July Recap: The Coincidence
If I were to use one word to describe the month of July for MelodeeBee Music, that would be expansion. Our team has been non-stop reaching out and spreading the word about our program.
In July, MelodeeBee Music is happy to announce that we have recruited eight new executive leaders and four new mentors onto our team, expanding our program to California, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. We also ran three events in July, which reached over forty students.
But how did we get here?
It all started with a coincidence.
One late night, Isabella and I were on a Zoom meeting, brainstorming potential people to recruit.
“Yo, do you know who would be good,” I asked Isabella while it began to occur to me, “How about that Zach kid? He’s ten out of ten. Not only an amazing horn player but dedicated too.”
“Alright then, we should definitely contact him,” Isabella replied.
I whipped out my phone and tapped that icon of the blue speech bubble with a white thunderbolt, Facebook Messenger. It lit up my screen. Zach’s dark profile picture popped up when I searched for his name.
Punching the keyboard, lines appear, “How are you doing my man? It has been a minute.”
I put my phone on the table, not expecting him to reply until the next day, but immediately, my phone buzzes, and Zach’s name pops up on my screen once again. Speech bubbles fly back and forth. I ask him what he has been doing for the past couple of days, and he shares his experiences with the Philadelphia International Music Festival with me.
We continue to converse, and his passion for music reminded me to send him the information to request if he would like to be part of the MelodeeBee program.
Of course, being the dedicated musician he is, Zach said yes.
A group chat was made between Isabella, Zach, and me, and as Isabella joins the group, her face lights up. Her eyes widen, and she starts laughing.
“Oh my gosh,” Isabella exclaims in disbelief, “Do I actually know this person?”
That music festival that Zach mentioned he is attending turns out to be the same music festival that Isabella is attending. Isabella, Zach, and I all started laughing at how small the music world was and the fact that we had a mutual friend that we never knew about.
After a bit more of conversing, we realized something. We realized that this coincidence opens an opportunity.
What opportunity?
Well, the Philadelphia International Music Festival is full of talented musicians, and MelodeeBee Music now has two students who attend the festival. That means that Isabella and Zach can work together to recruit new members from the festival!
This coincidence catapulted MelodeeBee Music. Through the festival, Isabella and Zach were able to find dedicated musicians from all over the country who sought to make an impact within their community. They desired to share their skills with the rest of the community.
Following that desire, MelodeeBee Music held three events in July: Music Theory, Flute Workshop, and Trombone Workshop. We reached over forty-five students ranging from 3rd graders to 9th graders. Students came from all over the world too. We had students from the United States East Coast to Scotland, United Kingdom.
Out of the three events, I would say that the Music Theory class was the most successful. Our class ran from 2:00-3:00 pm each day from Monday, July 13th to Friday, July 17th. Over the week, the students worked hard. They learned how to notate music, how rhythm works, and what diatonic chords are. The students also had an opportunity to participate in a mini-composition project where they wrote their melody and harmonized it.
On the last day, the Music Theory Team discussed the different types of instruments and how they worked. But, at the end of the class, we had a surprise for them. We compiled a couple of cartoons where classical music was used and watched them together.
After the last cartoon, it was time to say our farewells. As each student’s camera turned off as they left the Zoom meeting, the bitterness of them leaving crept up to me, accompanied by the anticipation of future events.
MelodeeBee Music has had a fantastic time working with all of our students during July. We appreciate all who attended our events and hoped that everyone found them to be useful. We have many more events planned in August, and our entire team looks forward to them.
- Written by William Zhu | August 15th, 2020