Fifth grader Inallys conducts classmates Kariana (L) and Camila (R) as they play an original composition for their music teacher, Aimee Toner.
On Tuesday mornings, the halls of Sophia Academy echo with the drumbeats of the sixth grade music class as they explore rhythms from around the world. Visit on Thursday afternoons and you will be treated to the sounds of the fifth graders rehearsing musical pieces on the recorder. And on Friday mornings, you might hear ukuleles softly offering a soundtrack to learning from the seventh grade.
With backgrounds in ethnomusicology, music teachers Lon Plynton and Aimee Toner offer students a diversity of music, widening students’ musical worldview and their understanding of how music shapes, and has been shaped, by history and culture. “Students have to know how their unique cultures have contributed to the development of music,” Mr. Plynton shared. In addition to western music, students explore music from Dominican Republic, Africa, Puerto Rico, the U.S., and beyond, diving into the history, cultural significance, and social implications.
Supported by a group of generous donors, Sophia Academy’s partnership with the RI Philharmonic music school began in 2019, growing each year to include a new class of students.
Mr. Plynton and Ms. Toner prefer to start with the students’ strengths, often beginning class with the student’s favorite songs for a practice exercise in conducting and a discussion on their interests. “Each will have a different way to connect to music and get interested. I like to offer different roles and opportunities for conducting, playing, and even composing so that the students can find different pathways to get excited, express themselves, and build their musical skills,” Ms. Toner notes.
At the end of fifth grade, students will have been exposed to musical notation, reading sheet music, composition, conducting, and much more as their curriculum culminates with a performance with the RI Philharmonic and other music classes that have participated in the LinkUp curriculum from Carnegie Hall.
On one sunny day in October, fifth graders experienced the excitement that comes from playing together as they performed “Baby Shark” perfectly in unison on the recorder for the first time. Lessons of teamwork, personal responsibility, and perseverance will stay with them long beyond music class at Sophia Academy.