed by the String Project
The University of South Carolina String Project is an after school program that offers anyone from beginners to adults the opportunity to learn how to play one of the four stringed instruments for orchestra: violin, viola, cello, and bass. The String Project offers group beginning classes, group second-year classes, three orchestras, and private lessons.
An important aspect of the program is an affordable fee to make the program available to children who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn a stringed instrument. A limited number of scholarships are available based on financial need.
The USC String Project was developed in 1974 by William Moody, head of the university’s School of Music, and directed by John Bauer, a violin professor. For 15 years, it was directed by Robert Jesselson, now a Carolina distinguished professor emeritus and the 2013 Governor’s Professor of the Year. Jesselson, a cello professor, built the String Project into one of the country’s largest and most prominent string education programs.
Around 200 students visit the USC campus twice a week, where they learn to play one of the stringed instruments associated with an orchestra. Music education majors handle most of the instruction.
The String Project has taught thousands of aspiring musicians and led to careers for the USC students who teach the classes, conduct orchestras, and offer private lessons under the supervision of faculty members.
The program has raised the bar for music education and has been duplicated by universities around the country. It is the model for National String Project Consortium Grants, which have funded most of the programs at universities throughout the nation.
Gail V. Barnes, USC professor of music education, directed the String Project for 28 years, and she spent years before that as a music teacher in Virginia public schools. Barnes became interested in the violin at age nine. Mary Melville, her fourth grade string teacher, suggested the viola instead because her left hand had long fingers, evenly spaced.
“My family moved a great deal while I was going through middle and high school. The viola and local youth orchestras were the common denominator for me. I’m a proud product of public school music education,” says Barnes.
Barnes won a scholarship to the National Music Camp at Interlochen after 10th grade and began studying with Francis Bundra. “Mr. Bundra was instrumental in my receiving a tuition paid scholarship to the University of Michigan in 1973,” she said.
After graduating with her masters, Barnes moved to Virginia where she says, “I met my husband, a widower, and we continued raising his/our daughter. When Greg retired, I went back to grad school at Ohio State.”
Barnes then applied for and was hired for a job at the University of South Carolina. The family moved to Columbia during the summer of 1997.
“I began as an instructor because I was ABD (all but dissertation) but progressed through the ranks and retired as a professor. I am still an affiliate as Distinguished Professor Emerita,” Barnes says.
When asked about her accomplishments as director of the String Project, Barnes replied, “Well, first, we’ve kept instruction affordable. The teachers are paid anywhere between $10 and $13 an hour, based on which year and how many years they’ve been at the University of South Carolina String Project. The tuition is kept low, with the majority of students not paying more than $120 for a semester of instruction.
“Second, I created a sequenced curriculum for both the teachers and students. Third, we’ve incorporated adults into the program, which has been wonderful for both them and for the children. We can discuss lifelong learning all we want, but for the young people at the University of South Carolina String Project, they see it in action.”
In 2024, Barnes received the American String Teachers Association’s Distinguished Service Award for her work developing strong orchestra teachers through the String Project and creating an online home for orchestra educators through the School Orchestra and String Teachers Facebook group. Upon her retirement in May, 2025, the Gail V. Barnes Scholarship was established in honor of her service. Once fully funded, the scholarship will be awarded to a deserving String Project teacher. To contribute, visit donate.sc.edu.
“I must credit Dean Tayloe Harding and my predecessor, Dr. Robert Jesselson, for ensuring university support of the program,” says Barnes. “The University of South Carolina String Project is mostly self-sustaining (tuition covers teacher pay and graduate assistant stipends), but by apportioning faculty time for administration and providing our wonderful facility, we are able to concentrate on our mission.”
Lani Hamilton will be taking over as director of the USC String Project following Barnes retirement.
“I am thrilled that Lani Hamilton is taking over the reins. She has the qualifications for all aspects of this job: Teacher educator, administrator, academic scholar,” she says.
Hamilton was born in Fort Myers, Florida, and picked up her first violin at age three. Her mom was the catalyst for music but “Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the Fiddle” might also have played a part. After graduating from high school in 2000, Hamilton went off to college where she earned a degree in violin performance from the University of Miami followed by another at the University of Texas at Austin. She then earned a Ph.D. in music and human learning from UTA.
Hamilton worked as associate professor of music education at the University of Missouri, Kansas City for several years.
“My job at UM/KC was lovely; it was great. But I’ve always known about the USC String Project; it’s nationally known. I saw an ad for the job and knew I’d be thrilled to be part of this program,” she said.
A former symphony violinist and public-school orchestra teacher, Hamilton brings practical experience to her work with music educators, performers, and developing musicians.
The USC String Project appears ready to continue the excellent reputation already in place. Hamilton likes talking about the “community aspect of teaching students for an extended time period. We have these students and teachers for four years, so we get to know them completely.”
Barnes mentions teacher retention, saying, “For education majors to have this experience before student teaching and graduation is essential in teacher retainment. At one time, we calculated that we had a 70 percent retainment rate over the life of the profession. With 50 percent of teachers leaving within the first five years, this is extraordinary.
“All teaching jobs are challenging. Orchestra teachers, in particular, must know the pedagogy of four separate instruments. They must be able to communicate with their students, their parents, and their administrators. Our graduates have proved themselves to be up to these challenges. Educating string majors to take public school orchestra jobs is very important. Music education in our schools is the ‘great democratizer.’ We must make it accessible.”
For more information, visit sc.edu/study/ colleges_ schools/music/community/community_ music_ scho ol/string_ project/
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