The Harmony of Hard Work: Inside Blakewood's Musical Journey

Elementary school concerts are a sweet annual tradition. Parents and caregivers proudly snap photos and crane their necks to see their student come on stage. What they might not see under the bright lights of the Performing Arts Center is the months of learning that led up to that one, special night.

Just one month from their spring concert, the air inside Blakewood Elementary's music room buzzed with the energy of a fourth-grade class working through the music. 

"Our classroom mission is: let's create something beautiful together," explained Music Teacher Katie Franecki. "The concert is really a way to show off how we all come together to do something beautiful and something so meaningful that touches our hearts and the hearts of others".

The journey, however, doesn't start in harmony. 

“I'm pretty sure it's a pretty good song and stuff. And we've been working for this for a long, long time. There's other songs that we've learned, and they're pretty cool too,” one student, named Gregory said. “Like, at first we do not know what even the song is or like the lyrics, but when our teachers teach us, we start to note more and more and more.”

In the main classroom on Blakewood’s second floor, students practice singing the concert’s songs, while in practice rooms along one wall, students with xylophones work on learning the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.

“And then we're going to echo the phrase back. So here comes Clayton,” Franecki instructs the four students in the practice room. “One, two, three. Let's do that much. Ready? Go.”

“ I'm doing the part where we're doing like the melody,” Clayton said. “That's the words in the actual Seven Nation Army song. I feel like there's still more room for me to grow. And most of that, for me, feels like it's around doing both hands.” 

Not only are students learning music, Franecki said, they’re coming together as a group, learning to lift each other up and collaborate to create something.

“Our singers have most of their music learned, but we're now working on memorizing it. And then we'll need to work on things like adding expression and talking about how we're professional. When we stand on stage to make ourselves proud and make our audience proud,” she said. 

The day before the concert, at a whole-school rehearsal, the change was palpable. 

While the fourth graders were ready, Franecki had also worked with every other grade and orchestrated, with the help of her fellow teachers, when students would be on stage. 

"Now I feel better because I've practiced a lot more. I have everybody else has practiced more, which helps me keep the flow going so that everyone's together," Clayton said. 

Gregory agreed.

 "Yeah, we are ready for the concert. Low key. We've been waiting such a long time, and it's going to be lit," he said.

“The work is done,” Franecki said after the rehearsal. "They are ready."They have learned their songs and memorized their songs. They've worked on adding expression, and now they are ready to perform. “I hope our musicians feel that satisfaction that comes with all their hard work and coming together to create something so beautiful."