Picture Day

I started this morning with mocha and a meeting with a musician born and bred here in New Orleans. He shared his perspective on growing up in this community and the role music has played for him throughout his life, particularly in light of post-Katrina regrowth- more on that in a later post. I then spent time with two orchestras. The first orchestra was the LPO- I had a meeting with some of their leadership regarding potential models of El Sistema programs in New Orleans and their view on how it could fit into/contribute to the already rich and complex cultural/social landscape of the city. The second orchestra was Youth Orchestra of the Lower 9th Ward, a budding El Sistema inspired program already making strides to transform the lives of youth in their community. It was a very good day. 

I've been taking pictures and videos of my adventures in the city, and I haven't really been sharing. I really do want to though, so I'm posting a few below- but first...

Questions of the day:
How does a child learn to listen? to learn the value of listening? 

At Silence is Violence 

The Katrina watermark on a local Starbucks

At Jackson Sq. in the French Quarter 

A crawfish boil - have you ever had one?

The clubs, bars, and streets are FILLED with jazz performers. Notice the drummer. 

Extraordinary Moments

There is a phenomenal sense of community in New Orleans. Though the city's communal identity is a fluid one, there are definitely some very recognizable cultural anchors. We've talked about the cultural mores of architecture, food, and music – Last night, though, I had the opportunity to witness the social ripple from another cultural anchor: Sports. 

The jazz club I was at last evening, Irving Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse, had a great atmosphere - chill, relaxed, and the focus was on the music. Jazz is not background here. The group that was performing was the Shannon Powell Trio with Shannon Powell on drums, Evan Christopher on clarinet and sax, and Matt Lemmler on piano. The playing was tight, the solos innovative and invigorating, and the engagement between the players and the audience was electric. The second set was just starting to take off when a young lady walks through the door to the club and announces "The Tigers won!" - immediately, Evan Christopher goes into an impromptu riff on the LSU fight song. The band joins in, and they each take solos, with Shannon Powell chanting 'hold that tiger' throughout. There is so much I loved about that moment- two different anchors of New Orleans culture, jazz and sports, combining at the highest levels for an experience of community, spontaneity, joy, and sheer musical brilliance. It was breathtaking. 

The essential repertoire list for any El Sistema program in New Orleans continues to both grow and sharpen in my mind. I've discovered this music at street parades and jazz clubs, in atmospheres of celebration and joy. The music that the children will play will not only connect them to each other, but it will serve as a bridge to the greater community of New Orleans, to both past and present, as they, themselves create their future. 

Questions of the day:

How can an orchestra access cultural anchors outside of music?

How would an orchestra become a cultural anchor for a community? 

Geaux Tigers!

I just came back from a phenomenal evening. Starting with dinner at Upperline, a colossus in  New Orleans cuisine, and finishing the day  at Irving Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse. And the Tigers won. Geaux Tigers!

I've had many great moments throughout my journeys in New Orleans thus far, but I had a truly defining moment today. I sat down to lunch with the director of a local charter school's k-5 school string program- currently, a very rare sight in the musical/educational landscape of the city. She shared with me that she is one of only 3 full time string teachers in public schools in NOLA. Full time is an understatement: she teaches 850 children k-5 violin and other strings throughout the course of a school year, giving them each initial training in technique, and directing them in ensembles. Understandably, due to the enormous number of students that she teaches, the touch is very limited, and ultimately she gets about 4.5 weeks of 20 minutes/day/student for the whole school year. There is an after-school string orchestra for the advanced students once a week, but that is the only additional time. So, though all the students are exposed to violin, very few receive depth. This amazing woman has been buried in the constant grind of teaching new, young students with no other staff and hasn't had time to look up in years; she said she felt isolated. She was grateful that I had sought her out, that we were sitting together, that I was listening.

 I shared with her the history of El Sistema and the 37 year growth of the program from 11 kids in a garage to 350,000+ young musicians all over Venezuela. I shared the vision of building a program where she might be able to have 2-3 hours a day, 4-5 days a week with her kids. Where the emphasis would be personal growth and communal understanding, accomplishment, and contribution SIMULTANEOUSLY with rigor and musical excellence.

I looked at her and said "You are NOT alone." and she began to cry.

"Is this real? The sounds you make are so beautiful, it seems like a fairy tale."

I pointed her towards a few resources and individuals that I hoped would be helpful in giving a sense of community and possibility.

