After breakfast at Mother’s, Marty, Felice and myself took a cab deep into the French Quarter to the McDonogh School, where the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation was presenting the music program with a slew of instruments.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation does, grant instruments to school music programs.\u00c2\u00a0 It was started by Michael Kamen, who composed the music for the movie.\u00c2\u00a0 He wanted students to have the same opportunity he had, to learn an instrument in school, to be fulfilled, to be enriched.\u00c2\u00a0 Felice runs the Foundation.<\/p>\n
I’d been hearing about all the great work the Foundation had been doing in New Orleans for two years.\u00c2\u00a0 And on a site visit a couple of months back, Tricia had encountered Kelvin Harrison and his program.\u00c2\u00a0 She believed they were worthy, they deserved the instruments.\u00c2\u00a0 The program had started after Katrina with no instruments.\u00c2\u00a0 Mr. Harrison had taught his students on recorders when the ordered instruments hadn’t arrived.\u00c2\u00a0 But now he was up and running, he needed more.\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s why we were there.<\/p>\n
The environment in the building was completely different from my educational experience.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead of sterility, I found vibrancy.\u00c2\u00a0 Silhouettes graced the cafeteria, with explanations of each.\u00c2\u00a0 One student said his creation was as big as the 24" rims on his older brother’s car.\u00c2\u00a0 That cracked me up.\u00c2\u00a0 But I loved the banner on the far side of the room: "Climb the mountain to college."\u00c2\u00a0 There were aphorisms all over the place.\u00c2\u00a0 Informing the students to pay attention now, to apply themselves now, to prepare, for otherwise, in the future, they’d be left out.<\/p>\n
And after reading the display about Black History Month, learning exactly who Booker T. Washington was, we ascended the stairs to the third floor, where Mr. Harrison was warming up the band.\u00c2\u00a0 Brass members were playing notes.\u00c2\u00a0 I prepared myself.\u00c2\u00a0 This was going to be awful.\u00c2\u00a0 An endurance test.\u00c2\u00a0 You know what it’s like being in the vicinity of someone learning an instrument.\u00c2\u00a0 You want to support them, but the sound is grating, you can’t read, you can’t watch television, you just want the noise to stop.<\/p>\n
After quieting everybody down, Mr. Harrison looked at the assembled multitude and said the band was going to play a couple of numbers.\u00c2\u00a0 They were going to start with "Oye Como Va".<\/p>\n
Oh, I know it wasn’t a Santana original.\u00c2\u00a0 But that’s where I heard it.\u00c2\u00a0 Coming out of John "Muddy" Waters’ room in the dorm all of freshman year.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve come to love "Abraxas".\u00c2\u00a0 I bought it on vinyl.\u00c2\u00a0 And have a gold CD.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve got all the MP3s.\u00c2\u00a0 I love "Oye Como Va".\u00c2\u00a0 I was trepidatiously excited.\u00c2\u00a0 Then the two players on keys rolled out the intro, the drummers started hitting the accents, the horn players lifted their instruments to their lips and the band started to swing!<\/p>\n
I couldn’t believe it!\u00c2\u00a0 Fifth graders?\u00c2\u00a0 My high school’s band wasn’t this good.\u00c2\u00a0 This was good enough for college!\u00c2\u00a0 The flutes are wailing.\u00c2\u00a0 I notice the drummer is a girl.\u00c2\u00a0 And yes, that tiny figure behind the keyboard, she’s hitting every note.\u00c2\u00a0 Trombone players got up and soloed.\u00c2\u00a0 Tears started coming to my eyes.\u00c2\u00a0 This was education!\u00c2\u00a0 If I could play in a band like this, I’d want to come to school!<\/p>\n
And when they finished, there was raucous applause.\u00c2\u00a0 And then they lit into Herbie Hancock’s "Watermelon Man".\u00c2\u00a0 These little kids, they had soul!<\/p>\n
Then we went back to the cafeteria.\u00c2\u00a0 Where the curtain was parted and the students saw the sousaphone, the tympani, the other instruments the Foundation was granting.\u00c2\u00a0 The excitement, the whooping, it was not something learned on MTV, it was not the fakery of the peanut gallery standing in front of the stage at a televised awards show, it was genuine.\u00c2\u00a0 They were excited for the school, for themselves.<\/p>\n
Then Felice said they weren’t done.\u00c2\u00a0 That our mission wasn’t complete.\u00c2\u00a0 We had another item on our agenda.\u00c2\u00a0 To honor Mr. Harrison’s greatness, he was being awarded a Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation Teacher Award.\u00c2\u00a0 Which granted him $10,000 to spend as he pleased.\u00c2\u00a0 And that the check would be delivered in a ceremony, in April, on the stage of Carnegie Hall.<\/p>\n
Kelvin Harrison was in shock.\u00c2\u00a0 You should have heard the shriek when the dollar figure was announced.\u00c2\u00a0 To little kids ten grand is a million!\u00c2\u00a0 Kelvin kept rubbing his nose, trying to keep his composure.\u00c2\u00a0 But he couldn’t.\u00c2\u00a0 Tears were welling in his eyes.<\/p>\n
As they were in mine.\u00c2\u00a0 A veritable waterworks.\u00c2\u00a0 Who knew such great work was being done, especially in an area almost totaled by a hurricane.\u00c2\u00a0 And sure, Mr. Harrison wanted to get paid, but it wasn’t about the money.\u00c2\u00a0 The sense of accomplishment, the glow on his students’ faces was enough.<\/p>\n
Eventually, the kids went back to class.\u00c2\u00a0 School business resumed.\u00c2\u00a0 I wandered the halls.\u00c2\u00a0 I had an urge to stay.\u00c2\u00a0 The work being done here was so important.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only were children being educated, they were being given hope.\u00c2\u00a0 Because people cared.<\/p>\n
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