Making Music a Priority

When Director of Music Kevin Franco meets with a new group of students on the first day of class, he often asks them what they want to be when they grow up. “The most frequent answer I receive is predictably professional athlete,” he says. “Rarely does a student say he wants to be a musician.”

For some that might seem like an unusual place to begin music lessons, but for Mr. Franco, Cardigan’s music program isn’t just about producing exceptional musicians; it’s also about creating in each boy an appreciation for a diverse selection of music and an awareness of the hard work that goes into creating and performing each piece. He also wants to develop students’ creative capacities that they can draw on throughout their lives. So, Mr. Franco says, he doesn’t mind if his students don’t want to be concert pianists or even rock ’n’ roll stars; he has in mind much bigger goals—including creativity, perseverance, and collaboration. And it all starts with preparing for the all-school concerts at the end of every semester.

“A few weeks into the semester, we’ll take a whole day to pick out a song that they want to play for the concert,” says Mr. Franco. “The boys suggest songs and we end up with a list of about 20 choices. We then talk about what songs are good to play in a concert and who will be in the audience listening. I also share with them what I know about each song and what will make it complicated or easy to perform. The students then narrow the list down until they are left with one song.”

In other words, the students choose what music they want to play, practice, and eventually perform, giving them the motivation, Mr. Franco hopes, to work hard and take on new challenges. 

For seventh-grade students, they usually begin by playing the hand chimes, with occasional arrangements for other instruments the boys already know how to play. In eighth grade the focus is on rhythms and chords and playing together, while the ninth-grade curriculum is more open and is shaped by the skills of the individuals. “One of my favorite things to do for students is to write music and arrangements for them, drawing on their interests and including the instruments that they already know how to play,” says Mr. Franco, who studied music composition in college and has arranged and composed for both school and professional ensembles and musicians.

“The Cardigan schedule is an ultimate test of kids’ commitment to music. I’m really proud of any kid who makes it a priority.”Kevin Franco, Cardigan’s Director of Music

Meanwhile, Mr. Franco’s efforts to provide students with challenging and engaging musical opportunities are not limited to the classroom. Collaborating with other departments on campus, Mr. Franco’s students have performed during Thursday chapel services, on Family Weekends, and during exhibit openings in the Needham Gallery. Ms. Perricone directs the school’s music ensemble, while Mr. Franco directs the school’s choir. There are also a number of student-organized bands--and that number continues to grow--that Mr. Franco tries to make time for in his very busy schedule. 

“The Cardigan schedule is an ultimate test of kids’ commitment to music,” says Mr. Franco. “I’m really proud of any kid who makes it a priority.”

And for the students who do make it a priority, there are also private lessons with professional music educators from the Upper Valley community. Working with teachers who have been instructing Cardigan students for over a decade and are often professional musicians themselves, the students grow and develop, preparing for opportunities in high school and beyond. As many as 70 students have taken advantage of private lessons this year.

Next Wednesday evening all these students—from Mr. Franco’s traditional classes as well as from independent groups and private lessons—will be sharing their music and all they have accomplished during the winter term, and Mr. Franco can’t wait. “There’s a little bit of everything in the program,” he says. “From Elton John to John Legend and John Williams, it’s a challenging repertoire that they have chosen, especially the eighth grade. It’s going to be a great show.”

One of Mr. Franco’s other favorite things to tell students is that there are so many things in the world that have succumbed to instant gratification. Sports and the arts, however, both take repetition and practice; there are no shortcuts. There may be days when the rewards seem far away, but with hard work, there are bound to be pay-offs. The concert on Wednesday night and the applause of the audience, he tells students, will be your pay-off.