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Mindful of the Music

We are at the time of year when every night is filled with an incredible Berwick event, and this week I had the chance to attend a number of our spring concerts. As I look back on a decade at Berwick Academy, one area that brings me particular pride has been the evolution and growth of these performances at the Upper School level, in particular. When I first arrived in 2007, there was no symphonic band, and the jazz band and chamber chorus were formed almost exclusively of freshmen. Our groups were semester long courses, so there was never enough time to see real progress and growth over time. Each year we worked with brand new faces who seemingly changed as soon as a performance ended.

Today the concerts are a touch longer, and the quality is on an entirely different level. We enjoy a chamber chorus filled with robust male and female singing and smaller groups breaking out into various kinds of performance art. Perhaps more than ever, our chorus students know that it is cool to sing, as they can now move the audience with the depth of their work. Our jazz band is by audition only, and we watch them improvise and swing with a kind of authentic groove that reminds me what an outlet jazz music has been throughout my life. Our strings program may still be small, but to watch them perform a few major quartet pieces proves that Berwick can now confidently state that there is an important home in our Upper School for these talents. Finally, symphonic band continues to tackle challenging and innovative music, and to see such a huge nucleus of instruments from the audience makes me proud to be associated with this school. We had no ability to create such a critical mass in 2007.

It needs to be said that music teachers are asked to be more than just great instructors in the classroom. They are the proverbial “pied pipers,” actually having to sell to their students that enrolling in music is worth it. In an age where our kids so frequently feel pressured to take another AP course or strengthen the “rigor” of their academic schedule, one would think our music numbers would continue to dwindle. Compared to ten years ago, we actually now have Upper School students who stay with these groups for four years. Their music classes, I believe, go beyond a concept of a mere academic class and cross into the territory of a team or activity that gives these performers a sense of identity and belonging. It has been so rewarding to watch this sense of confidence and identity grow in the past ten years.

 Looking ahead, we introduce our Performing Arts pathway through our Upper School next year, and I hope this curricular innovation will allow these students to feel validated academically in a new way. But beyond any stamp on their diploma or any new certificate, I know that our musicians will leave Berwick Academy with a talent and a passion that can afford them mindful balance as they tackle the next stage of a complicated life. Their Head of School can often be found learning a new song on Sunday nights as a strategy to keep his work life in perspective. When I saw the expressions of joy and pride on our performers earlier this week, I could tell that they, too, will leave us armed with important tools to keep themselves happy and whole. Congratulations to our Music department and all of our student performers this week. You have reminded us that stretching through engagement can be magical.

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