BRATTLEBORO-St. Michael's Episcopal Church recently announced a post-pandemic rekindling of its children choir program that began Sept. 24.
The Beloved Community Youth Choir aims to develop both social and musical skills in youth by using music to instill the practices of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence.
The choir will listen to and sing a diverse repertoire of music, with emphasis on songs about social justice and peace; they'll learn to improvise and collectively compose original songs and they'll share their music regularly with the Brattleboro community.
The free public program will be led by composer/pianist and St. Michael's music director, Keane Southard, described by the biography on his website as "a composer and pianist who believes deeply in the power of music to inspire positive change in the world. His music reflects his diverse musical tastes from medieval chant to '70s rock, [from] Bach to the Blues, and [from][19th-century romanticism to Latin dances."
The Commons recently spoke with Southard, who earned his Ph.D. in composition at the Eastman School of Music, his M.M. in composition from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and his B.M. in composition and theory from the Conservatory at Baldwin Wallace University.
* * *
Annie Landenberger: What's your mission with this program?
Keane Southard: We're drawing, of course, on the old [St. Michael's] choir school but with a new focus.
Eleven years ago I went to Brazil as a Fulbright Scholar to study the music education program inspired by Venezuela's El Sistema, a nationwide network of community music centers, youth orchestras, and choirs that bring music education to any who want it, especially targeting underprivileged children.
The focus is equally on musical quality and social development, and it became very well known for that, [serving] somewhere in the order of over a million kids in Venezuela. It became well-known worldwide, too, in the early 2000s, inspiring programs that popped up in countries all around the world, including the U.S.
I was getting really interested in this and thinking about how, through music, they're really having a big impact not just in making music but on people's lives, giving children a different path, giving them something to do after school that's productive and that can give them skills.
I had been interested in Brazil and Brazilian music and in learning Portuguese. I was trying to understand what Brazil did to adapt El Sistema to their own country and culture and see if there are any lessons we can learn here in the U.S.
It's quite different: In Latin America, there's not a thriving presence of privately funded nonprofits as there is here. These programs are government funded, until the next government comes in and says, "No, we don't want this," of course.
In the U.S., we have lots of youth orchestras already, but they tend to be those you have to pay to be in, so there's this financial barrier for most kids.
In Brazil, public schools run only in the morning and then they don't have robust after-school activities like we have here. They have this huge void that this fills and in Venezuela, actually, a lot of these are five- or six-day-a-week programs for three or four hours a day. Very intensive.
A.L.: So the win-win is that it's employing teaching artists-
K.S.: -Yeah, and in Venezuela, a lot of the students that have grown up with El Sistema either stay or come back as teachers.
Fast-forward to my doctorate work, when I did an internship in Rochester, New York and got to learn more about what youth music programs in the U.S. are doing. That turned into a project. I got really into Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolence and thought, Man, this could be what I need.
There's not much evidence in Venezuela that El Sistema is actually helping kids as much as they're saying. There's too much emphasis on the musical side, assuming the social side is working.
I got into Kingian nonviolence and saw an opportunity there to do more on the social side and incorporate aspects of the nonviolent philosophy to help enhance social outcomes. I created a sort of theoretical framework of things to do [to that end]. But that was all theoretical. I'd been looking for an opportunity to put it into practice and when I interviewed here at St. Michael's, all were enthused about that prospect.
So that's what the focus is: inspired by this Venezuelan model but also trying to incorporate principles of nonviolence in every aspect.
A.L.: How are you recruiting? Getting the word out?
K.S.: I talked with Patty Meyer [parishioner and former interim music director at St. Michael's and a Brattleboro music educator] over the summer as I was getting a sense of what this was going to look like[...], getting a sense of what the need is and what is already offered to kids through the schools. I wanted to make sure this isn't competing. It should be complementary.
She said that "we don't have choirs in elementary school, they really start in middle school." There is a youth choir that started at the Brattleboro Music Center, but it involves tuition and doesn't have the nonviolence/social justice focus. Patty said she could get the word out to other elementary schools around.
A.L.: Tell me more about your approach.
K.S.: I try to look through the nonviolence lens in every aspect and that'll influence repertoire. I found a social justice songbook that came out recently that we'll start with. We'll be learning music, creating music, improvising composition; students will have ownership over the material, they'll have choices, they'll be learning skills.
Their listening skills won't only be performance-oriented: they'll be listening to different types of music - and listening beyond.
They'll learn how to listen to other people - others with different points of views and opinions - because one of the most important aspects of Kingian nonviolence is how to approach conflict. How do you listen to something that's unfamiliar or that you don't like or don't understand?
The goal should be understanding, not necessarily liking, it. But if you can understand why someone has a point of view or does something a certain way, even if you disagree with that point of view, it humanizes them, it makes them not an "other," and it makes them a person.
We're trying to foster transforming conflict as well as understanding interrelatedness and interdependence. Music is a great way of doing that. In an ensemble, everyone has an important role to play, but together we create something - it's dependent on every part of that group doing their best.
A.L.: Synergy.
K.S.: Yeah, and we hope to develop courage - improvisation and composition are great ways of doing that.
Music is a good medium for trying things out and making mistakes. What happens if you make a mistake in music? Well, you try again, but you haven't hurt anyone.
It's essential to create an environment in which it's OK to make a mistake, it's OK if you sing a wrong note. Then you build up that courage and the ability to try new things, and you grow by being pushed out of your comfort zone.
[Empathy and forgiveness are other key elements Southard plans to bring to the fore in his work with area youth.]
Another thing that comes out of the Venezuelan model is frequent performance. You're always sharing the music with others. We're not just doing this for ourselves - we need to share. We'll be looking for opportunities to perform in public.
A.L.: Ambitious, inspiring. Thank you.
K.S.: I'm sure things will change and that I'll learn a lot by actually doing it.
A.L.: Can you tell me what an average session with the kids might look like?
K.S.: The idea is to spend the first half hour doing warm-ups, musical improvisation games, listening exercises, etc., and the second half hour learning and rehearsing songs.
I'm purposely trying to keep things flexible, as I want to be able to adjust some based on the abilities, interests, and strengths of the participants.
A.L.: Where did the name "Beloved Community Youth Choir" come from?
K.S.: "Beloved community" is King's vision of what we should be striving for - one where everyone is included, seeing humanity in everyone.
A.L.: This is open to all kids in grades 2 through 6?
K.S.: Open to everyone - we're trying to foster an understanding that music can be for everyone. And it's free.
We're trying to eliminate barriers as well. And we're trying to offer the best music training we can.
* * *
The program is open with no charge to all children in grades 2 through 6 in Brattleboro and surrounding communities "who love to sing and want to learn more," says Southard. "There is no requirement of an affiliation with St. Michael's and no requirement for previous musical training or experience."
The program began Sept. 24, but it's not too late to join.
Rehearsals will be in the music room of St. Michael's Episcopal, at the corner of Bradley Avenue and Putney Road, Tuesdays from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m., with the option to come at 3:30 p.m. for a snack.
To register, visit stmichaelsvermont.org or do so in person. Contact Keane Southard at keane@stmichaelsvermont.org for more information.
Annie Landenberger is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to these pages.
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.