Preparing young people for life through music
Second edition of Academy for Impact through Music’s Firebird Residency
In August 2022, the Academy for Impact through Music (AIM) gathered 40 participants, the so-called “Firebirds”, for the immersive part of their fellowship journey. Although being the second cohort, this residency was the first of its kind, notably including 40 Firebird Young Leaders, aged 13-17. This was no ordinary ‘orchestral music camp’ with teachers from music for social change programs coming from Brazil, the Canary Islands, Colombia, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uganda, and the USA, along with young musicians, music program leaders, expert faculty and staff. All together, they met in Lisbon for over three weeks to experiment with transformational teaching and learning approaches.
Interactive training for the Firebirds
Workshops included singing, movement, improvisation, full orchestra and small creative ensemble work, plus topics such as action research, logic models and evidence tools. The Firebird Young Leaders were invited as co-creators of their learning experiences, taking on more responsibility-leading, improvising, making creative decisions and communicating directly with one another, often for the first time. Throughout, Firebirds observed each other’s lessons and practiced analyzing and giving and receiving peer feedback, skills that are core to the Firebird approach. Young Leaders also had a Firebird ‘personal coach’ to help them set, track and reflect on personal goals for the week, helping them connect the skills they learned in music with skills they want to take forward in their lives. Through exploring a coaching relationship with students, music teachers were encouraged to think beyond musical instruction to their wider roles as educators helping their students prepare for life.
Musical interaction through performances
Performances were key focal points of the residency. Just when brains were exploding with cognitive overload, a life-changing encounter with the marginalized Cova da Moura community made abstract concepts like ‘agency’, visceral and undeniable. The largely Cape Verdean culture was shared through music, traditions, and food; culminating in an improvisation of the iconic Cape Verde song ‘Sodade’, where the whole Firebird teachers orchestra became a backing band for members of the community, including a couple of talented teen rap artists. A meeting of hearts and minds, it was an unforgettable moment that reminded every single person why and how music matters. A week later, another memorable moment in Lisbon’s most famous plaza, saw the teachers and young people delight the crowds. Standing side by side they sang the iconic civil rights song ‘We shall overcome’, with a poem written for the occasion by one of the Firebirds. Teachers and students undertook the challenge of creating small ensemble music videos in just 6 days as well, an expression of their increased artistry as a result of their time at the residency. What people perform, where, to whom matters – when music is that powerful it can stir hearts and shift minds and lead to better actions. If even one audience member challenged their biases or felt uplifted by their collective voices, this matters.
There is now a palpable urgency amongst the Firebirds and their leaders to bring important changes back to their colleagues and students. British educationalist Ken Robinson said there are the immovable, the moveable and the movers. Whether Firebirds and their leaders have paddles, sails or motors, we believe in them as movers against the currents of inequality, and that young people’s lives will be different because they inspired the moveable to join them.
For the Hilti Foundation - as initiator and main partner of the Academy for Impact through Music - these three weeks have once again confirmed the relevance of this program. Only inspired, creative teachers who are willing to think and experiment in new ways will ultimately be able to develop the best form of teaching and thus achieve the kind of impact that can actually be empowering and life-changing for their students. AIM offers this space to question the traditional, to try new things, to fail once in a while and to find out the reasons why. From this creative process, new and purposeful forms of teaching emerge that not only produce more goal-oriented results for students, but also foster joy and engagement for the teachers themselves.
Academy for Impact through Music
Working in the field of music for social change places special demands on teachers which go far beyond a conventional musical education. Over the years, we have come to understand that the ongoing training and development of teaching staff is one of the greatest challenges for programs worldwide. With the Academy for Impact through Music (AIM), we want to provide future generations of teachers with comprehensive educational tools and offer strategic support for social impact-oriented teaching that promotes awareness of the importance of cross-border cooperation.
The Firebird Fellowship Program
The Firebird Fellowship teacher training program supports a cohort of 30-40 young teachers (Firebirds) each year, who work in social music programs around the world. The training provides an inspiring educational journey that allows each Firebird to flourish artistically and develop more teaching skills while feeling part of a learning community with other Firebird fellows. During a full academic year in their local program, they conduct action research and reflect on their practice by recording their teaching. Supported by AIM coaches who provide feedback, they discuss next steps to improve their teaching practice. At the same time, the training serves as a model for the kind of learning the Firebirds will take back to their own classrooms to multiply that knowledge within their local programs. Christine Rhomberg knows, how important it is to work with someone who believes in you and encourages you: “That’s fundamental to gaining self-esteem and confidence, and is true for the Firebirds and their students alike.”