Music has always been a big part of my life. Some of my earliest memories include being in the car with my family and listening and singing to all different kinds of music. As I got older, music always stayed with me. When I started high school, I joined a wind band and started playing the trombone. I loved being in that band! Playing music with people who also loved music and cared about making beautiful sounds allowed us to create something bigger than ourselves. Every single one of us was important and essential to making the music sound the best it could. This experience informed my decision to study music in college. Now, I major in Musical Studies and History at Oberlin. I really like all parts of music, but I particularly enjoy studying Ethnomusicology, and learning about people making music, and how making music together often binds a community together and sparks the building of relationships. At Oberlin, I have played music in Jennifer’s gamelan ensemble, and I am the director of the Oberlin College Marching Band. Making music with people has helped me make friendships and form a community, and the Bang on a Gong program is a part of that phenomenon. The Bang on a Gong program is open to everyone no matter what level of music knowledge you have and we all learn together. To play gamelan music, you have to listen to each other and learn from each other to create the music. That is one of the things that makes Bang on a Gong really special, and one of my favorite parts about facilitating it!

In Puerto Rico, I started singing as part of children’s choirs and listening to my grandma singing and directing choir rehearsals. I remember being fulfilled with the idea of making music with the people around me. Knowing that you're part of something bigger and that you are able to connect in an emotional and musical way with others is a beautiful and exciting experience. In Puerto Rico I was involved with choirs, conducting, and working with kids in the process of learning both music and english. I am currently enrolled in the musicology department focusing on ethnomusicology and the vocal studies division at Oberlin. I am also the founder and chair of the Latinx Music Union which is an organization dedicated to building community by celebrating latina/o/x identities and music. I decided to join the Bang on a Gong community music program because it seemed very important for students like me and my peers to engage with the community around us. Being able to collaborate with kids, making fun music, and learning from each other, is very rewarding for both facilitators and everyone involved in the process. Music is a vehicle towards mutual understanding, collaborative work, and interpersonal growth.

Originally from Greece, I have lived in Chile and now the United States. Living in such different environments piqued my interest in the many ways music can be enjoyed and shared from place to place. I have a much younger brother and grew up babysitting, so I’ve spent lots of time around kids and love to watch how they learn and interact. After my first year at Oberlin in the College of Arts & Sciences, I decided to enter the Conservatory to study Jazz Voice. As I have only just started studying Jazz, I understand what it’s like to learn a new kind of music. This is why I’m excited to be part of the Bang on a Gong program, to be new to a musical community along with everyone else. In high school, I loved engaging with the community through performing with a band for local senior centers. I now look forward to combining my love of music and kids and bringing my own international perspective to the Bang on A Gong program. I look forward to continuing to work with kids and world music in the future!

Growing up, singing with the Chicago Children’s Choir gave me the opportunity to experience the joy and depth of community-centered music making. Today, as a Musical Studies major here at Oberlin, I am excited to help foster a similar space of musical play, learning, and openness. It is my hope that the kids in our program find that same joy, both through the music itself and through the relationships it builds. After spending my senior year of high school working on a music therapy centered research project, I carry the notion of music as a powerful tool for healing with me in all I do. In addition to being a songwriter and avid music fan, I have led singing and taught music at various youth conferences and workshops in Spring Valley NY and Washington D.C. I look forward to seeing what roles music education and community music may play in my future, and am grateful to be spending this time with the Bang on a Gong program!