Yesterday’s club show was an affirming moment as an educator.
I heard four bands yesterday in a sold-out show at a local Grand Rapids club. Two of the bands included former choir students from Rockford High School – students I have known since they were 15 and have watched flourish since they graduated.
And the audience of several hundred included at least a dozen other of our choir alums, attending to enjoy the music and support their friends and former classmates. (The spread was wide enough, though, that they hadn’t all sung together or even known each other.)
This, in a nutshell, is what I want most as an educator: to see my former students continue to make and support music as they continue in their lives. Music should be a part of every life. Seeing those former students on stage making art was affirming; so was seeing those former students make the time, space, and money available to support their art.