Independent Musicianship: Halloween Carolers

On Halloween, a group of students went out “Halloween Caroling”. They selected a festive tune, practiced it together ahead of time, and performed it at each door they visited as they went trick or treating. This was all their idea- I can take no credit for it. They took the initiative to cultivate their love of making music on their own. They took pride in their work; not simply making music, but crafting their sounds into something they would be proud of in performing. And they were brave enough to share it with the world. When they told me what they were going to do, my heart burst with pride-- the courage, leadership, and beauty of the moment is all a teacher could ever want for their students. They get it.

If my heart wasn’t already bursting enough, it sure did the following morning. Upon my arrival, they approached me with over $100 in monetary donations they collected while playing the previous night. They put it in an envelope, wrote their names on it, and presented it to me, explaining that they wanted to donate the funds to other band students who need help procuring funds to travel with us on some of our upcoming trips for this year. (Our Jazz Band is going on retreat in January, and our band program is traveling to Orlando in February.)

Picture posted with permissions. Not for distribution/republication.

(Who is cutting onions in the band room?! Don’t they know there’s no food allowed?! 😭 💖)

I have no more words.

#ThisIsWhyITeach

#IndependentMusicianshipAtWork

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