P H I L A N T H RO P Y
KNOWLEDGE & GOODNESS: THE ANDOVER CAMPAIGN
Making Music at Andover A Dynamic New Building Is on the Horizon BY ABBEY SIEGFRIED
Chair, Department of Music, and School Organist
Each fall, I have our choral students form a circle around the classroom and sing. It’s one of the first things we do as a group, and when I began teaching at Phillips Academy I had to explain the exercise. Now our Circle Song is a beloved tradition, something my student leaders have wonderfully taken over. Across the ring they sing to one another, particularly addressing new students: “You are enough, exactly as you are.” For me, to have that moment of them all look-
ing at one another—to see and hear the students singing to each other instead of it coming from me as their teacher—is one of the most beautiful things. That’s what music can do at Andover, what it’s always done at Andover—profoundly bring us together. The promise of experiences like that is what drew me to Phillips Academy in the first place. I came to Andover in 2011 and immediately fell in love with the school’s dedication to music as an
integral part of the curriculum. Every single student is exposed to music in some way during their time here, which is incredible. That commitment makes PA different from a lot of our peer schools. For a school today to make music a part of its core curriculum—to say that kids should take an art, music, or theatre class—is unique. A student can come here without having played an instrument or sung in a choir. And with encouragement and
The new music building will be located on Phillips Street, adjacent to the Peabody Institute.
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ANDOVER | SPRING 2021
