“Where words fail, music speaks.” I can’t think of a better quote to express what music means to me as a newspaper publisher, musician, and human being. Hans Christian Andersen hit the nail on the head.
I’ve written in a previous column about the importance of music in my childhood. I woke up to country music playing in the kitchen as my parents read the newspaper. My mother spent Saturdays cleaning the house to albums that seemed to change with each task – primarily Bonnie Tyler, America, and The Eagles. My father listened to nearly every genre you could throw at him, from swing to hard rock.
My sisters and I learned the viola early on, and they continued through high school and beyond, while I pivoted to the trombone, sharing my love of jazz with my grandmother, Marie (Orth) Sarvis. Around the time I turned twelve, I began spending my Friday nights watching punk rock, ska, and hardcore bands perform in the cramped basement of the Aberdeen Knights of Columbus. Most of the audience was under the age of twenty-four and looking for a place to belong and a way to express the angst of our youth. It was difficult to make out many of the lyrics, and the musicians weren’t expecting letters of acceptance to Juilliard anytime soon, but it was what we needed in that moment. Music can mean a lot of different things to people, and it can make you smile, or it can make you cry, but it certainly has a way of speaking to you.
Every year, on Memorial Day weekend, we visit a few of the graves of those who were close to us, and we play a song as we stand there and remember them. We have sights, sounds, memories, and emotions all tied to those songs and, without saying a word, they weave a conversation between our loved ones and us.
My sons have done this with us every year since they were young, joining in those conversations and feeling the same emotions without speaking a word ever.
In a growing community with more than twenty languages being spoken, our school district’s enrollment in music has continued to grow with incredible student involvement that is rare to find these days. Students are finding connections, belonging, and friendships in music, and they are thriving.
If you’ve taken the time to read this, I hope you’ll consider attending concerts held by the Huron Area Concert Association, the Huron School District, James Valley Christian, Holy Trinity, Wolsey, or any school in your area that is devoting resources to keeping music alive for students and the community as part of National Music Week, sponsored by National Federated Music Clubs, with the theme of “Music is our constant companion” this year.
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