THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501270759
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
It's a musician's metaphor.
Friends School, the campus on Laskin Road now celebrating its 40th anniversary, might be described as ``an organic school in a digital kind of world,'' says B.J. Leiderman, a Friends alumni and professional musician, writer and pursuer of assorted other creative tasks.
The private school, with classes for children 3 years through eighth grade, Leiderman says, has the gentle hands that can take a variety of students and warm them up. He jokingly compares it to the way an old-turntable can produce a warmer sound that many musicians still prefer to the cold severity of the compact disc.
Leiderman's fond memories are one reason he's agreed to be a featured performer at a benefit concert for Friends at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12. The concert is to celebrate the school's 40th year, and donations will go to the school's Annual Fund.
Amy Ferebee, a noted performer in the area for decades and also a Friends alumni, is headlining the concert with Leiderman.
Leiderman is probably best known as the writer of the theme song for ``Morning Edition'' and ``Weekend Edition'' on National Public Radio. The familiar rising and falling melody of ``Morning Edition'' is heard daily by thousands as they drive to work, as is Leiderman's name in the credits after the show.
At 38, he has worked between here and New York for decades. His latest project is writing both scripts and music for an animated television show for kids based on sports, called ``Grunt and Punt'' that premiered Saturday on the Fox network.
Friends School, says Leiderman, helped nurture his creativity and develop his academic skills. The school encourages students to learn at their own pace and puts less emphasis on grading a test an A or an F.
``I have fond memories of that place,'' Leiderman said, who attended the school from kindergarten through fifth grade. ``I wasn't unaware of that unstructured, learn-at-your-own-kind-of-thing program while I was there. But later I realized that it benefited me because I was reading far beyond my own level when I attended public school.
``Like most things, I realized its benefit later.'' MEMO: Call 428-7534 for more information on the concert.
by CNB