Tag: Music Education

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Music Educator Willie Garfield Honored in Yamaha’s “40 Under 40” Awards

CREDIT: Octavius Holmes

Throughout this pandemic, music educators across the country have stepped up their game, hoping to keep a flame for the arts burning in students’ hearts. Jason Sleppy, band director in Mason, Ohio, secured the use of a stadium so his students could have an end-of-year performance; Jennifer Antonetti, a music teacher in Topeka, created an app to help music educators; Eric Jimenez, assistant band director at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, launched a podcast about urban music education; and Michael Gamon, director of the Center for Creative Arts at the Harrisburg Academy in Pennsylvania, created a role-playing game to engage his violin students.
Octavius Holmes

Willie Garfield

Meanwhile, Memphis’ own Willie Garfield, via his Garfield Institute of Music, has continued his personal crusade of bringing music to students whose lack of resources might otherwise prevent it. Now he and 39 other such educators are being honored by the Yamaha Corporation of America in their “40 Under 40” program, which salutes educators who “have gone above and beyond to elevate music and music-making in their students’ lives.”

Last fall, Yamaha asked for nominees who demonstrated such qualities as: Action (anticipating needs and taking steps necessary for stronger music programs), courage (proposing and implementing new or bold ideas), creativity (showing innovation and imagination) and growth (improving music education in their schools and communities).

They received hundreds of nominations from students, parents, teachers, administrators, local instrument dealers and mentors. And to see how the awardees have made those abstract qualities manifest is truly inspiring.

Garfield, for example, came to his love of music education early in life, when he started a community drumline at the age of 13 with a few of his junior high marching bandmates. “That’s when I realized that I wanted to be a music instructor,” he says. “I wanted to create my own program where I could instruct, perform, and demonstrate my talents. That was when the Garfield Institute of Music was born.”

That interest led him to study music education at Columbia College in Chicago and Morehouse College, before going on to work in the New York City Department of Education and a charter school in Washington, D.C. In January of 2019, he started his institute in Memphis after negotiating contracts with public and charter schools and community organizations.

The institute offers classes in dance, arts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, & math) and leadership in addition to music. Now, Garfield has opened a second branch in Columbia, South Carolina, and hopes to open more in Orlando and Atlanta soon.

A chief goal of the institute has been providing music education to underserved youth. When the pandemic began, Garfield still operated his school, offering classes for free and following proper safety protocols. His school even offered to pick up students and carpool with parents so children could attend music classes.

Garfield knows the lifelong positive effects of music education. “My proudest moments as a music educator are when I see my students follow my path and carry the wisdom and experience they have gained from me,” he says. “I never had the support system or mentors like many educators. I traveled that road alone, being fearless in the eyes of my peers, but this ‘40 Under 40’ recognition gives me the courage to stand strong.”

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Stax Music Academy Students Bring Rhythm & Revolution Online

CREDIT: Courtesy of Stax Music Academy

The Stax Music Academy (SMA) is buzzing with activity these days, as students and instructors work in its studios, and fan out across the city, for a little R&R.

No, they’re not taking a vacation, and this is not for rock ‘n’ rollers only. Rather, the entire academy has shifted into high gear for its upcoming online presentation, “R & R: Rhythm and Revolution: Expressions of Struggle, Collaboration, and Peace.”

Courtesy of Stax Music Academy

Young Stax Academy performer

This virtual show replaces the two live performances typically held by the academy in celebration of Black History Month. Though most musical fans will be asked to pay a donation, the program will be made available at no cost to students, schools, and youth organizations across the world.

And the SMA is taking that last part seriously, offering a study guide so educators can present the show to students in a considered way. The guide includes a set of questions that can be used to help young people process some of the thoughts and feelings that may arise on topics the concert will address. And, for the first time ever, the SMA study guide also includes a songwriting competition for students in grades 4-12, with a cash prize for the winner.

Billie Worley

Stax Music Academy students creating video for Rhythm & Revolution

Aiming to be an “upbeat production designed especially for students who are currently lacking access to the arts during the COVID pandemic,” the online show will feature renditions of soul classics and original music by SMA’s students. Music of the Civil Rights Movement and more recent anthems will be highlighted, along with songs made famous by the likes of Aretha Franklin, the Staple Singers, Al Green, The Jackson 5, Janet Jackson and Albert King.

Billie Worley

Stax Music Academy students creating video for Rhythm & Revolution

The virtual Black History Month show is even now being filmed in various locations in Memphis, including the I AM A MAN Plaza at historic Clayborn Temple, Beale Street, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and Royal Studios, home of Hi Records, and artists like Al Green and Ann Peebles.

Pat Mitchell-Worley

“As important as the Black History Month lessons are in this virtual production, it is more than anything a show of sheer entertainment for students of all ages and parents alike,” said Stax Music Academy executive director Pat Mitchell Worley. “Our students are performing for other students and have been involved in every aspect of the show, from designing costumes to engineering and production to even filming dance lessons for other young people to emulate and enjoy.”

“R & R: Rhythm and Revolution: Expressions of Struggle, Collaboration, and Peace,”  available on the Stax Music Academy’s website starting February 17, 2021. Register as an “Educator” in the EventBrite Link for access to study guides.


