Concord International Elementary: Poetry and Song 2020
In the 2019-2020 school year, 2nd Graders at Concord International Elementary School worked with Jack Straw teaching artist Vicky Edmonds to write original poems about their feelings, emotions, and “Invisible Beauties.” Jack Straw musicians Abel Rocha and J.R. Rhodes wrote songs inspired by the students’ poems – Abel working with Ms. Tabor and Ms. Groszhans’s classes, and J.R. working with Ms. Adams’s class. Abel and J.R. taught the students their songs, and Jack Straw engineers Joel Maddox and Ayesha Ubayatilaka recorded them in the classroom.
Vicky Edmonds also worked with Concord 4th graders in Ms. Schnathorst, Mr. Tobin, and Mr. Lindahl’s classes. She helped them write poems on many topics, including family, personal feelings and emotions, and nature. Only Mr. Tobin’s class was able to come into Jack Straw’s studios to record their poems before schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vocal coaches Riley Gene and Rob Witmer helped each of them record the best possible performance of their poem. Jack Straw audio engineers Joel Maddox and Ayesha Ubayatilaka recorded the poems.
Listen to the songs and poems here:
Concord Poetry and Song 2020 was produced by Jack Straw Cultural Center and Concord International Elementary School with the generous support of the Concord PTA, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Jubilation Foundation Fund of Tides Foundation, the Washington State Arts Commission, Early Music Seattle, and individual contributors.
Artists
Vicky Edmonds
Vicky Edmonds is a poet and a teacher who uses the written and spoken word to bring the deepest and most authentic parts of ourselves to the page into the…
READ MORE >
J.R. Rhodes
Singer-songwriter J.R. Rhodes believes that music heals and that love is real. From her first open-mic performances at the O.K. Hotel, Seattle, to her latest album…
READ MORE >
Abel Rocha
Abel Rocha is a Mexico City-born folklorist, singer and multi-instrumentalist who performs music of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Argentina. He is a foundational member of groups including…
READ MORE >
Antonio Davidson-Gómez
Antonio Davidson-Gómez is an educator and percussionist focused on fostering musical dialogue between cultures. He has studied, performed and recorded in various genres with emphases on Mediterranean, Middle…
READ MORE >
August Denhard
As a performer on lute, theorbo and Baroque guitar, August Denhard has appeared with Baroque Northwest, Seattle Baroque, the Concord Ensemble, Chicago Music of the Baroque, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra…
READ MORE >
