Tag: Education

Academics for All: Rockwell excels in music, computer science | Local News

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SHERIDAN — Academics for All honored Kyle Rockwell, son of Lisa Rockwell, as a Summit Award finalist this week.

Rockwell is a National Merit semifinalist and a member of the National Honor Society, the 2022 state champion We The People team and both the Sheridan High School and Sheridan College bands. He has maintained an impressive 4.0 GPA while managing a rigorous course load featuring numerous Advanced Placement classes including calculus, psychology, U.S. history and government, two computer science classes and physics. Rockwell also has completed college level courses in calculus, statistics and computer science.

“Being at SHS has helped me learn the value of good friends and surrounding yourself with good people. It makes life much more enjoyable,” Rockwell said. 

Rockwell named Chad Rose, SHS band director, as an outstanding educator. 

“Mr. Rose has been an amazing teacher and guide over these three years as my band director, teaching us to be responsible adults,” Rockwell said. “He’s done exciting things in our band program, like starting up a brand new marching band this year — a huge investment of time and money.” 

Rose also spoke highly of Rockwell.

“Kyle has established himself as the premiere scholastic clarinet player in Wyoming over the last two years,” Rose said. “His playing is incredibly creative, sensitive, and precise. It has paid off for him, as he has been selected to the All-State Band twice and the All-Northwest band as well.”

Rockwell has enjoyed an outstanding musical career.

“Playing clarinet and alto sax in various high school and college groups is my favorite activity,” Rockwell said. “Music is a great emotional outlet; you can really express feelings and thoughts through music.”

He has excelled in symphonic band on clarinet, sitting second and then first chair in the All-State Band and even making All Nationals in 2022. He was also the head drum major for the first marching band SHS has had in decades. The brand new marching band competed at the state competition in Casper this fall, earning a superior rating — the highest rating — under Rockwell’s leadership.

“The most impressive thing about Kyle is his ability to lead and connect with people,” Rose said of Rockwell. “He is always a joy to be around. He is a leader in the most positive way. Kyle’s impact on this band program will be felt for years to come.” 

In his limited spare time, Rockwell enjoys reading books like the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and short stories from the likes of Stephen King and Franz Kafka. 

“I really like world building in literature. Each book of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ series is a window into a vast and expansive world that Tolkien built through his writing. ‘The Jaunt’ by Stephen King is similar; it has a very fascinating concept of teleportation, and builds upon it realistically, using it to drive the plot of the story,” Rockwell said.

Rockwell said Jennifer Reed, English teacher at SHS, has also made a positive influence on his career and been a valuable mentor.

“Kyle Rockwell is a multi-talented creative phenom,” Reed said. “On top of his keen understanding of literature, he always has something fun to add making the class even more enjoyable. He often added musical accompaniments when we read and performed plays. Kyle is a joy to have in class and I am excited to see his contributions in the future.”

While music has been a large part of Rockwell’s life, he also has developed a passion for technology and computer science.

“Programming is about the fun of problem solving. It’s cool to have something you need done, spend some time writing code to do it, and then it just works,” Rockwell said. “It’s really rewarding, the process is fun and the end result is very satisfying.” 

Rockwell has aspirations to attend either Michigan State University or the University of Michigan to obtain a degree in computer science, focusing on programming and software development. He also plans to participate in as many music ensembles and the marching band as he is able.

Opera by Haitian-Canadian composer to premiere during Black History Month: Collaboration between David Bontemps and the OCM | Arts

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When 44-year-old Haitian-Canadian composer David Bontemps was told in the summer of 2020 that the Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM), then led by the late Boris Brott, wanted to produce his first chamber opera, La Flambeau, he was more than thankful.  That the work will premiere next Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Salle Pierre Mercure during Black History Month is an added bonus.

“I feel very privileged and humbled to just have my opera produced, because there are so many composers that have written major works that never had the chance to be presented to the public,” said Bontemps. “The opportunity to have it first presented in the city where I live is a big honour.”

Born in Port-au-Prince, Bontemps moved to Montreal in 2002, where he was quickly recognized by his peers. He has since written and recorded several albums and has received working grants from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts

His opera is based on the 2014 award-winning play of the same name by his friend, Faubert Bolivar. The two former Port-au-Prince schoolmates have known each other for years and continued to follow each other’s careers as they took different paths, Bolivar as a teacher, writer, poet and dramaturge and Bontemps as a pianist and composer. 




Cameroonian-born soprano Suzanne Taffot, Canadian mezzo soprano Catherine Daniel, and Jamaican Canadian tenor Paul Williamson.



“He sent me his book in 2014 and when I read it I knew I had to write an opera based on it, but I never had the time or the opportunity. It was only in 2020, during the first pandemic lockdown, that I found the time and I wrote it in five weeks,” Bontemps explained during our recent interview.

Steeped in Haitian lore and West African mythology, La Flambeau is a critique of misogyny, corruption and the abuse of power. It tells the story of a dysfunctional couple, Monsieur (a narcissistic, ambitious and idealistic intellectual), Madame (who talks to her dead parents), and their working-class housekeeper, Mademoiselle. Violating his own principles, Monsieur rapes Mademoiselle. After a surreal trial, the corrupt elitist, who cloaks himself in virtue to subjugate the disadvantaged, confesses, and is subjected to a form of mob justice and turned into a zombie in service to his community.

Bontemps says he loves the story because it touches many aspects of pluralism, including language (Haiti’s divide between French and Creole speakers), class, education, as well as justice and belief systems — Western Christianity vs. the demonized West African-inspired Voodoo that some still manage to maintain and preserve. “But mainly, it’s about respecting everyone and observing that a society that is without respect and love is just a crazy, crazy place — a real dystopia.”

