Members of Beaver’s Glass Orchestra collaborated with the youngest members of the Boston Music Project (BMP) to build paper instruments. Hosted by Josiah Elementary Quincy School, the collaboration encourages deeper learning and community building while allowing young musicians to get acquainted with the look and feel of instruments. In a new addition to the program, Beaver students had the opportunity to revisit their BMP peers and perform alongside them.
At the start of the year, Beaver students learned about the philosophy of El Sistema, a Venezuelan music education program that serves as the basis for the Boston Music Project. Students spent three weeks on the Design Level using laser cutters to create and customize string instruments sized for four-year-old students. Similarly, students used the D-Level to develop new skills–such as creating custom coloring pages–that would help foster meaningful connections with the BMP students.
During the project’s first field trip to Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Beaver students worked with BMP students to build and paper maché each instrument. Students connected over shared interests such as sports, hobbies, and (of course) music.
I hope students see and feel the human connections they are building by expanding our campus beyond the walls of a classroom and into our local community.
Liz Latour, Director of the Hiatt Center
Upon the second trip to Josiah Quincy Elementary School, students were excited to reconnect with the same student they had met on the first trip and see how they had decorated their instruments. The excitement continued when both Beaver and BMP students took the stage to perform two songs to an audience of Josiah Quincy Elementary School students. “I find it very rewarding to see how excited Beaver students were to continue the connections they made and create music together,” says Debbie Apple, a faculty member at both Beaver and the Boston Music Project. “Through this collaboration, Beaver students helped provide access to instruments and music to children who might not otherwise have that.”
My favorite part of the Paper Instrument Project was talking to the BMP students. It was fun to see who we were making these instruments for and they were really cute.
Beaver Student
When reflecting upon the experience, Beaver students were divided on what their favorite parts were. For some, spending time on the D-Level and developing new skills was the highlight; “My favorite part was working on the D-Level because I got to do something new,” one student says. For others, it was working with BMP students to glue and paper mache the instruments; “We really had a lot of time to bond and create the instrument with our student.”
Through iteration of the Paper Instrument Project, Beaver is finding new ways to expose young musicians to the importance and joy of making music. The community that was created through this year’s Paper Instrument Project can be seen in the final performance, which you can view here.
