My students are Brooklyn public school students in Sunset Park. They are in grades k-5, speak mostly Spanish or Mandarin at home, practice many different religions, have family all around the globe, and they love to hear, move to, and make music! Music motivates them when they are tired and renews their confidence when they feel like giving up. When we listen to music or sing together they feel safe and loved in our community.
Our students love to dance, to sing, and to make music any way they can, but this year will be hard; Music class will be remote, and we have only 1 teacher for the entire school.
We want to offer all of our 1250 children and their families a joyful live music experience every week, and we have figured out a way to do it, but we will need your help.
My Project
How can we engage as many children and families as possible in joyful music learning, given that most of the school is fully remote and our resources are so limited? We will host a school wide live Zoom concert every week!
Staying focused on what matters right now - healing, staying connected, racial justice, joy – we are creating a weekly 'Meet the Artist' concert series for children and families.
Each Monday at noon I will host a live Zoom concert with a different virtuosic musician. Each program will last 30 minutes. I will record each 'episode' for re-screening by teachers and families who are not able to attend live. We will prioritize local artists from immigrant communities, artists who reflect the communities that we serve, and artists whose music is connected to the children’s studies. In these ways this concerts will connect people, elevate and celebrate immigrant communities throughout NYC, and build meaning and community for our children.
This project provides our school community with a way to heal and connect through the power of live music in this time of suffering and isolation. We take the silver lining of remote learning and exploit it to benefit the largest number of children and families. Now, as more and more musicians perform online from their homes, we have the opportunity to enjoy live performance more often and more affordably. Children will gain exposure to many musics they would otherwise never have a chance to experience live, and will have the exciting opportunity to hear directly from the artists, and even ask their own questions!
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