Collaboration and Creativity
full-orchestra. It was this moment when you realize
you are a part of something greater than yourself.
Being able to be one voice in hundreds and be lost
in a sea of voices is so freeing. That?s what made me
fall in love with the arts.
I first introduced the concepts of working together
creatively in the arts at my school through a movie
collaboration. My band students played a set of
famous movie themes. I asked the theatre
department to create clips of the movies. A middle
school technology class then edited the theatre
clips together to create a unique movie. Band
students voted on the movies they felt best fit with
the music. For the last experience, the theatre
students performed a live-action scene! You can
watch that clip below.
Following on from our theme of collaboration last
month, we?d like to highlight how collaboration and
creativity work hand in hand? .
"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an
ocean." ? Ryunosuke Satoro
Why is it important to encourage collaboration in
the Arts? Why encourage the sift of standard
concerts to focus on more non-traditional,
project-based collaborations? Why is this shift
important in education?
For me, it was that moment when I realized was a
part of something greater than myself. Being able to
be one voice in hundreds, and be lost in a sea of
voices is so freeing. That?s what made me fall in love
with the arts.
As a young musician, I was plagued with many
issues that cause the end of the arts for many
artists: perfectionism, doubt, insecurity, frustration.
Like many students, I started on on piano. However,
for me, that felt like learning in a box. A stiff, rigid
box that I felt failure at almost daily. It was not until
I started band that I began liking music. However, I
did not fall in love with the arts until I started
After introducing the concept last year, students
used ?chalk talk? to brainstorm collaboration ideas
for the coming year. For example, this year students
asked for an orchestra, choir, and band
collaboration! I love seeing this kind of thinking!
What great thing can we come up with this year?
Last year I also asked the MS art department to
create art designed around the MS band
performance songs. One of the moving moments for
me was realizing many of my band students also
were in the art class! Seeing a visual representation
of their music, in another art from was amazing.
Also having students represented in the live show
that maybe would not have had that opportunity
was also a something that may not have happened
without this collaboration. The more we can work
together, the more voices that get heard and the
more creative we can be.
When we collaborate in the arts, students get to dip
into another art form. We get to experience an art
form that we may not be as familiar or comfortable.
Getting to collaborate means sharing a common
vision, which helps in our understanding and
connection to another art, and ultimately each
other as humans.
Sarah Perkins
Middle School Band Director
NAU Teaching Fellow (Music)
The Village School