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Thursday, May 5, 2005
Making Beautiful Music
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do you mind if we pause for a story with a really happy ending?
On Saturday, I witnessed the following scene: four eighth-grade boys - all African American - on a stage playing flawlessly (at least to an untrained ear) Bouree, by J.S. Bach. Their instruments: harps. Harps!
The Urban Youth Harp Ensemble started in 2000 at Brown Middle School, an Atlanta Public School on the West End. The program had two students, a borrowed harp, a devoted, longtime music teacher and a principal harpist for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra who wanted to share her passion with schoolchildren.
Today, the program has 11 harps and 26 students.
The program’s first student, now in high school, was not at Saturday’s concert. Why? He was playing his harp at a wedding … and getting paid.
The harp is a notoriously difficult instrument to play. These students are learning from Elisabeth Remy. She’s a professional harpist, instructor at several colleges, marathon runner etc. Yet she comes out and teaches these kids. Scholarships from Hank and Billye Aaron’s I Have A Dream Foundation allow some of the kids to have harps in their homes so they can practice. This summer, the students will get intensive instruction at a camp in the North Georgia mountains.
Remy doesn’t get paid a dime, neither does Roselyn Lewis, the Atlanta music teacher who runs the nonprofit organization in addition to her full-time job at Brown Middle School.
An endeavor like this takes a huge commitment on the part of Lewis, Remy, the kids’ parents and the kids. When I wrote about this story for the ajc a few years ago, I didn’t know if the ensemble would survive. So many pieces need to fall into place.
On Saturday, I was thrilled to see those young harpists up on stage performing for their parents and supporters. I’ve never seen so much pride in one room.
