Uncommon Students Set to Take the Stage at Carnegie Hall

When Briony Price started working as the Performing Arts Director at Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant two years ago, she asked her students to work on a piece of creative writing during a free study period.

As she read the students’ work, she was struck by one piece in particular, written by freshman Deborah Adesodun. “They Say” is a poem centered around Maleeka and her experience as a Black woman.

That poem will be performed by three Uncommon students on the stage in front of a live audience on February 27 at Carnegie Hall.

Adesodun, now a junior, will perform the spoken word part while one of her classmates, sophomore Ainka-Amara Gillespie, sings and another, sophomore Imaani Russell, dances.

The performance is one of two involving students from Uncommon Schools. Ruth Kendall, who graduated from Uncommon Collegiate last year and who attends Smith College, will perform “Freedom’s Anthem.”

“It says a lot about our students’ talent and creativity that their work is being showcased in Carnegie Hall,” Price said. “It’s really exciting.”

The two pieces will be among 14 performances showcased during AfroCosmicMelatopia, which features original music and art by young artists and creators from Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute.

The performances will be accompanied by Michael Mwenso and the Shakes, a Harlem-based jazz and blues band whose members hail from around the world. Tickets can be purchased at the Carnegie Hall box office. The show will be livestreamed on Carnegie Hall's website, Facebook, and YouTube channels and available on its website.

Price said when she learned about the competition’s theme of Afrofuturism, she immediately thought of Adesodun’s poem.

“She wrote this incredible poem of a Black woman trying to navigate societal oppression and expectations,” Price said. “It was so honestly written. It was so understated, but clear. It was a really powerful piece, which just says so much about her insight and perspective in the world.”

Price participates in Weill Music Institute’s Music Educators Workshop, which brings together teachers who work in K-12 schools for community building and professional development. Prior to landing at Uncommon, Price, who was trained in music and music and musical theater, worked in television, film and musicals. The London native worked in South Korea for a music nonprofit before moving to New York City. She is earning her master’s degree from Columbia University.

Price hopes her real-world experience directly benefits her students at Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School, one of four high schools in Brooklyn run by the charter school network, which operates a total of 24 schools in the borough.

Price helped her students put together a video submission of their work to be considered for the Carnegie Hall performance. Price also helped Kendall put together her video.

The students will be rehearsing after school in Manhattan with the band in preparation for their Carnegie Hall debut. While they are apprehensive about performing on one of the world’s most storied stages, they are also looking forward to expressing themselves to a wider audience.

“What’s really exciting is that they are not going to Carnegie Hall to perform someone else’s work,” Price said. “They’re going there to perform their own work. And that’s really powerful because one of the things about Uncommon students is that they have so much to say. They have so many important insights and perspectives on the world and on society and I feel honored to have seen them express themselves in a creative way.”