First-Year Music Teacher Brings Carnegie Hall to LEAD Southeast Middle Students
Taylor Bradley, a music teacher at LEAD Southeast Middle School, recently had the rare opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City – and she used her time there to create a unique learning experience for her students. 
She traveled with the Nashville Symphony Choir – an auditioned group led by Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Tucker Biddecombe. At Carnegie Hall, the choir performed a piece called “The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass” composed by Carol Barnett, which combines the genres of bluegrass music, through the instrumentation and rhythms, with the words and order of a standard mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei. “It showcases how the two genres, fun bluegrass and classical choral music, can complement each other,” explained Bradley.
While in New York, Bradley created a video blog to show students what her trip was like, as well as to highlight different careers in music. “The students were really excited I was going to perform in NYC so they wanted to see some of what that was like,” she said. “I showed the video to the students when I returned to school and we talked about all the different careers I told them about in the video, as well as my personal experience. None of my students had ever heard of or seen Carnegie Hall, so it was a great chance to teach them about an incredibly historic place for music in this country.”
Bradley included photos and footage from her choir rehearsals, Times Square, Broadway and off-Broadway shows she attended, the city streets, and of course, Carnegie Hall. She took time to explain all the different music-related jobs and roles that she encountered – band members, backstage and technical crew, conductors, composers, ushers, stage performers, understudies, and swings.
Bradley is in her first year of teaching, and she notes that LEAD Southeast Middle is unique in that she learns just as much from her students as they learn from her. “I am extremely lucky to work at a school made up of students that have a variety of different backgrounds and cultures,” she said. “Music is a universal language, and everyone can connect to it in some way. I am fortunate to be in a position at this school where I can constantly learn new things from the students in my classroom.”
“There are hundreds of instruments, musicians, and musical genres all over the world that I didn’t learn about through my education, but I am now being introduced to through my students. I thoroughly enjoy learning from them and hearing what they have to offer and seeing the students light up when they have the chance to teach their teachers something about their life.”
At LEAD Public Schools, our mission is to prepare students to be ready for college and ready for life. Bradley is supporting this mission by ensuring students see the opportunities that music can provide, both in a career path and in other areas of students’ lives. “I want the students to be successful in music and use that knowledge in their other classes,” she said. “Music is math, music is science, music is ELA, music is history, music relates to every subject students learn in school. I want them to see how music is a part of everything, and I want them to learn how to use that to their benefit.”
At the conclusion of her video blog, Bradley shared the joy she felt during the performance at Carnegie Hall and expressed to her students that she wants them to find the same passion in whatever it is that they believe is their “one thing” that brings them happiness.
“More than anything, I want music to be something that gives them joy. Whether they are listening to it, writing it, performing it, or analyzing music, I want them to be able to feel joy from that. I know not every student will be passionate about or love music, but my hope for them is that they can see my passion and enjoyment for music and that will inspire them in their area of interest.”
Watch Bradley’s full video blog about her journey to perform at Carnegie Hall below!
