It isn’t always an easy task to get kids excited about literacy, but one local school recently teamed up with the Albany Symphony Orchestra to combine reading with the medium of music.
Fascinated with the idea of “American Idol,” Music Director and Conductor of the ASO David Alan Miller contacted Hackett Middle School orchestra teacher Erik Johnson in February to discuss a Songwriter Idol-type project to meld reading and writing with music.
“Singing songs is fine, but creating songs is 1,000 times cooler and more exciting. The idea was to turn a bunch of seventh and eighth graders into songwriters in a very covert literacy-through-songwriting project,” said Miller, a Slingerlands resident. “It’s something the symphony and I really wanted to do.”
After some discussion, the project transformed into something larger. Twelve middle school students were broken into groups to work with the ASO Resident Composer Ted Hearne to work collaboratively by creating their own songs for of the “Composer to Center Stage” program. The three songs were played in front of the students’ peers Friday, May 31, who responded with a roaring applause.
The project, which was funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, targeted students who weren’t a part of the music program at the school. Johnson asked faculty and staff to help handpick students they knew who were interested in music or songwriting.
“The focus was on kids who didn’t do music, never got an opportunity to do music, but have these creative abilities,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of kids have talent … there’s a lot of untapped talent and creativity.”
Once the 12 students were selected, they were separated into two groups who met with Hearne in the auditorium over the course of four months. Hearne set up a microphone in the middle of the stage and told the students to relax and just make raw sounds. At the second meeting, Hearne showed up with a rough track of the students’ raw material from the first day, just to show them how what they sang or said could be arranged into a song.
“It was amazing to see their creativity come out,” Hearne said, who hadn’t worked with kids before. “They were very positive. They’re used to music. The only thing I had to do was show that I respected the music they made.”
Hearne said while Johnson played bass, the students played all of the other instruments on the three tracks, which each had a rap/hip-hop feel.
The project also put a big emphasis on the lyrics of the songs. The students worked with Ricardo “Ricky” Nigaglioni, a Bronx-based hip-hop emcee and rapper, who helped with the flow of the students’ words. As a literacy coach, Lisa House also helped with the students’ lyrics. She told the students to just write what they were thinking, with no limitations.
“We have a lot of great writers in our programs, but when you say music (they get nervous) … we just told them to write what they’re thinking. A lot of music is poetry. They didn’t know they could tie it together so easily,” House said. “I think it was fabulous.”
Nigaglioni said he loved working with the students and hopes if the project continues in the coming years, he would want the students to perform the songs in front of their classmates, not just hear the tracks.
“I think the most beautiful part of it, besides the music making and the sessions that we had, was they built community at this school. I know that the main thing they were worried about … but they showed so much support,” Nigaglioni said. “I definitely encourage them to take what they know and pass it onto the students in the schools. I’m a big believer in taking something that you know and make someone else better.”
Miller said he would like to continue the project at Hackett Middle School.
“They’re creating art where no art existed before and also performing it themselves. It’s a pilot project, essentially, we’re hoping to really refine and expand here at the middle school,” Miller said. “Kids got so excited by it. A lot of these kids here have challenges, troubles in school, but they were just thrilled and excited and couldn’t wait to show up and work with Ted and Ricky. It’s not just about doing art, but art empowering children to think creatively and reach beyond their comfort levels.”