Tag: MusicPage 1 of 3

Overcoming with Otis

When I was in a dark place in my life, Otis Redding’s song, “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” helped me get through the hard times. –…

Forking Paths

My music education was primarily as a professional pianist. As part of this training, I went to the Dartington Hall international summer school in music to play in…

Teach Them Well and Let Them Lead the Way

For many years, my school district hosted an annual Academic Diversity Institute prior to the start of the new school year. At this institute, teachers had the opportunity…

It Really is Gonna be Alright…

In the Fall of 2016, I started putting together application materials to begin my Masters program. I had so much anxiety going into the process and a lot…

Give Me My Wings

It’s time now My time now Give me my, Give me my, Wings Having grown up in a particularly religious family, one that didn’t encourage listening to rock…

Ramble On

Sometimes I wish I could say that a great novel or an experience with an especially gifted teacher or professor lit a spark for the humanities in me….

Latinoamerica

Latinoamerica is a song from Calle 13. When I first heard this song I realized how important music is for identity in the construction of culture itself. Back…

A History of Redevelopments

My humanities moment comes in the form a song called “Inner City Blues,” by Marvin Gaye. The song was released in 1971 and it was a vocal illustration…

J.C. Bach and the Exhaustion of Feeling

I was around 16 years old at the time of my humanities moment. I had been playing the viola for 7 years. As usually occurred, I became bored…

Playground Playdates: The rhythm and data of double Dutch

In October 2019, I attended New America’s Neighborhood Stories: Looking Into the Past to Map the Future: A Humanities + Tech Approach. Attending this session, inspired me to…

Understanding Life Through Music

When my Humanities moment struck me, I was dumbfounded. Being at the young age of fourteen, I don’t think I fully understood the power of music. I knew…

Making Magic Through Film

Seemingly small moments, unexpected and beautiful, make this world interesting. Noticing the beauty all around is a pastime that comes with many benefits, especially in the field of…

Bocelli’s Gift

Since our historic site is closed, I’ve been trying to connect OTHER people to the humanities via our social media channels. I had heard on NPR that Andrea…

Transforming Loss into Artistic Expression

In this video recording, actor and musician Noah Reid describes the way that a Neil Young song allowed him to understand and portray the way that loss shaped…

Planet Earth Turns Slowly

I was in middle school back in 2010. I would spend most of my time avoiding school work and indulging in online comic books, video games, movies and…

Swing Life Away

One thing I can tell you for sure is that music can save the soul. For me music is my outlet. Music has always played a role in…

Classical Music Saved My Life

My Humanities Moment happened when I realized that Art and Music actually saved my life when I needed it. I remember walking in New York City at night….

Algorithms in Funk Music

Late scholar James A. Snead wrote that repetition in Black American creative expression is most prevalent in performance such as rhythm in music, dance and language. He used…

God in Music Form: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

My mother received her undergraduate degree in Art History after her three children had graduated. As siblings with the label first generation college students, we like to think…

The Concert

After 40 years of attending rock concerts I still get excited about them. There’s nothing like counting the days until the band is in town or when I…