Lorrie Heagy (AF '10) is building a similar elementary school violin and strings El Sistema program from the ground up in Juneau, Alaska and has a blog about the beginning of the journey: http://juneaumusicmatters.blogspot.com/
and now the program has its own site: http://www.jsd.k12.ak.us/~heagyl/ArtIsElementary/JAMM.html
David Malek (AF '10) and Rebecca Levi (AF '10)  have built an integrated charter school k-6 El Sistema program throughout the school day at the Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton, MA. http://conservatorylab.org/
And I suggested that she apply to be a member of the first class of the Longy School of Music and Bard College's Masters of Arts in Teaching in Music program, focused on El Sistema pedagogy: http://www.longy.edu/mat/

I'm a composer. It is my profession to take day dreams and turn them into realty, and I take great joy in my work. All amazing realities were once day dreams, just twinkles in the eye, and perhaps visions shared over lunch on a beautiful day in New Orleans.

Questions of the day:
How do you nurture a community of educators?
What are the benefits received from studying an instrument for even a handful of weeks? What could be gained from the opportunity for more intensive study?

Cultural Resonance

What are the essential aspects of New Orleans? That is up for debate, of course, but I've been told many times that the foundation of the city's culture is built on architecture, food, and music.  

I was spending time with a New Orleans tourism professional, and he remarked that when people visit New Orleans, they feel like they've been transported to a different time, and have trouble identifying what makes them feel that depth of history. My tourism friend claims it's because of the architecture (I'm hoping to sit down with one of the architects of the Lower 9th ward, but that's for a future post). Coming most recently from Boston, another great architectural city, the buildings here can be both beautiful and bizarre, with the layers of history evident in space and structure.

The food is phenomenal, and there are places to tantalize your tastebuds around every corner. New Orleans cuisine has a rich history and some very distinct (and delicious) flavors: http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/cuisine/ – Incidentally, Emeril Lagasse, who has three restaurants in NOLA, is a musician! He was accepted to NEC for classical percussion, and decided to pursue a culinary career instead. This place really caters to my need for spice- they know how to make it hot!

Almost anywhere you go in the city you can hear live music. New Orleans, in my mind, is one of the last true bastions of live musical performance- it's everywhere! And it's good. Whenever I can, I bask in it like a cat in a puddle of sunshine. Day to day here, when I introduce myself as a musician, I frequently get asked what group I play with. Or where I play. The ingrained assumption is that when I say musician, I mean jazz musician. When I respond that I'm a composer, that is typically satisfactory. Jazz has composers too. If asked what I play, I say I played French Horn through high school. That sometimes brings a puzzled look- French Horns are not common in Jazz, only used rarely in some big band arrangements. I explain further that I played in a marching band, and that brings a look of recognition and excitement. "Which one??" The marching culture here is huge, matched only by the omnipresence of jazz. High schools will support and fund band programs so that their school is represented in the many parades and festivals throughout the year. Students are proud to be a part of these ensembles because of the prestige it brings them. Serious marching bands have a similar structure to an El Sistema inspired program: many hours of rehearsal everyday, high expectations of musical excellence, a sense of being a valued contributing member of a community, and a proud group identity. And, similar to an orchestra, there is no limit to the number of children who can play together.
When I say 'a music program', people hear 'jazz' or 'marching band'. Very few people assume I mean an orchestra. If an El Sistema inspired program takes root here in New Orleans, its music must be relevant to the community that it's in and its performance practice must be culturally recognizable. The program will have to resonate with the community it is intertwined with. There is always some flexibility of repertoire in Sistema programs, and local musics and folk traditions are utilized and incorporated into the core classical canon. I feel that any program in New Orleans will have to have a particularly innovative flexibility of curriculum- How can the experience of performing and listening to Beethoven feel like the Marsalis family? How can performing in an orchestra have the same prestige, visibility, and excitement as a marching band? And, most importantly, can they play at Mardi Gras?

Questions of the day:
How does the classical tradition fit into New Orleans's cultural identity?
What are the benefits of resonating with a community's existing musical traditions?
What are the benefits of introducing children to a musical tradition that is different than what they are familiar with?