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Music Music Blog

Memphis Music Initiative Releases Report on COVID-19 Relief Efforts

CREDIT: Alex Greene

Alex Greene

Amber Hamilton, executive director of MMI

For the past six years, the Memphis Music Initiative (MMI) has been nurturing music where economic or social forces often keep it from flourishing — particularly in Memphis’ communities of color. When COVID-19 hit the city in earnest, MMI was one of the first to create funding opportunities to support musicians and music education in the shelter-in-place era.

Now, three months after social distancing first took effect, MMI has released a report on how their Emergency Relief Fund, created with support from ArtsMemphis and others, has fared. And the particulars of how they distributed over $85,000 make for a fascinating snapshot of how creative and resilient our musicians and other artists are.

Their funding fell into three categories: youth grants, individual musician grants, and organizational grants. And all three sectors offer ideas on how to respond creatively to life in a pandemic.

The youth grants ranged from facilitating online learning by supplying laptops, to material support for films or mixed-media projects exploring life under quarantine, to music recording equipment to support the creation of an avant garde aria. While such support was limited to students under 20 years old, 24 individual musicians who lost all or most of their income received financial relief totaling more than $22,000. And 11 organizations affiliated with MMI received another $50,000, such as the Young Actors Guild, or Memphis Slim House, which was able to offer free recording time to its members.

This report surely indicates that relief efforts for music and the arts can make a significant impact on the local community, and be distributed to individuals and groups who are pushing the viral envelope, so to speak. As MMI gears up for more relief efforts, supporters can donate to the nonprofit here. Those who want to learn more about MMI’s work can review their 2019 annual report, released just last month. 

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The Kids Who Sing a Righteous Song: Haunting Harmonies Guide the March for Our Lives

CREDIT: Iseashia Thomas

Iseashia Thomas

The kids of the Perfecting Gifts choir, at the March for Our Lives

As I approached the #MarchForOurLives gathering point at the Clayborn Temple this morning, walking across Robert R. Church Park, a choir’s song wafted through the air, growing stronger as I drew near. The call to move had been made, and marchers were just beginning to walk up Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, but the singers’ power kept building. “We are one…we are one,” they sang. Many marchers paused and turned back, riveted, looking to the temple’s front steps, where a couple dozen kids sang. Now the soloists were stepping out, testifying in song with tremendous soul.

The music seemed to be wind beneath the wings of the march, carrying over two blocks’ worth of humanity to the National Civil Rights Museum. Although official estimates of the crowd size are not yet available, this was a well-attended march of many hundreds who were calling out for stricter gun control laws. As people chanted “enough is enough,” signs floated above the crowd, cutting to the heart of the issue: “NRA Gives Blood Money for Political Bull Shit,” “Moms Demand Action,” “Melt the Guns,” and a giant handgun twisted into a knot. “This is what democracy looks like,” they chanted.

I lingered at Clayborn Temple a while as the people and the signs flowed toward South Main, and found the kids in the choir reassembling inside. They were about to reprise their performance for a video taping. As they milled around, I spoke a bit with the choir director, Sharonda Mitchell, who co-wrote “We Are One” with Ranata Hickson.

Memphis Flyer: So how did this choir come together to sing for the march today?

Sharonda Mitchell: The kids are with Perfecting Gifts, Incorporated. We are a 501(c)3 organization with a mission to nurture, mature and celebrate young artists. So we decided to put an original song together and let the kids go into Hope Presbyterian Church, the Grove recording studio, and record the song. That was last Saturday, and we’re here today to do a video with the song. Then we plan to release it on the anniversary of Dr. King’s death.

That’s great. So it applies to both today’s march and Dr. King’s vision.

Absolutely. The lyrics are so simple, “We are one, together we stand, hand in hand, we are one.”

Did these kids just come together for this event?

This event was put together as a part of our six weeks performing art intensive. So all of the students came together for six weeks. They learned the basics of performance, which means vocal performance, theater — they learned all the basics. And now this is the culmination activity that ends the six weeks intensive. We have a program every season. This is our winter program and it will be kicking off again for the summer, which will be six weeks as well. And then we’ll come back for the fall and do six weeks. This particular six weeks intensive is with kids aged from 9 to 17. But for summer we go all the way down to six years old. And we divide them into age appropriate groups. And it’s all for the empowerment of our youth. Especially those who love music, love theater, love to sing. This is the perfect program for them.

Are kids recruited from all the school systems?

Absolutely. I have representation with this particular group from fifteen of our city schools. Maybe three charter schools. All of them are good honor roll students; and those who aren’t honor roll students are striving to be. And it’s the music that’s enabling them to come out of their shell and do better with that. Believe it or not, most of these students have never performed in a choir. So this is the beginning of what will expand into youth unity in music.

Is it always a capella?

We have a mixture of everything. Today we have Steven Simmons, who’s from Visible Music College. He and his team mate will be opening up with a song. We’re trying to do more partnering with Visible, since they are right in the neighborhood here. And he as a musician invests so much into the kids. So we’re trying to get a collaboration really soon. We also have Gary Walker, who is just an amazing musician. He’s the one who developed the original track for the song “We Are One”.

So the studio version has a backing track.

Yes, it was created by Gary Walker and it was presented by Steven Simmons and they were recorded by Marque Walker. Our video company is Forever Ready. They are amazing. Lauren and Julie have been just what we needed. They love the kids and it shows even in their recording. So it’s just a big collaboration.