Michigan Muse Summer 2023 > Sharing the Joy – Performing Arts Community Programs

Sharing the Joy of the Performing Arts Through Community Programs

By Judy Galens

Leah Claiborne (MM ’14, DMA ’18, piano pedagogy & performance) had a passion for performing and teaching her instrument, and she wanted to bring children “the joy of music through piano,” she said. She also wanted children from culturally diverse communities to have something she didn’t have as a young person. “I often imagine how impactful it would have been in my fundamental years to have other people who looked like me studying classical piano music, and to have my teachers also include music by Black composers in the teaching repertoire.” When she brought the idea of this partnership to Patterson and John Ellis, associate professor of music and, at the time, associate dean for productions, programs, and partnerships, they immediately saw its value.

Part of Patterson’s goal for starting Our Own Thing nearly 50 years earlier had been the desire to provide musical opportunities to children whose families could not afford private instruction, enabling them to pursue music in high school and beyond, if they chose. That goal resonated strongly with Ellis, who recognized the value of the partnership for SMTD students as well. “As an institution of higher education,” he reflected, “we have to be training our students to form reciprocal relationships with the communities in which they are making their art and teaching their art, and they also have to learn from the community to make their own art alive.”

The Our Own Thing piano program launched in 2017 and was overseen by Claiborne until she graduated from SMTD in 2018. After that, SMTD’s Engagement & Outreach team began managing the program. Open to children from kindergarten through high school, the classes are held on Saturdays from November through May. Reflecting what Ellis describes as a “student-centered and family-centered program,” the Saturday sessions focus on what the participants want to learn, whether it’s classical, rap, pop, African American folk songs, or church music. They also dabble in music theory and piano technique. They have group sessions with Ellis as well as private and semi-private lessons with SMTD students. The participants struggle, they succeed, they struggle some more, and at the end of the year, they present the results of their hard work in a recital, their proud parents cheering them on. “It is a delight to see students and teachers exploring multiple genres,” Ellis said, “and our final recitals reflect that joyous search.”

Looking back on her experience with the Our Own Thing piano program, Leah Claiborne – now an assistant professor of music at the University of the District of Columbia – realizes its effect on her life and career. “It was by far the highlight of my time at SMTD, and I am still reaping the benefits of taking the chance to prioritize community engagement and advocacy of diverse literature in my professional world.” She wishes a similar experience for SMTD students now involved with Our Own Thing. “I am hopeful that the current SMTD students will also be able to step away from this program and look back at the impact they have had in each of these children’s and families’ lives. It is an absolutely amazing program that highlights how community enrichment at the forefront of higher education can impact our world.”

The Expanding Mission of Engagement & Outreach

Led from its inception in 2010 by Sarah Jane Rau, the Engagement & Outreach team had begun by managing long-standing youth and adult programs, including the Michigan Youth Ensembles and the MPulse Summer Performing Arts Institutes, formerly known as the All State at Interlochen Summer Program. These programs connect middle and high school students who are interested in all aspects of the performing arts with SMTD faculty and students, offering instruction and mentorship.

Becoming Artists and Citizens

SMTD students interested in working with these partner programs are not simply thrust into classrooms or hospitals or nursing facilities to fend for themselves. First they become Michigan Artist Citizens, or MACs, a process involving an application (with a faculty recommendation), a matching process, and substantial training. The first part of the training, conducted by Myrick, focuses on ethical community engagement. The second part is conducted by the partner organization and, Rau explained, allows the organization to make a necessary introduction: “Here’s our community. Here’s how you approach our community. Here’s what our community needs and wants.” Signaling the importance of the MAC program to the school, beginning in fall ’23, SMTD students will earn academic credit for participating.

In the very definition of a mutually beneficial relationship, SMTD students lend energy, enthusiasm, and talent to these programs, and in turn they gain valuable teaching experience. They step outside their busy lives and become immersed in local communities. Like the students they are teaching, they acquire new skills and understanding, as stated by Zongxi Li, a trombone player earning a master’s degree in chamber music: “While working with the M-STARs program, I have had the opportunity to refine my craft in teaching younger students, and I found teaching even more enjoyable than before. I’ve interacted with students who come from a variety of backgrounds. That helped me understand the obstacles they might face when learning their instruments, which made me become a lot more empathetic as a teacher.”

