Students create music in honor of civil rights

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:01:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Students at Armand Dupont Middle School made beautiful music as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day presentation for the entire school.

T.J. Wheeler, a celebrated New Hampshire jazz and blues musician and activist, also known in the state as Dr. Jazz, worked with students on what he called “salvation songs” in appreciation of the trials of slavery and the victories of the Civil Rights movement.

As part of the school’s enrichment program, the 15-student band, which Wheeler dubbed The Dr. Jazz Freedom Singers, performed spirituals including “We Shall Overcome” and “Wade in the Water,” with improvised instruments and combined voices.

Sixth-grader Alyshalyn Perron, 11, even wrote a song titled “Only You and Me,” celebrating unity, which the group played and sang.

Perron, who played the keyboard with a fellow student, said she only knew how to play the Titanic theme song before working with Wheeler, adding she’d like to continue with piano lessons.

Dustin Pieberl, 13, recorded the group’s songs with his Apple laptop, using the Garage Band program.

“It’s actually a very cool experience,” the seventh-grader said about working with the local jazz legend and learning more about music.

Wheeler did a few songs on his own before the kids got up to perform, explaining that slaves used to disguise their plans to escape in spirituals they sang as they worked.

“These songs have always been freedom songs,” he said. In between songs, Wheeler spoke about everything from the plight of thousands of slaves in the South to King’s movement of passive resistance to inequality and racism.

Family and School Coordinator Judith Howe and Gifted and Talented Coordinator for the school district Maurine Egan brought the program to the school.

Four videos of the performances can be viewed on NewHampshire.com. Click “Highlights” for the links.

Allenstown News : Armand Dupont Middle School

Students create music in honor of civil rights