Every June Musical Beginnings teachers get together for an annual brunch. During our teaching days we are spread out over several rooms in two locations, with different teachers here on different days, so the brunch is the only chance some of us have to get to know each other. It’s always been fun. Over 21 years we’ve tried different Westside and South Bay restaurants and the only year we skipped was 2020. (And even then we celebrated with at-home care packages.) In 2021 a few of us came hesitantly back to gather in the outdoor seating of the Dinah’s parking lot. So this year we were thrilled to be more comfortably back at Cafe Gratitude in Venice. The name was apt.
Over the years some of the faces have changed as teachers have come and gone, with a large shift, unsurprisingly, over the past two years. And as I gazed at the smiling and chatting people at this year’s brunch it came to me how truly exceptional the people at that table were. These teachers (plus a few not at the table) were the ones who had taken Musical Beginnings through the pandemic. At the shutdown they’d adapted brilliantly to online lessons despite often never having Zoomed before. They gave their students a consistency of relationship and learning when schools were flailing and other activities abruptly stopping. They adapted not only quickly but with creativity and finesse. They Turned on Original Sound, adjusted camera angles, sent accompaniment recordings, figured out duet apps. They taught their students how to do some of the things teachers usually do—write in counting, record assignments, circle passages—and made them more self-sufficient in the process. They made sure they had their own copy of every book their students had, which was a lot of books. They made it work so many ways.
When the studios opened again these same teachers navigated the ever-changing safety protocols. They wore a mask, then two masks, then a medical-grade mask. They opened windows, sat at a separate piano, demonstrated things at a distance, cleaned surfaces between lessons, sat behind Plexiglass. Got vaccinated. As things opened even more they reminded families about masks, enforced waiting room limits, reminded families about masks, monitored for symptoms, reminded families about masks. There was so much to do besides teach.
But teach they did, and the students learned to play, and it was amazing and wonderful. (Two teachers even managed to do it while having moved out of state!) At this year’s brunch I realized that the teachers with us now, the ones at the table both physically and in spirit, represented the best Musical Beginnings has ever had. They are the determined, ingenious, and caring heart of the school. And I am so grateful. —Linda