Teaching about Roland Hayes in Brookline Music Classes
In our May meeting, BEF Board members heard from music educators Meredith Huntley (Hayes), Melodie Linhart (Lawrence) and Becky Vinci (FRR & Lawrence) about two grants from this year, a Collaborative Grant: Teaching about Roland Hayes in Brookline
Music Classes, and a Teacher Grant: Indian Music Immersion.
Who is “Roland Hayes” of Hayes School?
Roland Hayes was a trailblazer in Afro American choral in the early 1900s, but his influence is ever present in music and social justice today.
“The beauty of what could be done with the voice just overwhelmed me.” – Roland Hayes
Born to freed slaves, Roland Hayes was undeterred in his mission to share his music, remaining determined and steadfast to succeed despite facing racism throughout his life and career. When he was told, “no one of your race would ever be accepted in music – or sing in Symphony Hall,” he bought out Symphony Hall to prove them wrong, and became the first Afro American to perform there in Boston. He went on to perform in Europe and was the first Black musician to perform for the King and Queen of England. He recorded albums, and ensured he was fairly compensated for them, opening doors for many future artists.
The team also found numerous examples where Hayes’ music directly influenced current artists, which certainly peaked the students’ interest. As we just celebrated Mother’s Day, it’s fun to share that Roland Hayes inspired Tupac as they both pay tribute to their mamas in their songs, You’re Tired Chile (Hayes) and Dear Mama (Tupac). Hayes helped highlight that spirituals are a critical part of cultural understanding, and that the “underground expression of the fight for freedom” has universal human appeal. This teaching team certainly followed his lead in creating rich experiences for students across Brookline Schools to understand his music, his personal story and how his experiences intertwined with the social justice movements throughout the decades.
If you want to learn more, reach out to the music team at Hayes School and they will be happy to geek out with you on the history of this incredible man!
Indian Music Immersion
Meredith Huntley, Hayes School Music Teacher, Teacher Grant Recipient: Indian Music
Immersion
Three Days at Chhandayan School
Last August, Meredith Huntley (a music teacher from Hayes School) traveled to New York City for a 3-day immersive learning experience at the Chhandayan Center for Indian Music to study with three gurus (translated to “enlightened persons who transfers knowledge”) thanks to a BEF Teacher grant. She learned hands-on how to play the tabla (a pair of hand drums used in Indian classical music), sing traditional Indian music and perform Kathak dance, all through the lens of Indian musical approaches. Meredith also mastered the Tintaal Tukra, which is the basis of much musical teaching for rhythm and a system can form the foundation for virtually any musical composition. The students at Hayes have already been learning these techniques, and Monday night the BEF board members also got a quick lesson!
This spring you can see this learning in practice by watching the Hayes middle school perform a traditional Indian published choral piece “TaReKiTa” by Reena Esmail. Or check out the Bollywood movie “Parichay” and do your best to sing along to “Sa Re Ke Sa Re” – warning, it’s harder than it looks, or rather than it sounds.
Meredith has shared the learnings (and even her practice videos!) district-wide with hands-on applications for classes from kindergarten up through 6/7/8 choruses, exposing our students to a truly worldly musical experience!
