EXPRESS THE MUSIC CONTEST Writing Drawing
Responding to
4 Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason with the TCHS Orchestra
IN APRIL 2022, cellist Sheku and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason participated in a mini-residency with the Neighborhood Music Project. On April 27, the Trenton Youth Orchestra, which is made up of Trenton Central High School (TCHS) students and Princeton University student volunteers, opened for Sheku and Isata’s Princeton University Concerts in-person debut. The next day, the siblings visited TCHS, where they performed for and engaged with music students. TCHS students who attended either the Richardson Auditorium or the TCHS performance were invited to reflect on the experience in the Neighborhood Music Project’s third annual Express the Music Contest, open this year to creative writing and drawing entries.
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Inspired by conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s residency during Princeton University Concerts’ 125th anniversary season, the Neighborhood Music Project aims to reinforce Maestro Dudamel’s commitment to music as a force for uniting communities, empowering young people, and promoting positive social change. A collaboration between Princeton University Concerts and Trenton Arts at Princeton, this multifaceted initiative expands access to the arts in the Trenton Public Schools via artist visits, field trips, this annual creative writing/drawing contest, and support for the Trenton Youth Orchestra.
THE 2021-2022 Express the Music Contest A contest designed to capture the impact of music and the arts, as perceived by Trenton Central High School students.
The entries were judged by the following members of the Princeton University Concerts team: Marna Seltzer, Director; Dasha Koltunyuk, Marketing and Outreach Manager; and Tom Uhlein, Graphic Designer.
6 Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason with the TCHS Orchestra
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THE 2021-2022 Express the Music Contest
Relationships can be many things: romantic, platonic, familial, transactional, etc. I never gave much thought about the relationships I had in my own life until recently. I’m not just talking about my friends and family; I’m talking about the connection I have with my instrument and fellow orchestra members. Today I witnessed and heard something so beautiful. Two siblings, both equally gifted in their instruments, playing together in a way I’ve never seen before. They were not just playing their instrument but making music. Two concepts I never knew could be so similar yet so distinct. They were listening to each other and their instruments and responding. It felt like I was in a ballroom and the notes swirling out of their instruments were two dancers waltzing through the room so smoothly, while everyone stared in awe. I started thinking about myself and my instrument. For the longest time I felt we were two separate components. I am the player, it is my instrument. Same for the orchestra. It’s a group, and I am a member, nothing less, nothing more. I’d show up, read the music, play the notes, pack up, go home. I got so used to this technical routine that I forgot to listen. I forgot to listen to the trumpets as they belt Aretha Franklin in her tribute. I forgot to listen to the violins and flutes as they hum and cry their dainty tunes. I forgot to listen to my own instrument as each kiss from my mallet rang out like a delicate yet fierce work of art.
Inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s TCHS performance Relationships. Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected.”
Once I understood that I was not only an individual musician but also a part of this collection of talented musicians, I learned to love music. I learned to love the sound of an out-of-tune woodwind before practice, the violin whose E string could use a little tightening, the trombone who should pull out just an inch, and every single person who showed up to practice every day looking to create art. Ever since attending Sheku and Isata’s performance, I encourage all musicians past, present, and future to stop for a second and just listen. Because of course you can play the notes, but can you hear the music?
Listen: A Reminder • By Kilder Sanic, 12th grade
Not only were there these tiny and intimate individual works of art within each musician, but each note, whether on time or not, joined like a puzzle or handcrafted sculpture — or better yet, loving partners, waltzing in a ballroom, filling the room with so much sound.
