COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There's something so unifying about music, the way it can bridge age and background. That's something already realized by 12-year-old Joel Parkison from working with teacher Francis Elliott.
"Yes, I'm 95," Elliott smiled.
"I thought he was a little bit younger, like 90 or 92," Parkison said.
Parkison was eight when he began private violin lessons with Elliott.
"I wanted to sound exactly like Mr. Elliott!" he said.
Of course. Elliott has that ability to take anything and play with such feeling.
It was 1971 when Elliott began teaching at Tennessee Tech University. He was there for 31 years. Elliott learned something from his many students during that time.
"There's a difference between teaching and criticism," Elliott said. "I avoid criticism. It's negative. Criticizing does not do anything for a student. Teaching is different."
"He is sometimes strict, but that's when I'm not thinking and not playing right!" Parkison added.
There's a lot going on that finds Elliott feeling grateful. Tennessee Tech recently debuted a musical work in his honor and established a scholarship in his name. Of course, there's just the gratitude to be giving private lessons and little bits of wisdom at 95.
"Mistakes are made with the best of us," Elliott told Parkison. "So what? Make a mistake, but make music. Do it again."
Parkison played through a song.
"Bravo. Very good," Elliott nodded.
Like I mentioned, Parkison is 12, and there's something interesting to note. When Elliott was 12, it was the time of World War II. Living on a farm as a child in the 1940s, Elliott will tell you, he didn't yet understand a lot about the war.
"I really, as a child, was not aware," he explained. "I didn't know until much later in life. We had rationing and things that dealt with the war that we had to do, and we just took it in stride."
It was a completely different world than the one Parkison's growing up in now. Yet, the 83 years of difference hardly matters when Parkison and Elliott play music together.
"Here's the thing, a profession is not a job," Elliott explained. "A profession is a way of life. No matter what you do, that is you, and that's what keeps me going."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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