I am writing on the Saturday morning after the music show to try to express my gratitude for everything that happened yesterday. Yesterday demonstrated why Hamilton feels like more than a place of work to me. More than just a job. Working at Hamilton and being the music teacher of these Pre-K-8th graders fills my soul in a way that is really difficult to get across in quite the way I feel it.
After a week of checking all the sound, lights, formations, transitions, and having a really smooth dress rehearsal Thursday, the network issues on Friday were a TOTAL surprise. Although tracks could be downloaded, the digital mixer I use for an extra monitor, sound for the modern band, and sound for some of the younger grade’s performances stopped working for a reason I do not yet understand. It worked before both shows, but when the audience in the gym filled up, the network that the mixer emits stopped working (If you have any idea what this could have been… feel free to reach out to me, ha!).
I scrambled to rework the entire sound set up before each show, and I was so worried the students, having had to wait 30 minutes for the first show to begin, would be confused, shaken, and much less confident. I peeked under the curtain at 4th grade, who was on the stage the whole time; They were being SO patient and understanding. Some asked me what was going on, but most were smiling, excited to perform, talking in enthusiastic hushed whispers with their neighbors, eagerly asking me when they could start. When I ran out into the hallway to grab something from the music room, Pre-K and Kindergarten were sitting in the hallway, also quietly waiting. Middle school stage crew students were keeping them occupied and calm while they waited, and their teachers were with them, too, as understanding as can be. Other middle school stage crew students were checking on each other on the walkies, asking if anyone needed any help to get the show going (or if they should go out on stage and tell jokes to stall…).
When the first show started after all of the pre-show craziness, those 4th grade students brought tears to my eyes. It is such a treat to be their music teacher. I have seen them perform this number countless times in the music room, and still their passion and emotion moved me. From the beginning of the semester, when we began to learn how to hold a guitar, to the culminating performance, where they’re playing, singing, dancing, trading instruments, watching, listening, smiling, bouncing… Their processes are beautiful things to me. Each performance continued to speak to a deep part of me. These kiddos stood up on that stage with all the confidence in the world, sang just like we practiced (loudly and proudly!) and really performed in a way that communicated the messages of the songs. Each person on that stage has their own personality they put into their performance; Sometimes I wished I could sit back and watch all of them individually to marvel at their own personal touches. For example, Kindergartener Amelia could very well be the next Taylor Swift, giving so much attitude in her face and shaking her hips side to side the whole time during “Shake It Off.” 1st grader Jeremy REALLY feels that air guitar to his core during “All the Small Things,” shutting his eyes tight and shaking his head and hair to the music. 2nd graders Jhonjairo and Vera sing their translated duet in Spanish so clearly and proudly, making it their own. 3rd grader Cece can’t help but put her arms out and shimmy to the captivating salsa music in the “Vivir Mi Vida” transition. 4th grader Harrison knows EXACTLY where he sings his solo after the instrumental break in “Just the Way You Are,” and always comes in confidently and passionately, hands in fists, staring right at the audience, and singing those words with such conviction.
The True Colors theme truly came alive through their performances yesterday. These students are all of the things they sang about and more. They are beautiful, and each in their own way that deserves to be recognized and celebrated. They are resilient, not only bouncing back from anything that might not go how they expected it to, but thriving and SHINING in the space of improvisation. They are so strong and deserve to be trusted because they can handle so much more than we often give them credit for (or the opportunity for). Their voices are so important - they shaped that show to be what it was using their opinions, ideas, and creations - up until the very end. (After 5th grade and I joked in class that clearly the ONLY way we could end their mashup was by smashing a guitar, Ozzie decided that he would make a cardboard guitar and bring it in so that we could, indeed, smash it to The Foo Fighters’ “Pretender.”) Yesterday, because of these unexpected events, these students were given the opportunity to demonstrate just how much they really embody all of these affirmations. I am so proud of them.
My life is a gift because of them – each one of them holds their own special place in my heart. Their faces and expressions all throughout yesterday’s performances will be forever etched in my mind. I will never take for granted their trust and the way they share themselves with me. They inspire me to be all the things that they show that they are, too. I am the luckiest music teacher in the world.
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