Like the play, Bontemps says his musical compositions both blend and contrast European classical music with Afro-Caribbean as well as traditional African rhythms, melodies and harmonies.




American bass Brandon Coleman, Montreal actress and director Mariah Inger, and Maestro Alain Trudel.



His 80-minute opera — sung in French, with short passages in Haitian Creole — is scored for four singers, a string orchestra and maracas. Conducted by Maestro Alain Trudel, the cast features Cameroonian-born soprano Suzanne Taffot, Canadian mezzo soprano Catherine Daniel, Jamaican Canadian tenor Paul Williamson, and American bass Brandon Coleman, with stage direction by Montreal actress and director Mariah Inger.

Maestro Brott, who at age 78 was killed on April 5, 2022, in a hit-and-run in Hamilton, Ontario, left his mark on the final product. “We had the chance to have a workshop in September 2021 with him, so the score has a lot of his recommendations and his influence is there somewhere. Unfortunately, he won’t conduct it although he said he really liked the music,” said Bontemps, adding, “But I’m very lucky to have Alain Trudel, a long-time friend of Boris.”

Salle Pierre Mercure in L’Université du Québec à Montréal is located at 300 de Maisonneuve Blvd. E. For tickets and information, visit orchestra.ca.

‘Body percussion’ prof in Japan wants instrument-free music education to go global

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Toshiyuki Yamada demonstrates body percussion by clapping, in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Dec. 2, 2022. (Mainichi/Naoko Takashiba)


KURUME, Fukuoka — Through a mixture of claps, stomps and knee-slaps, a professor from this southwest Japan city has been a pioneer in teaching instrument-free “body percussion” to students for decades. Now, he plans to bring the subject to Britain in hopes of making it a global educational phenomenon.


Professor Toshiyuki Yamada of Kyushu Otani Junior College and a team of around 30 others will be going to Britain’s University of Oxford in March 2023 for a research presentation and performance of body percussion — making percussive music through maneuvers such as clapping, stomping and knee-slapping. They will perform around 10 songs, including Yamada’s composition “Hanabi” (fireworks), inspired by the annual Chikugo River Fireworks Festival that lights up Kurume’s skies every summer. During the presentation, Yamada will offer teaching tips, explain its impact and extol its virtues as a way for people to have fun together regardless of disability.


Yamada began teaching body percussion over 30 years ago, during his days as an elementary school teacher in Kurume. It started when he got students who were having trouble concentrating in class to clap along to songs. He went on to develop methods of teaching the subject while practicing it with students at elementary and special needs schools in the city.


“Children enjoy being able to make music without instruments, just by using their movements, and the sense of accomplishment when they get into a rhythm with their peers. Those with hearing impairments can play along by watching the instructor’s movements and by feeling the beat,” Yamada said.


Yamada’s body percussion compositions have received widespread acclaim, and have become a part of music education curricula at elementary and special needs schools. The songs have been performed alongside the NHK Symphony Orchestra. They have been taught in Cambodia and have previously been demonstrated in other famous locations including New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Wiener Staatsoper in Vienna, Austria.


The team going to Oxford includes students and staff from Kurume and beyond, ranging from teenagers to those in their 60s. Participating institutions include Fukuoka Prefectural Meizen High School in Kurume, Tokyo’s Kunitachi College of Music, and Fukuoka Jo-Gakuin University in the city of Fukuoka.


“Body percussion can be performed on its own as well as in combination with various genres of music. It originated in the educational field and was developed by children. I want it to become known as a way for kids of all backgrounds to take part in an activity together,” Yamada continued, further emphasizing the subject’s potential for wider appeal.


(Japanese original by Naoko Takashiba, Kurume Bureau)

Classical Re-Imagined by the Anirudh Varma Collective

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Episode 10 of India By The Bay features The Anirudh Varma Collective- a contemporary Indian classical ensemble from New Delhi, India, comprising over 150 musicians & artists from across India, America, and Canada. The collective aims to discover, re-discover, and present the traditions & diversity of Indian music in a contemporary yet rooted manner in order to reach and connect with the masses. To make the finale episode of the virtual edition of India By The Bay a remarkable success, the ensemble will release two spectacular songs from their production ‘Classical Re-Imagined: Indian Classical Music For Everyone’ on 30th December 2022, stay tuned!

The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.



Uzeyir Hajibeyli: The “father” of Azerbaijani classical music

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It is impossible to imagine Azerbaijani culture without the name of one the greatest composers of the 20th century, and the founder of Azerbaijani classical music, Uzeyir Hajibeyli.

His immortal works have forever glorified his native city of Shusha, since he was the first composer who merged mugham, a unique style of Azerbaijani music, with elements of classical opera, and transferred folk singing to an orchestral score. He is also the author of the first opera of the East “Leyli and Majnun”.

The influence of Uzeyir Hajibeyli on the further development of musical art in Azerbaijan is difficult to overestimate. His innovative and, at times, revolutionary decisions for that time changed the perception of operatic performance.

“Uzeyir Hajibeyli’s favorite composer was Mozart. He adored him and even composed a fantasy inspired by Mozart’s C major sonata. He wrote a fantasy for the orchestra of Azerbaijani ethnic instruments. ” Explains Farhad Badalbeyli, the Rector of the Baku Academy of Music.

Satirical and romantic, glorifying love for the Motherland and freedom, Hajibeyli’s works have become rare jewels in the collection of world classical music.

There is a piece of music called “Without you” or “Sensiz” in Azerbaijani, and it was inspired by the poems of the Persian poet Nizami and dedicated to his 800th anniversary.

“When you listen to the piece you clearly hear the strong influence of mugham.” Explains Joshgun Gadashov, a piano student at the Baku Academy of Music.

In many ways, it’s thanks to these works that the world first learned about the existence of the mugham, which is today on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of UNESCO.



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