Muse volunteers deliver the joys of music and art to local school kids

Left to right: Beverly J. Martin Elementary School students Maryssa Wright, 9, Maryah Wright, 8, and Allison Oliver, 9, perform on the Ithaca Commons Dec. 10, as Zach Kaplan '06 leads and conducts. Kaplan is co-founder of Muse, a national program that introduces elementary-school students to music and fine arts. The performance was held as part of the Salvation Army kettle drive. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Franklin Crawford

It was a raw December afternoon on the Ithaca Commons and "Hot Cross Buns" were in order. Cornell junior Zachary Kaplan lifted his baton, counted off, and the eight members of the Beverly J. Martin (BJM) School Recorder Ensemble, a mix of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders, lit into the traditional folk tune with gusto. They toodled through a couple of choruses and then ran out of gas. Kaplan's assistant, Erik Kronstadt '06, applauded their efforts. A passerby dropped change in the Salvation Army kettle where they were stationed.

To a casual observer the sight of a couple of Cornell students leading a musical troupe of local school kids may have seemed just another one of those cute, gratuitous things that happen around the holidays, but in fact, it was serious business. A few months earlier, most of those eight students could not read music, much less play an instrument or keep time. While they are far from accomplished, it was no small thing for them to perform in public.

Kaplan '06 is co-founder of Muse, a national program now in its third year at Cornell. Muse is a volunteer education program that introduces underserved public school children to the disciplines and joys of music making and the fine arts. As the program's mission states, "Muse is founded on the belief that both the fine arts and music are ways of learning that forever broaden the search for knowledge."

After an hour in the cold and a few rousing holiday tunes sans recorders, the ensemble packed up and marched back to BJM Elementary School. There, Kaplan described the mission of Muse, which began as a collaborative effort of roughly eight Cornell undergraduates.

"We had human development majors, engineers, business majors, biology and society majors as well as students in the humanities," said Kaplan, who started Muse with his brother, Cornell alumnus Aryeh Kaplan. "We formulated a national business plan to be used for fund raising, tax deductions and national enfranchisement. Everyone involved brought a different skill to the group."

Muse achieved nonprofit status through the work of its volunteers and later became a registered Cornell student group. The program is now an integral part of BJM's Academic Plus-Enrichment program, and Muse volunteers teach music as well as art to a total of about 25 interested students. The Muse program supplies materials, including instruments, music and art supplies. Last year Muse volunteers raised about $10,000. An anonymous donor contributed a car to the cause. The Big Red Marching Band donated instruments. Ithaca College has likewise gotten involved, and Muse also partnered with Fe Nunn, an Ithaca College alumnus and local musician who runs the Community Unity Music Education Program in Ithaca. Nunn runs a Muse-related program though the Southside Community Center and coordinates IC's involvement in the program.

Small concerts and art exhibits are held throughout the year, and each spring there is a fund-raising concert and art show. The Kaplans also established Muse programs at Duke, Chapel Hill and Wake Forest -- the brothers' home turf, he said.

Kaplan says his program differs from other student volunteer groups in the level of commitment required.

"This is like adding a six-credit course to your load," he said. "We always have a lesson plan and stick to it; the same people work with the same kids at the same time every week. It may sound simple, but this is a mentoring program. We establish a real relationship with these kids. We won't take volunteers who are well-intentioned but aren't fully commited."

Kronstadt, an American studies major with a music background, visits his students twice a week, every week, even during midterms and finals.

"This has been as intellectually challenging and stimulating as any course I've taken at Cornell," he said. "We take it seriously and they take it seriously, but we also have a lot of fun."

Current Cornell volunteers include juniors Laura Johnson, Rachel Kerwin, both art majors, and Nicole Greenfield, American studies.

Katie Dietrich, a coordinator for BJM's Academic Plus program, says Muse "has been a big help" with their extended day requirements for the kids.

"The Muse volunteers have gotten the students involved in some really wonderful projects," Dietrich said. "They are consistent and the [BJM] students are really motivated."

Matthew Wright, whose daughters Maryssa, 9, and Maryah, 8, are in the recorder ensemble, also praised the program.

"It's really good for the kids to have something like this at the school," Wright said. "I can see it making a difference."

Kaplan said the inspiration for Muse came from his own family experience.

"We were lucky enough to be raised with parents and grandparents who valued music, and that experience has been a big influence in my life," he said. "If you have that kind of connection with music and art, you tend to pass it on; but if you don't, it never happens."

And Kaplan and company are determined that the Muse mission be cultivated right here, right now.

"You don't have to go volunteer in a major urban area to get the rewards and satisfactions of public service," he said. "But a lot of students overlook the opportunities in a rural setting like this because it isn't 'sexy.' The students we're teaching in this school are as bright and inspiring as any kids you'll find anywhere, and we love working with them. They teach us."

For contact information about the Muse program, visit http://www.rso.cornell.edu/muse/muse/contact.htm.