School and Education Partnerships

The Cantata Singers organization is proud to be in association with the following schools for the 2001-2002 academic year. In addition to cultivating heightened music appreciation and bringing a unique approach to music education to the classroom, the Classroom Cantata’s program invites the students and schools to live preparation and performances of Cantata Singers concerts. Partner schools are provided with discounted admission and entry to non-public events.

Jeremiah E. Burke High School
60 Washington Street
Dorchester, MA 02121
Phone: 617-635-9837
C. Moore, acting headmaster
Yvonne Powell, collaborating history teacher (2 African American History classes—Juniors and Seniors) ypowell@jeburke.boston.k12.ma.us
Diane Thornton, music teacher

Our first collaboration at the Jeremiah Burke High School has been very exciting. Yvonne Powell attended Primary Source’s African American history workshop "Making Freedom" with us this summer, and has worked with us enthusiastically this year in a 12-session collaboration with each of her two African-American history classes. Suzanne McAllister, Daryl Yoder and Genithia Hogges worked with these juniors and seniors using Spirituals to explore the components of song writing, and then helped them set their own poems to music. Their cantata about injustice will be performed for a neighboring school at the end of January, and they will meet with T.J. Anderson at the end of February to discuss the composition process and talk about his life experience. They and their families will attend our March 17 performance at Symphony Hall.

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Fenway High School
174 Ipswich Street
Boston, MA 02215
http://fenway.boston.k12.ma.us/
Phone: 617-635-9911
Fax: (617) 635-9204
Larry Myatt, Director: lmyatt@fenway.boston.k12.ma.us
Donna Payton, secretary
Julie Michailidis, collaborating 9th grade Humanities teacher: jmichai@fenway.boston.k12.ma.us

This is our 7th year working with the Fenway, and our second year with Julie Michailidis. Within this school, Classroom Cantatas has become an acclaimed rite of passage for 9th graders of Crossroads House, and this year’s class has been urged by the 11th graders to take the risk and give this program their energy because of the positive experience it can be for them. The themes of The Cantata Singers’ current season fit appropriately with the School’s essential question this year: "What does it mean to be human?" This Humanities class has had a unit on psychology and is now working on comparative religion. The cantata texts they’ve written focus on the question "What gives me comfort and strength in hard times?" With a focus on Spirituals, Classroom Cantatas teacher Randy McGee and singer Joy Lucas are discussing with them the components of song-writing, joined by Cantata Singers Daryl Yoder, David Giessow, and Meaghan Boeing as Group Leaders to help the students set their text to music. The class will perform their cantata for the rest of Crossroads House, will have a master class with T.J. Anderson, and will attend our March 17 performance at Symphony Hall.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School
6 Shirley Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
Phone: 617-635-8507
C. Sura O’Mard-Gentle, principal: comardge@emerson.boston.k12.ma.us
Theresa Washburn, Secretary
Collaborating teacher: 4th grade teacher Barbara Kiley

This is our 9th year working with the Emerson School, and we've enjoyed their enthusiastic support. Elizabeth Hodder, Cantata Singers Trustee and Advisor to Classroom Cantatas, worked with these 4th graders over three sessions in poetry exploration, discussing Boston’s Sarah Roberts and her family’s efforts, beginning in 1848, to provide Sarah an equal education with the white children of Beacon Hill. Randy McGee and the same group of Cantata Singers that are working at the Fenway are helping these students write their cantata. Their songs focus on the characters of the story: Sarah Roberts; her father Benjamin, a printer; their lawyers Robert Morris (first black lawyer in Massachusetts) and civil rights advocate Charles Sumner; and the Smith School for black children on Beacon Hill. The students will have a master class with T.J. Anderson at the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill, attend the Cantata Singers Family Concert on February 24 at Roxbury Community College, and perform their cantata at the Shirley-Eustis House in Roxbury.

