We all live in a state of profound isolation. No other human being can ever know what it’s like to be you on the inside. And no amount of reaching out to others can ever make them feel exactly what you feel. All media of communication are a by-product of our sad inability to communicate directly mind to mind. Sad, of course, because nearly all problems in human history stem from that inability. Each medium (the term comes from the Latin word meaning middle) serves as a bridge between minds.
Scott McCloud Understanding Comics, The Invisible Art.Our world is full of different mediums of self-expression, yet every medium—prose, poetry, visual arts, films, science, dance, spoken language and music—is flawed. None completely and perfectly transfers ideas, feelings and notions. Each is an attempt to address the “inability to communicate directly mind to mind,” the central source, as Scott McCloud writes, of nearly all our problems.
Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “Where words fails, music speaks.” Music can communicate from person to person in ways words cannot. However, music is imperfect, and as a medium, it fails as well. Each method of human expression succeeds where others fail, and only by being fluent and literate in the plurality of different mediums can we begin to overcome that inability to communicate mind to mind. It is in this diversity of expression that we find the power to make the communities we belong to more just, more equitable and more inclusive.
At the center of a Parker education is the value of citizenship, and the primary tool of citizenship is voice. This isn’t a tool that we exercise and express through a single medium, like a speech in front of a crowd. At its most effective, and most powerful, voice encapsulates many mediums of human expression. To rely only on the written word is to struggle against this medium’s imperfections. To embrace the diversity of the different mediums of self-expression is to rise above these imperfections, allowing an individual to express his/her voice more authentically and easily understood.
As important as the ability to authentically express an individual voice, as the prayer of Saint Francis meditates, it is as important “to be understood as to understand.” Only through foundational knowledge in many methods of human expression can people complete the work of citizenship by pairing the ability to express one’s voice with the skill to understand others in whatever ways they express their thoughts and feelings.
So why am I talking about voice and citizenship? Because this is the foundation of our philosophy of music education at Parker, and at the core of the greatest and most meaningful work starts at Parker in music classes. Our work doesn’t start with Beethoven; it starts with empowering our students to be citizens by developing their authentic voice.
Music is integral to the human condition, interwoven in almost every single culture in human history, and it continues be one of the most important forms of human expression. Some of the most powerful voices in human history found their voice through music, and some of the most influential members of our American society continue to change the world through music.
Music class at Parker is about more than creating music; it’s about developing music as part of an authentic voice, a means of expression, a way to understand the world and a way to change the world as a citizen. Music is an essential part of the bridge that connects us as humans and brings us closer to a higher level of understanding.
In our curriculum, students develop their musical voice in different ways. In 3rd grade, students compose music to describe nature. Inspired by music of Native Americans, they capture sounds and observations that words cannot. They come to understand different ways people use music to share the way they see the world, providing students with tools of self-expression.
When the 5th graders study “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?,” they compare several versions of the song, including the original by Credence Clearwater Revival, a Spanish language version by Juan Gabriel, a cover by the Thai group the Drivers and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ punk rock styling. The students learn how different interpretations of the same song can have different meanings and that there is as much power in how you say something as what you say.
In the Middle School band curriculum, students learn the power of musical instruments as an external extension of one’s voice. Students play instruments that are louder, higher or lower than their voices and learn to create sounds nigh impossible to create with the human voice. As humans have learned throughout history, Parker students discover that a musical instrument allows them to externalize emotions through a sound that is completely different than a singing voice but undeniably personal and significant.
As the Upper School choirs sing music from all over the world, they recognize the many ways master musicians have pushed the boundaries of human expression. By studying choral works, analyzing their meaning and working to capture the composers’ intent, choral singers gain more tools for self-expression. While they are singing, speaking through a composer’s voice, students mix in experience and emotions, creating bridges between composers, singers and audiences. As these composers represent the rich diversity of the world, this amalgamation builds bridges across time, cultures and geography. In the richness of this music, student voices gain depth and meaning.
At Parker, the development of an authentic voice as a tool for citizenship runs parallel to the development of identity. Like voice, there are many facets to identity, and only with deliberate and careful planning can young people develop and understand their identities. As different mediums of human expression are critical in developing voice, identity is what gives meaning, depth and context to a person’s voice. Understanding Sam Cooke’s identity as an African American brings power to his voice in “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and the Dixie Chicks’ struggles with their identity as country singers is what make their music controversial for some, powerful for many.
