A Summer of Community Through Music
While our K-12 programs in New York City are just about to begin again, S'Cool Sounds (SCS) has been busy nurturing community through music all summer long!
In early July, SCS Founder and Artistic Director Nina Stern, Board Member Nancy Jo Snider, and Teaching Artist Ruaridh “Ru” Pattison returned to Nairobi, Kenya to support the continued growth of the SCS music programs at Crossing Thresholds schools in Kibera. Culminating in a series of magical performance at Village Market in Nairobi, this trip included lessons for students, professional development workshops for teachers, and outreach to new community partners.
Following this visit, the Center of Hope Primary School Recorder Ensemble won first prize at the 2024 Kenya National Music Festival! This is a testament to the success of the program-building visit with US-based SCS staff as well as the excellence of the SCS Kenya teaching staff, led by Music Director Jacob Saya and Assistant Director Julius Odhiambo. This year's win brings the SCS/Crossing Thresholds first prize count to six, adding to the successes of 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2023. The musical community in Kenya supported by SCS continues to move from strength to strength!
In New York, the summer brought a renewed partnership with Breaking Ground. After SCS music programs in Breaking Ground's supportive housing residencies went on hiatus during the height of the pandemic, the partnership happily recommenced in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. SCS Teaching Artist Kenneth Jiménez led multiple ukulele-based programs for adults, fostering joyful experiences of community through what he described as "the capacity of music to help individuals connect with each other."
The summer wrapped up with a free virtual workshop for teachers featuring SCS's digital learning resources. Led by SCS TA Ru Pattison and arts integration specialist JoDee Scissors,Teaching Recorder Through Multicultural Music attracted a new community of over 160 registrants from across the country and around the world! During this session, teachers learned how to integrate world music into grades 2-5 curriculum. They explored ready-made resources for recorder technique and learned strategies for incorporating interactive musical activities to develop general music skills.
As always, students of all ages can find a sequence of self-paced recorder lessons on our website—anytime, anywhere!
Thanks to our supporters, S'Cool Sounds is proud to support the joy of community music-making throughout all stages of life—in New York, Nairobi, and beyond.
Help our programs continue to thrive with a contribution today!
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Check out this replay of our recent workshop, Teaching Recorder With Multicultural Music. Please pass along the link to any and all music educators in your network!
