Levittown Music Students Celebrate Notable Black Composers

LEVITTOWN, NY —Orchestra students at Jonas E. Salk Middle School in Levittown commemorated Black History Month by learning about prominent black composers from Scott Joplin and William Grant Still to Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder, according to a school district news release.

Sixth through eighth graders viewed a PowerPoint presentation in Holly Grabowski’s orchestra classes which highlighted eight musicians, but was especially focused on Joplin, Still, Ellington and Wonder. As part of the class, the students completed a packet about the composers lives, and they learned where and when each of the composers were born, the instruments they played, and the genre of music they are best known for, as well as other facts.

Grabowski said she wanted to make sure the composers were from a range of different time periods. “As I move forward with this project in the future, I would love to add a greater selection of Black composers for students to learn about each new year,” she said.

Students also listened and analyzed one piece by each of the composers, resulting in brief discussions — either in-person or through Google Meet — regarding their feelings on the selected pieces, Grabowski said. The students were also asked to write a few sentences about the music and included whether they enjoyed the selection, how they were inspired by the music, as well as the instruments they could identify, she said.

Grabowski has been playing short sections of music from other black composers as students enter class. Together, both the lesson and exposure to other black composers and musicians have furthered the orchestra students musical knowledge during this important month.