I lived with my mother in Guatemala until I was 13 months old and have returned frequently to visit close family friends since then and to volunteer. I have a fond connection to this place and its people, so I wanted to give back to the beautiful place and people that nurtured me when I was very young. Given how much music has meant to me in my life, I decided to create a summer music program modeled on piano and voice camps and intensives I have attended and my musical education to give others the opportunity I had to grow as musician and reap all the benefits that music offers.

I initially thought of this as a vocal program with private voice lessons and a choral ensemble since that was the main part of my musical experience. Finding like-minded people at AMA school in Panajachel where I used to live, I began fundraising and developing the program in partnership with them, inviting their students to join me and addressing critical need for their instrumental program. I raised $ 2,355 on GoFundMe and another $3000 from friends and family directly. I bought sheet music of songs in English and Spanish in pop, folk and classical genres hoping to hit on current tastes and to expand upon range. I prepared music folders, ordered performance attire and planned a final performance complete with reception for the school, larger community, and parents.

We had seven students that first summer. Most had little to no experience with singing except for one young woman who was eager to get up and sing, and the rest had experience playing instruments in their church music programs. After a few rehearsals, it was clear that the program needed tweaking to meet the talents and interests of all the students. So we jointly decided to form a band instead, with a lead singer, pianist, guitarist, percussionist, and back up singers. I sang with a rock band in my freshman year at Cate, so this was fun and familiar territory for me. It was also a good exercise in responsiveness and collaboration.

We bought a drum pad, bongos, and guitars, and got to work. I could see the spark brighten as we tightened up as a band. Despite the heavy rains, road closures, and mudslides that disrupted rehearsals the week of our performance, the students were resilient, and we got back to work as soon as we could. We postponed the performance by one day to give us extra rehearsal time and had a great turn out of younger students, whom we hope join us next year, as well as parents and teachers.

My goal is to grow this program year over year to include more students from the wider community and to include both voice and instrumental performance. I am also planning on connecting with corporate or other institutional sponsors and grant makers for more funding and to begin a volunteer program. All donations go directly to programmatic expenses as my travel and housing are covered separately. I hope you will join me in bringing music performance opportunities to the children of Guatemala!

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