New York, NY - Sept 2018

“Why is it important to vote?”

Alex and I were standing in front of a music class at Brooklyn High School of the Arts. After leading the students through several interactive musical activities modeling the value of individual voices layering and working together, we were pivoting to a discussion about voter registration. We posed the question to students, surrounded by a halo of music stands cleared to the sides, and waited for someone to raise their hand. 

I had just finished a two-year residency at BHSA, working with many of these students through Ensemble Connect, so I already knew that these students would be willing to grapple with and discuss large-scale civic issues. This was our first VOTESart workshop, and it felt good to bring these activities and discussion points to a group of students that I knew well, and who knew me well. 

Interactive performances are exciting, and also involve risk, because they are truly interactive. We engage students in music-based activities, and initiate discussions about issues in their communities that they care about deeply. Encouraging discussion of political and civic issues, while keeping the discourse focused on actionable and positive solutions, is exciting and unpredictable. It also meant talking in advance with John Scandone, the Director of Bands and Orchestra at BHSA, about issues he knew the students cared about deeply, and learning as much information about the student community as possible before the workshop. Coming to BHSA, and any school we visit, with as much knowledge as possible about the students and their community allows us to tailor our workshop to be truly relevant to each group of students.

As we sang, played, clapped, and discussed our way through the 45-minute period, the students had excellent thoughts on democracy, connecting abstract concepts to their local communities and classrooms, as well as some pessimism and reflection about the importance and significance of a single vote. As the bell rang to end class, we distributed a phenomenal handout shared with us from Generation Citizen, which included a chart showing a variety of ways that high school students can advocate for issues that they care about in their communities. 

We’ll be doing a modified pop-up event at a Toomai Quintet concert in Brooklyn later this week, a house concert hosted by our own Alex Fortes, and then heading to Iowa for our second residency at the end of this month! Looking forward to taking VOTESart on the road. 

- Becky

Interactive Performance at Brooklyn High School of the Arts