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Henry Dearborn Middle School
35 Greenville Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
Phone: 617-635-8412
Fax: 617-635-8419
Teresa Soares-Pena, principal
Arthur Unobsky, Director of Instruction
Christine Choukas, collaborating 6th Grade Language Arts Teacher
Charles Kanelos, 6th grade Language Arts Teacher (veteran teacher with Classroom Cantatas)

This is our 5th year working with 6th graders at the Dearborn School. Christine Choukas’ sixth grade Language Arts class is reading Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, one of the books in the Max Warburg Courage Curriculum, in which Boston’s 6th graders explore the theme of courage. Classroom Cantatas teachers Newell Hendricks and Genithia Hogges are exploring Spirituals with them as they discover beat, rhythm, melody, phrasing as basic components of song-writing. Inspired by Genithia’s beautiful, energetic singing, the students are taking risks and singing too, in preparation for their own performance of their cantata, which will be based on the characters of the book. Additional Group Leaders assisting the students are members of the Cantata Singers and Guest Chorus Sherry Boroner and Meaghan Boeing. The class will have a master class with T.J. Anderson at the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill, attend the Cantata Singers Family Concert on February 24 at Roxbury Community College, and perform their cantata in their school.

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Boston Arts Academy
174 Ipswich Street
Boston, MA 02215
http://www.boston.k12.ma.us/schools/rc607.asp
Phone: 617-635-6470
Fax: 617-635-8854
Linda Nathan, Headmaster
Allyssa Jones, Vocal Music Instructor: ajones@artsacad.boston.k12.ma.us
Michael Smith, Director, Vocal Music Department

In a series of 3 sessions, Baritone David Howse (Cantata Singers Guest Chorus Contractor) and pianist Scott Nicholas will present to BAA’s vocal majors a lecture-recital on Spirituals, and art songs by black American composers, Daryl Yoder and Genithia Hogges will familiarize them Donald Sur’s and T.J. Anderson’s music, and students will meet with T.J. Anderson to learn more about his Slavery Documents composition which they will hear in Symphony Hall on March 17.

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Mission Hill School
67 Alleghany Street
Roxbury, MA 02120
MissionHill@boston.k12.ma.us
Phone: 617-635-6384
Fax: 617-635-6419
Deborah Meier, Principal

1n the fall of 1999 at Mission Hill School we piloted the Classroom Cantatas program focus of our current year, working with teachers Geralyn McLaughlin and Emily Gasoi and their 2 classes of second and third graders, who wrote and performed the Mission Hill Freedom Cantata. We hope to meet with some current classes at Mission Hill School in advance of the Cantata Singers Chamber Series Family Concert on February 24, 2002 to do some singing, as well as exploring the themes of slavery and injustice.

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The Max Warburg Courage Curriculum
815 Washington Street
Newton, MA 02460
http://www.maxcourage.org
Phone: 617-244-5229
Fax: 617-244-5391

This exemplary organization has promoted literacy with 6th graders since 1991. Since 1997, they've graciously published in their annual collection of courage essays, The Courage of Boston’s Children, the cantata composed that year by the 6th graders in the Classroom Cantatas program. Twice Mr. Kanelos led his 6th graders from the Dearborn Middle School in performing their cantata at the Max Warburg awards luncheon at the Park Plaza Hotel. We are honored to have this rich collaboration with The Max Warburg Courage Curriculum.

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Shirley-Eustis House Association
33 Shirley Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
http://www.shirleyeustishouse.org/
phone: 617-442-2275
fax: 617-442-2270
Tamsen George, Director
This historic governor’s mansion located across the street from the Emerson Elementary School has been gracious host to Classroom Cantatas’ Emerson student composers and performers for the past 9 years. With the curving staircase in the elegant foyer as their stage, the students have annually given premiere performances of their cantata for their classmates, families and Shirley-Eustis board members.

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Phyllis Wheatley Middle School
20 Kearsarge Avenue
Roxbury, MA 02119
http://boston.k12.ma.us/schools/rc546.asp
Phone: 617-635-8165
Sherlin Wong, secretary

Since our collaboration at Wheatley in 1997, we have continued to offer free tickets to the Wheatley School. Faculty and staff continue to be eager and faithful Cantata Singers audience members.

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