Teacher song collaboration with teaching artist Bethany Svoboda and Ceil Baldridge.
I spoke with Ceil Baldridge about her life as a musician and an artist who spent many years of her life being creative. She played in a school band, took piano lessons, and majored in Fine Art at NYU. She lived in NYC in the 1970’s and mingled with famous artists and musicians. Her stories were fascinating and I enjoyed listening to them just as much as she enjoyed sharing them.
While Ceil had spent years developing her musical and artistic crafts, she had never written a song before. She decided she wanted to give writing lyrics a try for the first time. She spent several days coming up with a song, and sent the words over to me. I asked her what type of music she liked so I could fit my chords and melody to something she would enjoy. I worked on the song for a few days, recorded it and sent it back to her. She was thrilled! She said she loved the song, it was beautiful and fit perfectly with the lyrics.
I sensed her pride in this accomplishment of writing her first song, and I hope to celebrate that with her in person. I’m grateful that I got to be a part of this process. It challenged me to collaborate with a stranger and make something I couldn’t have made alone. This experience has inspired me to continue collaborating with others, especially those who are most isolated in this state of the world. Any amount of joy we can share through music is worth celebrating.
