ABOUT THE PROJECT

In the education initiative Writing Our Musical History, Rockport Music worked collaboratively with 1623 Studios and four school districts. The students in Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester-Essex and Beverly High Schools had the opportunity to work with a teaching artist six times throughout the 2023-24 school year.  In this songwriting project, the students created a song about a place in their town that is meaningful to them. The teaching artist Alexandra Grace gave guidance in creating lyrics and harmonies, and shared the songwriting process from inception to written notation. The main goal of this project is to center youth voices, promote creative agency, work collaboratively, and empower students to write their own narrative. History by definition is the study of past events, but this project will reframe the concept and allow the students to think of writing their history now and being a part of it.

Students also had the opportunity to work with professional musicians to perform their songs, both at the Shalin Liu Performance Center and at each chosen site of inspiration. 1623 Studios recorded each performance and documented the process. In addition to the live performances, a sign/plaque will be posted at each site to both commemorate the song and have it accessible via a QR code for future visitors to experience the performance on demand. Music tends to be the art form that is not easily accessible publicly after a performance, so by leaving the recordings in a public place, the songs will continue to be heard for years to come.

MINI-DOCUMENTARY ON WRITING OUR MUSICAL HISTORY

ABOUT THE TEACHING ARTIST

Alexandra Grace is a singer-songwriter, artist, and music teacher from Gloucester, MA. She graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2020 with a Bachelor of Music in songwriting and vocal performance and a minor in psychology. Since then, she released an EP of original songs, Solstice, which won awards from the John Lennon Songwriting Competition and International Songwriting Competition, and is set to release her second EP, The Archer, this spring. In 2021, she started Alexandra Grace Music teaching studio in Gloucester with the hopes of giving young musicians and creatives a place to make music, collaborate, perform, and share their art with others. Alexandra believes songwriting to be a huge part of her creative journey, and encourages all students to share their stories through this medium. When she’s not teaching or making music, you can find Alexandra painting, silversmithing, doing yoga, reading, going to art museums and concerts, and spending time with her cats.

For more information about the project, you may contact Director of Education & Partnerships Elizabeth Stefan at estefan@rockportmusic.org.

CONCERT DETAILS