The New England Music Festival Association’s concert festival is an annual event for band, choral and orchestra students from all six New England states. I recently attended this event as a sponsoring director, and returned energized and inspired, after having my faith in the healing power of music restored.
One of the pieces that Cynthia Johnston Turner, the guest band conductor, picked for her ensemble was “American Guernica” by Adolphus Hailstork. Written in memory of the victims of the 1963 fire-bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., its title makes reference to the famous Picasso mural depicting the bombing of a Basque village by German Nazi and Italian Fascist warplanes in 1937. From a musical standpoint, “American Guernica” is challenging and unconventional. Hailstork employs spatial notation in his handwritten score and parts, and the percussion instrumentation includes a hand-cranked siren and a piano with the lid removed and its strings scraped with a large metal washer. This seven-minute-long piece is by turns frighteningly violent and beautifully cathartic.
Turner’s program notes made reference to recent events, including the Christchurch massacre, and ended with four band students standing one at a time to recite the names of the four girls murdered by white supremacists in Birmingham: “Carole Robertson, age 14 . . . Addie Mae Collins, age 14 . . . Cynthia Wesley, age 14 . . . Denise McNair, age 11.”
This is but one example of the powerful impact this festival had on the 400-plus students assembled over the course of three days. Young people, from a variety of ethnicities, religions and backgrounds, coming together as part of a team, working tirelessly to achieve a common goal. Getting advice from these excellent music educators, regarding musicianship, career opportunities and what it means to be a decent human being. Giving back to the community through the gift of music. Providing a respite from all the garbage that we are continually subjected to in the news and on social media.
What a way to end “Music in our Schools” month. And what a lofty goal for us all to strive for. Don’t cling to preconceived biases and fears. But instead, come together, talk with one another, break bread, make music, learn from each other. If more of us do this, we can surely make the world a better place.
(Dan Williams lives in Concord.)