Recently, there has been a desire to develop the music program at Parker School once again. Parker Press has talked to several students who have taken an interest in creating music over the summer. Now that they are back at school, they hope to take advantage of the resources Parker has to offer.
To gather students’ input, we interviewed sophomores Kai Kualii and Danny Brophy, who are actively using the music room. “The music room is a great way to play music with other people, instead of just jammin’ by myself,” said Kai. Danny said that he would do anything for the chance to “get in the studio [and] create something with other people with the same mindset of creating music.”
“A music program would be important because it would give people the opportunity to learn to play instruments that they might not have had the opportunity to learn otherwise” said Kai. Danny and Kai hope that as they start to make their own music using their creativity, more students will follow.
Kai Kualii playing the bass. (Photo By Ava Taylor)
Danny Brophy playing the drums. (Photo By Ava Taylor)
Parker Press distributed a survey asking students various questions regarding the music program/music room. In total, there were 46 responses from each grade, 6th-12th. The survey included questions such as ‘Do you play an instrument?’ and ‘Do you think that having a music program would be beneficial?’ It turns out that 60.9% of respondents know there is a music room at Parker and 60.5% said they would be interested in using it.
Surprisingly, a number of students play numerous instruments, including the guitar, drums, piano, flute, trombone, bass, ukulele, and various percussion instruments. Many students said they would be excited to join the music program at Parker if given the opportunity to do so.
Parker Press also asked students how the music program would be beneficial. One student said that “it could be another way for students to express themselves” and another student said “both listening to and creating music is a very liberating and inspiring experience. I think that a music program would allow people to express themselves in a creative way and be a great stress relieving opportunity.”
Sophomore David Wan said that “playing an instrument and learning music theory are very important skills to have in life.”
Simply put, “Music is therapy for the soul,” said senior Ela Kowardy.