The Power of Sharing Music
On Monday, May 16, we welcomed a musical group from Haiti called Lakou Mizik to the high school campus. We found out about Lakou Mizik through our connection with Chloe Powell at BarnArts; the group was touring the US and spending a couple of weeks in Vermont, performing at various venues including local schools.
Lakou Mizik spent the morning at TSA, first performing outside in our courtyard while students listened and danced, then moving inside for a drumming workshop.
Coincidentally, two of our student leaders had spearheaded the decision to make the week of May 16th “Community Week,” during
which we would create opportunities for students to meaningfully and deliberately connect with each other and the wider community. Launching the week with Lakou Mizik set the tone with energy and inspiration.
On the last day of the 2021-22 school year in June, we asked all students and staff to reflect on the year and share “snapshot moments” —memories to hold on to from the school year. So many remembered the day with Lakou Mizik, and the way the music brought us together in shared joy and movement.
Listening to student and adult reflections was a beautiful reminder that experiencing music together can be transformative. It has the power to heal, lift up, and connect us on a deeply human level.
The absence of these kinds of connections these past two years has caused profound isolation and suffering on an individual, community, and global level. Having Lakou Mizik kick off our Community Week was incredibly powerful and was made possible with the support of funds donated by the Dorothy Byrne Foundation.
We are so grateful that this gift will enable us to fund two more events this fall. We are again working with Chloe Powell at BarnArts to schedule an Estonian group called “Puulup,” for a visit on September 15. The second event will be a return visit by the Garifuna Collective from Belize in mid-October.