The development of identity is complex and personal, but this hasn’t stopped Parker music teachers from working to help students develop parts of their identities. A multiplicity of musical experience in Lower School music helps students develop tools of expression but also begin to create their musical identities as they grow to understand their preferences and strengths.
In 5th grade, students steer head-on into gender identity, wrestling with the gross gender inequities that permeate almost every aspect of our musical culture. Students are shocked to find out how few female artists are on the iTunes top 100 best-selling songs. By asking questions about this inequity, they examine their own gender identities. This process is challenging but important in understanding what gender identity means to oneself and others.
One of the most important parts of racial development that Parker’s music instruction actively addresses is racial identity. By deliberately providing windows (views into the cultures of other races) and mirrors (representations of students’ own races) and engaging in purposeful conversation about race, students find space in music class to do the essential, and very difficult work, of racial identity development.
Windows allow students to see others, to understand what is different and appreciate others because of their differences. When students who do not identify as Japanese study Japanese music in 2nd grade, they come to understand the traditions and cultures of another race. This refusal to be color blind, to go beyond tolerance to celebration, brings students to a place where viewing another race provides important perspectives that help them reflect on their own racial identities.
Mirrors provide students with a sense of pride and belonging. When almost 250 Middle and Upper School students performed “My Shot” from Hamilton, students who identified as Latino saw the entire school community embrace and celebrate one of their own, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the composer and primary creative force behind Hamilton. This choice of repertoire and the time studying Miranda and his racial identity provided all students, especially those who identify as Latino, a nuanced and important example of Latino culture. Mirrors are critical in creating an inclusive environment that nurtures students’ racial identity development. Only by seeing themselves and others can young people come to see all facets of their identities with pride.
Music at its best is an authentic voice expressing one’s identity. Music deliberately examines all elements of identity, drawing upon other mediums of human expression to find authenticity and meaning. Music at Parker is one muscle of citizenship, one powerful way to develop identity and express voice—which is more important now than ever.
Parker has always been a school that understands the essential place of music in the education of its students to become active citizens in our society. One recent example of this priority is the new Joan W. Harris Visiting Music Scholar in Residence program.
With the success of other programs, such as the Robert A. Pritzker Visiting Scientist•Inventor•Engineer in Residence, the Jean Harris Hansell Endowed Fund for Poetry and the Francine C. Rosenberg Memorial Lecture, along with other visitors to our community, a visiting music scholar program was a natural expression of our school’s values. With the support of Joan W. Harris, the administration and the Music Department, we are proud to have musicians from the Chamber Music Society (CMS) of Lincoln Center as our inaugural Visiting Music Scholars.
Mirroring our school’s mission and the Music Department’s work, the CMS will present music that celebrates the transformative power of classical music, the democratic process of creating with others and the important role of classical music in promoting a more diverse and inclusive society.
In our search for the first Visiting Music Scholar, we wanted to find artists who understood ideas of citizenship and diversity while bringing the best in classical music to our community. Chamber music, which involves creating music as a group without a conductor, is a challenging process that speaks directly to the role of citizenship and the power of individual voice. This, along with the CMS’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, assured us that their residency would also address and support our work fostering the development of identity.
The Joan W. Harris Visiting Music Scholar in Residence is a bridge between the best of classical music and the Parker community. This program supports the bridges we are helping our students learn to build through the development of their voices and their identities with members of the community, leading to the nurturing of active and productive citizens.
This is the work of our school: building bridges between each other and, with great optimism and hope, helping develop in our students the tools to express themselves and understand others that too often are lacking, which can lead to conflict and strife.
Our inability to communicate can bring conflict, but it can also lead to beauty. Our attempts to compensate for flaws of human expression have led to vibrant colors and motion in the paintings of Archibald John Motley, Jr., and the indescribable passion in Kathleen Battle’s operatic arias. We struggle through incredible art and innovation that aims for that closer understanding of one another. In the progress of this work, in the beauty that comes out of this struggle, we find optimism and hope in the human condition. The bridges we build are structures of beauty, and making these bridges is an act of hope.
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