Achievement Gap

Almost 80% of all public schools in New Orleans are charter schools, either independently operated or run in a cluster by a Charter Management Organization (CMO). This leads to a decentralized system of public education, and an overall sense of free market competitiveness- in my mind, increasing the expectation of education for all involved- everyone runs faster in a race. The autonomy inherent in charter school structure, and their emphasis on innovative, targeted educational initiatives, have already lead to natural and successful partnerships with Sistema programs in the U.S. (http://conservatorylab.org/). Due to the ubiquity of Charter schools in New Orleans, it seems to me that they could be excellent participants in this conversation, and potentially formidable collaborators.  I sat down for coffee today with a leader in one of the many CMOs which now dominate the public schools in city. We talked about many things, focusing in on what she felt the most urgent needs in the city were regarding education. She shared with me that children in New Orleans are typically two years behind the nation educationally, beginning at age 6. She noted that in order to play catch up, many principals in the city focus on basic academic skills, such as reading, above all else – some schools starting with a 90 minute block everyday of reading time and instruction. This urgent need to bring these children up to speed nationally leaves many programs with blinders on to anything regarded as extracurricular, eliminating P.E., arts, etc. in favor of maximum basic skill building time. 

Dare I say it? I believe we might have identified another need. 

In reference to yesterdays thoughts, there still exists the k-6 access gap in music education, which I now see is being weighted against the achievement gap in basic academic skills. Does addressing these two needs have to be at odds with each other? Is this really an 'or' issue? Is there a perspective and a potential structure which will allow it to be an 'and' issue? Could we address both needs together, and address them in such away that the children improve more in both areas of need? 

Questions of the day:

Would classroom time given to intensive, rigorous music education help children bridge the achievement gap in fundamental skill areas like reading and math? 

What could intensive, rigorous music education look like incorporated throughout a school day? 

Additional resources:

A study regarding the transformation of the New Orleans School System post-Katrina: http://www.coweninstitute.com/our-work/applied-research/education-archive/education-transformation-archive/the-transformation-of-a-school-system-principal-teacher-and-parent-perceptions-of-charter-and-traditional-schools-in-post-katrina-new-orleans/

Who is wise?

"Who is wise? He who learns from all people"

-Pirkei Avot, Chapter 4, Mishna 1(b)

I came to New Orleans to listen and to observe, to attempt to understand what is currently so that I might eventually work with others to envision what might be. I entered this journey with the goal of building relationships based on inquiry, asking questions to fuel possibility and connections. Sometimes when you ask questions, you get more questions in return, and that iterative exploration can be exciting and enlightening. However, sometimes when you ask questions (a lot of questions), you get answers (a lot of answers). Sifting through all of the answers brings to mind the image of a gold miner, panning for gold. Here is one gleaming response I have heard over and over again:

There is a lot of music in New Orleans, but there is a K-6 access gap in music education. 

There is music EVERYWHERE here, and I love it. There is no lack of exposure to music in this city- it's ubiquitous. However, the first time many students have the opportunity to pick up an instrument is 6th grade, and for many, that opportunity doesn't present itself until high school. The students who get into advanced musical study programs such as NOCCA received a head-start because they had the means to seek out privately what isn't offered publicly. The children in underserved communities in New Orleans get to hear the music all the time, but they don't have the opportunity to participate in it – they are relegated to the audience. Universal access to early childhood music education for the sake of the music itself, is enough, but there is much more to be gained. These children who have access to musical study early on develop a sense of self-discipline necessary to master a skill, a control of self needed to practice everyday. In mastering a skill, they learn they have the power to set a goal for themselves and accomplish it. They learn the joy of accomplishment, so that they set their sights higher, because they have already learned what it feels like to succeed. They have felt what it means to develop themselves and then give back to their community, whether that be through a recital or through an ensemble performance. And, when the performance is over, they've received recognition for their contribution and accomplishment. These skills are transferred into every aspect of a child's life- strengthening and shaping their core abilities and how they interact with their world throughout their early years. The underserved youth who don't have access to musical education early due to lack of financial resources might be losing out on more than just a sparkling 6th grade band audition.

I say this tentatively, because I don't want the emphasis here to become anything other than questions, but I think that we may have identified a need. 

Questions of the day: 

What is gained through musical study in early childhood? Is anything gained other than music itself? 

for the child? for the family? for the community? 

What other opportunities/avenues exist for children to gain the extra-musical benefits of musical study?  

For those interested in further study, in the spirit of learning from everyone possible, I'm passing along a resource collection collated by my friend, colleague, and fellow Abreu Fellow David France:

Bibliographic References

Borzacchini, C. (2004). Venezuela bursting with orchestras. Caracas: Banco del Caribe.

Carroll, R.  (2007). "Chávez pours millions more into pioneering music scheme". The Guardian (London): Retrieved 8 September 2007.

