Dear CT-ACDA,
Happy June!
Thank you to everyone who attended our May 30th Spring Conference Webinar! Thanks to our presenters, Melanie Cometa, Leslie Imse, Cara Bernard and Frank Martignetti - and thank to our President-Elect, Matt Harrison for hosting the event.
Our June 9th Songwriting Workshop/Session with the incredible Jim Papoulis, was attended by over 100 choral directors from all over the country! This newsletter contains a wonderful tribute to the actual songwriting process with Jim, from our very own Ellen Gilbert. Thank you, Ellen, for contributing this article and for being such an inspiration for all of us and for your students. We love you!
ACDA has also released the COVID-19 Response Committee Report, which can be found HERE: ACDA COVID REPORT
Congratulations to everyone for your innovation, perseverance and determination to thrive during this time.
With Gratitude,
Amanda Hanzlik
President, CT-ACDA
A NEW DAY IS DAWNING
Ellen Gilbert - Mystic Middle School
“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Mrs. Gilbert”, Aiden said as he rushed out the front door of the school. “Don’t forget your chorus music - we have our concert coming up before you know it,” I said with a ‘loud enough for the neighbors to hear me’ reminder. “I got it”, he says....
That was before. That was before everything. That was before our colleagues got sick. That was before we wondered if we would see our parents and grandparents again.
That was before we found out we couldn’t sing.
I got online with Meredith Neumann and Leila Tofig Mustakos, trying to figure out how to run a rehearsal through this thing called ZOOM and laughing as we heard the delay and wondered “how the heck is this going to work…?” I got online with Melanie Cometa and Laura Gladd and Josh Cushing and others trying to figure out how to navigate recording for a virtual choir.
Then it hit me. How on earth would I make this happen with not-quite-actualized-Mrs. Gilbert-I don’t-know-what-to practice-MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.
This year was a perfect storm of our two middle schools in town merging, and with that, half of my students had not learned the same sequence of literacy and practice skills as those who had been with me for years. There were so many things we were working on as they tried to navigate learning aspects of two different teaching styles into one and we weren’t quite “there” yet when the pandemic hit.
I went through each week seeking out meaningful activities for my choral groups, but none of it, NONE OF IT, felt right. Pieces were just missing. The closeness, the community, the success of a student using the right solfa or singing alone in front of others and getting a round of applause from her peers.
I admittedly felt a little lost and guilty and unmusical and disconnected and just - not creative.
Then I saw what Jim Papoulis wrote on his Facebook page. He said, “Like you, I have been reflecting on this defining moment for all of us -- as a society, as a people, as global citizens -- and wondering how we can cultivate a space of healing and hope together through music.”
Yes, THIS was what I needed, what WE needed.
Jim went on to say, “In the spirit of staying connected and sharing our thoughts and music, I would like to invite members of youth choirs worldwide to take part in an interactive online songwriting workshop. I hope to create a song together that somehow brings a positive connection out of this unprecedented time in all our lives. (I could hear angels singing in the background!)
I had been fortunate enough to have worked with Jim on another project and emailed him right away to be a part of this endeavor. I decided to use my select choir students for this project. As much as I didn’t want my other vocalists to miss the opportunity, we needed to use ZOOM (not allowed in my district, but fine in an extracurricular capacity) and I needed students who I knew could read and would record the tracks successfully.
I met with the students the week before our meeting with Jim. We needed to all be able to get onto ZOOM and familiarize ourselves with the similarities and differences compared to Google Classroom (this is middle school - I take NOTHING for granted). I’m not sure the students knew what to expect. As one student said, “I thought it would be like a 20 minute class meeting like I have with our classes. It was nothing like that.
We met with Jim the following week. Just getting them to have their mikes “on” was a task. They had become so good at the online meeting etiquette that Jim and I were constantly reminding them to turn off the mute button. I found it very interesting that they were writing furiously in the chat feature and Jim actually had me monitor that (and page 2!) throughout the process.
Jim has such a way of talking to kids that he immediately put them at ease. The questions started simply enough - “How’s everyone doing? What are you doing during this time?” And evolved to more serious questions to “What do you miss the most? What do you think is a good thing that has come from us being together?” I watched for hands being raised and monitored the chat. The words just started flying. The students were so empowered and comfortable with the process that they then turned to musical decisions - what key did they prefer? Would you like a key change at the end? Yes, of course, please! They preferred certain rhythm patterns and compositional devices and soon, an hour and a half was gone.
In about a week and a half, Jim sent me a preliminary song. I suggested some edits (those things you learn about a middle school baritone line over the course of a lifetime of study - is it actually longer than a lifetime with middle school?) and the text was not quite there yet. So, I put out the call to my kids again, although I used a more select group to refine the lyrics. This second group of students worked for another two hours on subtleties and word choices. Finally, it felt right.
We sent the text back to Jim and he was SO excited. I think I read the word “perfect” from Jim - woohoo!!! I sent the music out to the kids, drove paper copies all over town (not everyone has a printer as we know) and we have started our fabulous “let’s embrace the lag time” sectionals.
So I asked the students what they felt about the experience. From the twins Courtney and Addy, “It was a very fun experience and helped us see what others thought of words and meanings in songs. Getting to come up with all the words and put it together with rhythms with everyone as a team was the best part. We will hold onto this experience together.” From Anna who had just moved this year from England, “I loved getting to know Mr. Papoulis and working with my fellow select chorus friends to create a fabulous song. I really, really love this song as there is no song in the world like it as it is unique.” Aiden, whose mom is battling cancer and has had so much on his plate “thinks it was really fun thinking of all of our different words to express our feelings about this global pandemic and all, that everyone of had to go through it was great to see all of my friends in select chorus cooperating and having so much fun in the process.”
Lastly, Leo, he’s my busy kid and yet so insightful said this, “I loved interacting as a classroom and getting to be involved in this composition shows how symbiotic our choir is. We bounced ideas and insight off of each other.”
And this is why I knew they would do such a great job. I feel that some small part of me has been restored through this process as only music (and kids) can do…
A New Day is Dawning
v. 1 Swept away in moments of darkness
Who am I in this changing world
Holding on to hope of what can be
CHORUS
A new world is dawning in our hearts
A new day awakens in our spirits
A new world is dawning in our hearts
As we all find our way
v. 2 Every moment writes a new story
Slowly we can see our old world is gone
Can this be a chance to start again?
CHORUS
A new world is dawning in our hearts
A new day awakens in our spirits
A new world is dawning in our hearts
As we all find our way
BRIDGE
We will carry on
Who are we in this shifting world
We will carry on
As we walk through our fear
CHORUS
A new world is dawning in our hearts
A new day awakens in our spirits
A new world is dawning in our hearts
As we all find our way