Lee Stanley has been a major musical force in Madison and farther for over thirty years. He’s a songwriter, author, amazing gospel pianist, and all around fine person. His work bringing music and a taste of a powerful artistic and cultural tradition to audiences of many types has been a gift that we have all …
As part of the residency mentioned in my previous post, we’ve now written the words and learned five songs about butterflies. One is Butterfly Wishes by Sarah Pirtle. I’m not including that here. One is adapted from Butterfly Dance by Joanie Calem. The other three are Butterflies, Long Way Down to Mexico, and Changes in …
Windsor Elementary School, 5 minutes from where I live, is embarking on an arts integrated residency exploring connections between monarch butterflies, journeys, metamorphosis in all of us, and creativity. My wife Heather Terrill Stotts did the sizable leg work to make this happen. She teaches second grade and is also a driving force in bringing …
I wrote this song as part of last year’s crop of kindergarten songs. Tom changed a crucial line to make it work, and in this video he has also made it zipper song with movement. He’s such a master. Today he and I are going into the studio to record some of these songs that …
I’ve written a couple of first day of school songs. Such an important event. I wrote this one with kids from Elvehjem School nearly 20 years ago. It’s in honor of all those kids and teachers returning or starting out! Whether it’s last week next week or today. Here we go…. First Day of …
I lead a lot of storytelling workshops in the course of a year. Mostly for teachers, through the Kennedy Center or early childhood trainings or district in-services. I have a constant refrain in these workshops – storytelling is a powerful and accessible tool for teachers. It has huge implications for classroom engagement and environment, it …
I was in Austin at the Cenote Cafe I was searching for the best chai in Austin, which so far I’d say Cenote Cafe wins. But, as I parked behind the cafe, I saw this sign spray painted on a wall. It called for a song, and here it is. The Only Magic I watched a …
In my work I am very fortunate that I get to visit schools around the world. From the dirt floor school in Arusha, Tanzania to the International School of Geneva, which was the very first International School, I see something of the range of what schools offer, where they succeed, and where they struggle. Some …
I recently finished a five day residency at the STEM Academy in Fond du Lac. The school focuses on technology and science, but they wanted to have a musical experience as well, because there’s no regular music class. They asked me to come in and write and sing with kids. We learned some songs and …