Graves, J. (2005). Cultural Democracy:  The arts, the Community, and the Public Purpose. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Hetland, L. (2000) Learning to Make Music Enhances Spatial Reasoning . Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 34, No. 3/4   

Jackson, M. R. (2008).“Art and cultural participation at the heart of community life.” In J. Cherbo, R. A. Stewart, and M. Wyszomirski (eds.). Understanding the Arts and the Creative Sector in the United States. New Brunswick: Rutgers.

Webber, J. (2011) “El Sistema: When Music Cuts Crime and Saves Lives.” The Telegraph (London) Retrieved 13 October 2011.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/6866818/El-Sistema-when-music-cuts-crime-and-saves-lives.html

Electronic references

Booth, Eric.  El Sistema’s Open Secrets.  2010.  Unpublished

http://www.arts.virginia.gov/resources/artworks/EricBoothReadingList2.pdf

Inter-American Development Bank (2007). Program to support the Center for Social Action through Music (VE-L1017). Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.

http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=1002635

Evaluation of Big Noise, Sistema Scotland: The Scottish Government

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/345409/0114922.pdf

Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (FESNOJIV) (2011). Website. Retrieved from:

http://www.fesnojiv.gov.be

Dissertation

Mora-Brito, Daniel.(2011)Between social harmony and political dissonance: the institutional and policy-based intricacies of the Venezuelan System of Children and Youth Orchestras.  Master’s Dissertation.  University of Texas at Austin

Documentaries and audiovisual materials

Arvelo, A. (2010) (Director). Dudamel. Let the Children Play [Documentary]. Caracas

Arvelo, A. (2006) (Director). Tocar y Luchar [Documentary]. Caracas: FESNOJIV, Explorart Films, CNAC and CONAC.

TED (2009). José Antonio Abreu on kids transformed by music. Acceptance speech of José Antonio Abreu (TED Prize) [Video]. New York: TED. Retrieved on April 27, 2011 from:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jose_abreu_on_kids_transformed_by_music.html

Silence is Violence

As of this afternoon, I have been in New Orleans for a week. It has been a week full of connections, music, community, and discovery- and it has felt like much longer than a week!

I woke up this morning to this headline: 

Shootings mar New Orleans Halloween revelry

By Kathy Finn

NEW ORLEANS | Tue Nov 1, 2011 6:02pm EDT

(Reuters) - Violence marred Halloween night in New Orleans, with two men killed and more than a dozen wounded in five shootings, including in popular tourist areas in or near the city's famous French Quarter.

The shootings took place during Halloween night revelry that traditionally consumes Bourbon Street, a bar-lined French Quarter street renowned for its 24-hour party atmosphere, where one man was shot and killed.

Costumed revelers also typically stroll along neighboring Canal Street, a wide, business-lined boulevard that borders the French Quarter, where another fatal shooting took place.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu told a press conference on Tuesday that the city had an ongoing problem with violent crime.

"To the criminals: We're going to catch you," he said. "We're going to arrest you and bring you to justice."

Asked whether he was concerned about the impact on tourism, Landrieu said: "While I'm concerned about the image it portrays, I'm much more concerned about the kids and what it says about the culture of violence in the city."

The New Orleans murder rate was more than 10 times the national average in 2009, according to a report commissioned by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and released this year.

I met with an administrator in the UNO music department today and we discussed many things, including the shootings. The conversation eventually honed in on Mayor Mitch Landrieu's urgent desire to address the "culture of violence" in New Orleans. The Mayor implied that it was impossible to do this from the top down – more police were not the answer, it has to happen from the root. The administrator looked at me – "You are approaching New Orleans at the perfect time- you are the root!" If what you want to build is a social program in the guise of a youth orchestra, and that orchestra will help children from the very beginning to learn the value of community and self-control, then you are the root. El Sistema could be a way to shift the culture from the root. 

Appropriately, I visited a program today named 'Silence is Violence'. The program has many different community based components to address violence in the city – including peace clubs, peace walks, the Victims Allies Project, and music clinics. Music clinics to address violence. I loved being at this program – children from about 5 years old to youth in their teens were all being taught group lessons in piano, drums, trumpet, trombone, sax, and violin. These children had not known each other before beginning to come every week to receive these free lessons in a supportive environment, built to change the root, to prevent the culture of violence from ever taking hold. 

Tomorrow is a beautiful day, and with these roots, the flowers will be beautiful too. 

Questions of the Day: 

What impacts a "culture of violence?" 

Can music affect violence in a community?