Communities: Nashville, Paoli
Launched: 6-8 weeks of private lessons
Engaged: 12 rural band students
Involved: 15 JSoM students
Summary
Student organization Classical Connections was one of the first groups to explore community engagement activity at the start of the Jacobs School – Center for Rural Engagement collaboration, all the way back in 2018. Classical Connections’ mission is to bring the joy of music to diverse areas of the greater Bloomington community through musical performance, educational engagement, and interpersonal development. The organization was flexible and adaptable when approached about working through the JSoM Community Engagement Initiative, crafting plans to expand their reach into JSoM CRE partner communities and building artistic capacity-in rural areas.
With the pandemic uprooting their in-person visits and relationships, Classical Connections was eager to reconnect with students in virtually in the spring of 2021. The student organization jumpstarted private lessons with Brown County School band students as well as band students in Paoli, thanks to the help of Brown County Band Director Matt Finley and retired Paoli Band Director Bill Laughlin. These lessons ran for 6-8 weeks, with the Classical Connections closely evaluating student progress and adjusting their curriculum to best fit individual student interests and needs.
“Seeing the improvement among the students every week is inspiring!”
-Alex Keiser, Classical Connections Member
JSoM Students Involved
Ellie Kopp Kunal Tiwari Paige Stafford
Arthur Liang Paula Wilson Elizabeth Frickey
Jenna Montes Aislin Carpenter Mickayla McCommas
Keslie Pharis Alexander Keiser
Others Involved
Matt Finley
Bill Laughlin