POST FALLS - Picking up the cello has its perks, says Jenessa Norcini.

Like how her fingers are buffing up from the calisthenics of first position. And the 8-year-old likes the way she can set her digits on the fingerboard like perched birds and glide them up and down.

But besides sawing away at her home in Coeur d'Alene, and at the home of her private teacher Kerry Goodwill in Post Falls, she has no other opportunities to play.

And Jenessa can see the appeal of performing in a group.

"We all get to experience what we sound like together, instead of how we sound when we go alone," Jenessa said on Thursday, after packing up her instrument from a lesson.

Her teacher Goodwill sees it as a handicap, the lack of a community orchestra program for beginners on string instruments.

It's helps a musician grow, keeping in time with a conductor and other performers, Goodwill said. Plus producing a clarion melody as a group can be thrilling.

"I've always had the desire to help the beginning string students have a place where they could get together with other string players in an orchestra situation, to encourage them to keep with it and not give it up," Goodwill said.

So the private music teacher is filing the niche herself.

Goodwill is recruiting students for her new program Beautiful Artistic Collective Harmonies (BACH), which will offer a handful of day-long orchestra boot camps throughout the year. Taking only mature beginners who can play open strings or the first position, Goodwill's program will allow students to develop their skills together in sectional rehearsals.

The students will practice music they have been provided earlier, and at the end of the day perform a concert for their families.

"They benefit because hopefully they will be inspired to not quit playing," Goodwill said, adding that she has seen other teachers lose students for just that reason. "On a solo instrument like violin or cello, it's easy to get discouraged because you don't have anyone to play with."

The camp will include a spaghetti dinner for the students and their entourages. Goodwill will also perform herself, with other experienced musicians, to show what lies at the other end of years of practice.

Hopefully, the experience will prompt kids to progress with their instruments, Goodwill said. And maybe they will eventually feed into community orchestras, like the Coeur d'Alene Symphony or Panhandle Symphony.

"To try and build a foundation for these students is what it's all about," she said.

BACH is for beginning players of any age, Goodwill noted.

That's good news for Melissa Messer, 27, who was on her fifth cello lesson with Goodwill on Thursday.

"It's been something I've always wanted to do. I've always had music be part of my life," the Coeur d'Alene woman said.

Her husband had gifted her with a cello after she divulged her secret wish, she explained.

"He said, 'You figure out your lessons. I expect you to be able to play this,'" Messer remembered.

The first BACH workshop is scheduled from 1:30 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, at Grace Bible Church. Although Goodwill is asking for $35 per student to cover dinner and other expenses, she said parents can pay part of the tuition by helping with dinner.

She also welcomes donations to help students pay tuition, and to purchase music for the seminars.

Goodwill has a bachelor's degree in music education with vocal emphasis from San Francisco State University, and gives private instruction on the piano and cello. She currently plays with the Sierra Chamber Orchestra and the Panhandle Symphony Orchestra, and previously played with the Coeur d'Alene Symphony.

Folks can contact Goodwill at 262-9160.

"I think the main thing is your student's future," she said. "If you want them to have the fun of playing with others, this is an important beginning point for them."

Levy meetings set

The Northern Lakes Fire District will hold three town hall meetings presenting information on its permanent override levy vote on May 15. The public is invited and will be allowed to ask questions. The new fire station in Rathdrum has already been funded and doesn't pertain to the levy. Information: 772-5711

The meetings, all at 5:30 p.m., include:

• March 21, Golden Spike Estates, 8580 Yosemite, Rathdrum

• April 11, Station 1, 125 W. Hayden Ave., Hayden

• April 25, Golden Spike Estates