Trenton Hall, a fourth-grader at Earl Nance Sr. Elementary School, walked onstage wearing a white suit with a silky blue shirt and tie at the Sheldon Concert Hall on May 22. Many historical figures, such as B.B. King and Albert Einstein, stood on that same stage, Hall learned that night.
“I felt nervous because a lot of good people have been here,” Hall said, eyes beaming behind his black-rimmed glasses. “But I felt honored to be here.”
Hall and several of his classmates wrote a song about earning money, called “Got to Work,” and it was featured at the annual MusicMaker Culmination, held in partnership with the Sheldon.
Hall thought it was fun to write and record the song as part of MusicMaker, one of more than 150 programs offered through the local nonprofit Springboard to Learning.
Mark Pagano, a teaching artist and the creator of the MusicMaker program, worked with Hall’s group during a 10-week artist residency to create the song.
“I have done this program with kindergartners up to 18-year-old seniors in high school,” Pagano said. “What I always say at the end of the program is that you don’t really need MusicMaker to write your own songs. The spirit or ethos of MusicMaker is that we are all artists.”
This year, Pagano and two other MusicMaker teaching artists worked in eight schools, where they facilitated the writing of dozens of songs. The artists selected their favorite songs to be featured at the MusicMaker Culmination. The participating schools were Kennard Elementary, Humboldt Academy, Ford Elementary, Nance Elementary, Fanning Middle, Washington Montessori, Kehrs Mill Elementary and St. Cecilia Catholic School.
For Pagano, his experience working with third graders at Washington Montessori this semester stood out to him. Much of his time with the class was a bit chaotic, which is not unusual, he said.
“Throughout the creative process, there is a chaotic time and you don’t know how it’s going to turn out,” Pagano said. “But that last day when you’re recording them, you see them rise to the occasion.”
Out of this process was born one of his favorite songs, called “Gotta Be Brave.”
“The lyrics are, ‘You got to be brave. You got to stand up for yourself. Learn how to engage. Courage is good from your health,’” he said. “It was kind of a simple idea, but there was a lot of heart behind it. To me, putting it in the context of the time we’re going through – it’s a time to be brave and be bold and speak your truth.”
In this past semester, in particular, he saw various examples of that boldness in the youth – and he nurtured it.
“I find the youth voice to be particularly important at this point in time,” he said.
Pagano created MusicMaker in 2014 because as a musician and songwriter, he’s found music to be something that has always brought joy and focus to his life, he said.
“As an educator, I’ve also become interested with the way music can be used to communicate ideas and can be used as a learning tool,” Pagano said. “These are things that I wanted to explore and offer to young people.”
Last year, Pagano taught a class of juniors at Northwest High School, which has a focus on criminal justice. After the second class, he received an email from the teacher that one of their classmates had been the victim of gun violence in the surrounding North St. Louis neighborhood. The teacher asked if there was a way to speak to the tragedy and issue of gun violence through the program. In response, Pagano led the class in a group songwriting activity.
“We wanted to focus on making this a song that would pay tribute to her life,” Pagano said. “I thought what they came up with was really moving. It seemed to be therapeutic in processing what happened. That’s one example of the power of music to tell stories in a way that really no other medium can and to honor a life. It was a real honor to be a part of that project.”
Springboard has been bringing these kinds of experiences to students in mostly economically challenged schools for more than 50 years. Its programs reach more than 50,000 students every year.
At the Sheldon culmination, Springboard Executive Director Cathy Hartmann said MusicMaker is an example of the kind of experiences Springboard aims to provide.
“We hope that our programming is inspiring, that it connects to real-world experiences, and that is develops what we call ‘soft skills,’ which are communication, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration,” Hartmann said.
And she spoke directly to all the students bouncing up and down in the plush theater seats.
“When I think about the fact that you’re going to be on this stage tonight – the same place that some incredible people throughout history have stood,” Hartmann said. “We know what you’ll experience tonight is something that will be very memorable.”
For more information on Springboard to Learning, visit http://www.springboardstl.org, email info@springboardstl.org or call 314) 768-9670.