SMTD students are also motivated to become MACs because they are committed to serving their communities and making a positive difference in the lives of others. Reflecting on his experience with the Our Own Thing piano program, Jackson Kanawha Perry (BFA ’25, musical theatre) said, “Working with the young musicians was always the highlight of my week. They inspired me with their curiosity, eagerness, and joy. I loved that I was able to give back to the community through this program.”

The SMTD students in the MAC program come from all areas of SMTD, but they are diverse in more than just their area of study; they reflect the cultural diversity of the school and of the communities they work with. “The parents have been very happy with the fact that their children can see musicians of all types who they can relate to as role models,” Myrick noted.

By every measure, the community programs overseen by Engagement & Outreach have had positive outcomes, and Myrick shares the secret ingredient: “The strength of these communities is what makes these programs really successful. We don’t enter these relationships with a deficit mentality, thinking that we at the university are coming to give you something that you just don’t have. We’re adding to what you already have. We’re connecting our resources at U-M to your resources as a community.”

The director of Voices Valiant is Norma Freeman, a former (and nationally recognized) music teacher and choral director. In 2013, she had been retired from her role as director of choirs for Saline High School for all of four days when she got a call from Jerry Blackstone, SMTD professor of choral conducting (now professor emeritus). Blackstone had the idea of having U-M sponsor a choral group for seniors, and he wanted Freeman to lead it. “I thought, this will be a nice challenge,” Norma recalled. Ten years later, she is still going strong as director, joined by her long-time colleague, accompanist Dolly Collins. She is also joined by her husband, Kenneth Freeman, a life-long choral singer and member of Voices Valiant.

Voices Valiant members do not have to audition, and in fact they don’t really need to have choral experience, though most of them do. Freeman’s philosophy is that anyone can learn to sing, and she employs her own considerable skills to that end while also fostering a supportive and inclusive atmosphere among members. “They’re secure with each other,” she said, “and I think that’s why they don’t worry about singing the wrong note, because they know they have someone next to them to help them out.” Throughout each semester-long session, the members of Voices Valiant share what they’ve learned with others in the community, putting on relaxed, informal performances (what Freeman calls “informances”).

When conducting rehearsals, Freeman is enthusiastic and positive, patient and attentive. She teaches members how to read music as well as proper breathing, posture, enunciation, and phrasing. She peppers her instruction with considerable praise. Rehearsals are characterized by abundant laughter and a sense of congeniality. The participants’ voices meld beautifully, but for Freeman, Voices Valiant is not about perfect execution of every song; it’s about developing community and experiencing the joy of singing.

For many members of Voices Valiant, the rehearsals are a highlight of their week. They appreciate the musical education Freeman provides, but the benefits go far beyond that, particularly at a time when their lives are no longer defined by work or caring for children. “There is a great need for retired people to have purpose, to participate, to be active, and to make contributions to their communities,” said Joan Fredericks, a retired educator and Voices Valiant member. Palmer Morrel-Samuels, a former professor in the School of Public Health, found that being involved in the ensemble “means far more than I ever expected it would.” He was grateful to learn more about reading music, but “it’s also been really important on a social level and an emotional level. Music is such a critical part of living.”

For Pat Kaminsky (LSA ’75, English & psychology), the breath work of singing and the need for good posture provided benefits to her physical health, “but the other real positive, especially for this age group, is that singing is a bridge to the emotions. It brings a greater depth of feeling that I think is very healthy.” In addition to helping her tap into a strong sense of happiness and healing, new member Connie Powers also appreciates that Voices Valiant offers her complete acceptance: “I’m OK the way I am when I come here,” she said. “I don’t have to prove anything. It’s so funny to say, but I don’t have to perform here.”