Live teaching is back!

NYC public school programs are returning

After eighteen months of remote and hybrid learning, in-person school is back in full swing. Our partners in the New York City public schools are eager for live music residencies.

We’re seeing a lot of interest in our Build and Play the Drumcourse, where students make percussion instruments out of recycled materials. We are also excited to pilot our newest instrumental program, Violin and American Folk Music. True to the SCS philosophy, this residency is centered around developing ensemble skills in addition to a strong introduction to violin playing.

Building on everything we learned while teaching ukulele this summer (see our Video of the Week below for a fun final project) we are launching ukulele residencies in several schools. In Strumming through the Americas, entire classrooms will play engaging music from both continents while learning melodies, chords, and strumming patterns.

Classroom recorder playing will return as soon as health conditions permit.

Video of the Week

Teaching Artist Nick Pennington shared a sweet final project from this summer's ukulele residency in which the class composed their own song.

Nick writes, “We worked, as an ensemble, on a 16-bar composition. We first brainstormed about what the song might be about - throwing out keywords, images, feelings, etc. We worked on including contrast in the piece, using changing mood and rhythmic/sound density. Students then added ukulele chords as well as other sounds such as tables and claps for percussion and vocal elements. I was amazed by the kids' creativity!

The class chose ‘The Life as a Flower’ as their title and concept. Quite beautifully, the students saw the cyclical stages of a flower's life as a good choice of the natural contrast that could also be mirrored in the moods of the song.”

We hope you enjoy “The Life as a Flower” with the students’ original album artwork.

Link to "The Life of the Flower."

Community Member Highlight

We are thrilled to have Jazz vocalist, Olivia Chindamo, join the SCS team as our video editor! Olivia is a New York-based singer originally from Australia who recently received her Master's degree from The Juilliard School's Jazz Vocal program. As the first-ever vocalist to receive the prestigious Bell Award for “Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year” in 2016, Olivia has firmly cemented her place in her local and national jazz scene.

She has been working hard at filming and editing our two newest video series--New York Stories by Evan Harris and Jazz and the World of Black American Music for middle schoolers by Dave Adewumi.

Olivia shares, "When I was offered the opportunity to join the SCS team as a video editor this year, I jumped at the chance as quickly as I could. I've known about S'Cool Sounds for about four years now, frequently hearing about it as a friend and colleague to many of their wonderful teaching artists. I'm so excited to share the video series that we've been working on, and it's a real joy to have joined an organization that each year makes such a huge, positive impact on the many, many communities it reaches."

Thank you for all your work, Olivia, and we can't wait to watch the upcoming video series!