“The main focus of this class is keeping the aural tradition of the African American Spirituals alive, and also teaching a great bit of history,” Swallow Hill Instructor LaDamion Massey says when discussing his class African American Spirituals. “You...
“Doing something with a friend makes it more fun.” This is how Swallow Hill Fiddle/Violin Instructor April Cooley describes why friendship is a key component to her new kids classes, Fiddle With Friends. As someone who started playing the violin in...
Maria Isabelle holds her phone closely to her ear and listens intently. She is playing a recently-recorded voice memo of her five-year-old son Nathan singing from the back seat of the family car. Though she tries, she cannot make out the language he is singing in....
When asked about the benefits of taking music lessons at Swallow Hill, Daniel Dearmin says “It helps with my therapy and my disabilities.” “Music is a therapy,” he continues. Daniel started taking music lessons at Swallow Hill over a dozen years ago. He’s now a...
Lucy Kaplansky’s made a career of defying convention. The trend started early when she lit out from her native Chicago for New York’s folk scene to hone her songwriting. During those years she performed with the likes of Shawn Colvin and Richard...