Talented Kersh twins share music, more

Twins Jennifer and Melissa Kersh are seventh-grade students at Mountain View Middle School, and they express themselves with strings. Not “Cat’s Cradle” but the violin and cello

They started with the piano when they were 5 but decided that stringed instruments were more to their liking. Jennifer liked high notes so she chose the violin, and Melissa liked the low notes so she chose the deeper sound of a cello. “Music is a tradition in our family,” said their mother, Elizabeth Kersh. “They had to pick something.”

They practice almost daily, attend Faye Atwood’s orchestra class at Mountain View and fine-tune their talents every Monday night with the Spokane Symphony Junior Orchestra. They perform with the orchestra at least four times a year and take private lessons from Jason Bell and Kathleen Czoski, who play for the Spokane Symphony.

The girls began in the Intermediate String Orchestra and will move up to the Junior Symphonic Orchestra next year and later, to the Spokane Youth Symphony.

“Everyone should have music in their lives,” said Melissa.

Jennifer agreed, “Everyone should try it. It helps you stay smart. Like staying in shape.”

The sisters stay in shape in other ways. They play for area soccer teams, and Jennifer skis while Melissa snowboards.

The busy sisters are A students who excel in math and science. They are in the gifted science program and high-level math classes. “It is not unusual for kids in music to excel in math and science,” said Atwood. Music is difficult to read but once a student gets the hang of it, fractions, numbers and formulas seem to come more easily.

“Rhythmical challenges are technical and involved,” said their mother, “but that appeals to them.” In their futures, Melissa might be a computer programmer, and Jennifer might be an architect. Whatever they do, the music will stay with them.

“They are two outstanding young people that I have the privilege to teach,” Atwood said.