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10 MAGIC BEHIND THE MUSIC • By Guadalupe Bueno, 11th grade Inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s TCHS performance
11 THE SHOUT TO PEACE • By Allison Cifuentes, 11th grade Inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s Richardson Auditorium performance
12 (STORY YOU PICK) • By Sherly Hernandez-Rodas, 11th grade Inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s performance of the Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40 by Dmitri Shostakovich
13 TIME TO TIME • By Deborah Htu, 12th grade Inspired by Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason’s performance of the spiritual “Deep River”
The Trenton Youth Orchestra opens for Sheku and Kanneh-Mason.Isata
Kilder Sanic
. WINNER
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Kilder Sanic is a senior in the Visual and Performing Arts small learning community at Trenton Central High School. A multifaceted artist, he plays bells and marimba in the school orchestra and participates in the theater program. Despite not being particularly fond of writing, he stepped out of his comfort zone to participate in this year’s contest so that he could reflect on his journey of performing in the orchestra for four years, which has “made a huge impact on [his] high school experience.” Kilder is deeply passionate about his family and has competed in tournaments for the videogame Call of Duty
Guadalupe Bueno
Guadalupe Bueno is a junior in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math small learning community at Trenton Central High School. An avid musician, she sings and plays xylophone and marimba in the school orchestra. Visual art has also been a lifelong passion, and she hopes to become an animator or a cartoon artist someday. She entered this year’s contest to “try and kickstart some of [her] creativity” and get out of her artist’s block. While sketching her winning drawing, she “took time to fix every little detail so that it would look just right,” which was a very refreshing and satisfying experience for her. Guadalupe is most passionate about “creating anything, not just drawings”: games, stories, songs, anything and everything. She has also learned how to solve a Rubik’s Cube in under two minutes.
Allison Cifuentes Allison Cifuentes is a junior in the Health Professions small learning community at Trenton Central High School. At a young age, she discovered a passion for drawing that slowly developed into a fondness for the flute, which she plays in the school orchestra. In her words, drawing has always been “an opening to express myself and draw from my imagination.” She entered this year’s contest after watching Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason “demonstrate their love for the arts” during their “unforgettable show” and wanted to “give back by doing the same.” The drawing process is always calming for Allison, and although there are occasionally moments that stump her, she enjoys finding ways to push through creative blocks. She can also pick (most) locks.
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Sherly Hernandez-Rodas
Deborah Htu
Deborah Htu is a senior in the Restaurant and Business small learning community at Trenton Central High School. The arts have always been a way for her to express herself, either through drawing or music. Although her main instrument is the violin, which she plays in the school orchestra, she also plays the guitar, ukulele, and piano. When she was younger, she loved drawing; however, she stopped drawing in the seventh grade when she chose to play the violin and has only taken one art class since then. She entered this year’s contest because she “wanted to try something new without regret” and “have memories of what [she] did during [her] senior year of high school.” After watching Sheku and Isata perform the spiritual “Deep River,” Deborah listened to a recording of the piece multiple times to develop an image in her mind before beginning to draw. She is passionate about “learning new things or trying out something that [she] never thought of doing, because it doesn’t hurt to try.” She also speaks three languages.
Sheku and Kanneh-MasonIsatawiththeTCHSOrchestra
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Sherly Hernandez-Rodas is a junior in the Restaurant and Business small learning community at Trenton Central High School. When she first began playing the violin, she didn’t particularly enjoy it, because she felt like she was doing it for other people. But slowly, she started to love the violin, not only because of its beautiful sound, but also because of the wonderful people she has met through her musical experiences. She has always had a big imagination and loves using her writing and drawing talents to keep people entertained. (This is how she met her best friend.) She entered this contest to venture out of her comfort zone and see how far she could expand her imagination. In her own words, “I know it’s not the best, but it’s the best for me.” Sherly is also an expert cook — a fact that surprises people who know her primarily as an artist.
20 SINCE 1894, the music of history’s most revered composers has been performed by the world’s most celebrated artists at Princeton University. In its 128-year history, the series has presented many of the classical music world’s most important musicians. Today, an extraordinary roster of musicians make their Princeton debuts each season and join this pantheon. Among them are some of the most highly regarded artists of our time — young musicians on the cusp of sensational careers and riveting performers pioneering new forms of expression.
2021-2022 Express the Music Contest
TRENTON ARTS AT PRINCETON (TAP) is the University’s coordinator of co-curricular arts engagement activities in Trenton, with a particular focus on the public schools. Our mission is to build a multidisciplinary community of artists across Trenton and Princeton University through student leadership and volunteer opportunities, youth programming, community performances, and more. TAP is a collaboration between the Department of Music, Lewis Center for the Arts, and Pace Center for Civic Engagement.