EVE ZANNI nominated for Music Educator GRAMMY.

There is Music is in the Air
2013
A profile of our very own Eve Zanni

It is hard to imagine a school without a music program, but before Eve Zanni
started here in 2005, PS 41 did not have one.

The same year that Kelly Shannon began as Principal, she hired Eve to bring music to our hallways.

Born in California, Eve grew up surrounded by musicians and artists.
Everyone in her family played an instrument, sang, danced, painted,
or did some combination of those things. She had her first “gig” at
the age of 4 when she was invited on-stage to sing with her father’s
band. By 6 she was in the chorus at school and beginning to play the
cello. As a teenager & young adult, Eve spent nine years living in
Europe where she was exposed to French, Greek & Irish music. She
played in bands on the streets & toured with an Irish band.

Back in the US, she returned to her jazz roots and soon moved to
NYC. Here she acted in plays & musicals and sang in nightclubs. She
toured with The Cab Calloway Orchestra and started her jazz vocal
trio, the Sweethots, who still perform together today. She also performs
with Jazzmundo, a world music group. Along the way, she got
her BA in Music at Hunter College & then her MA in Jazz Performance
& Education at Lesley University.

Before starting as PS 41, Eve was a touring Teaching Artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Throughout the five boroughs, she taught choral and music programs to studentsfrom Pre-K to High School. She is also certified in the Orff and Kodaly teaching methodologies, and continues to sing and compose music
and lyrics when she is not busy teaching.

She also has authored a book titled Bird, Lady, Prez & Other Superheroes: A Jazz Curriculum for Young People that is due to be published next year.

Eve cannot imagine a world without music. Most importantly, she
wants kids to view music as a natural expression of themselves, not
something to be done right. Too many adults, she says, have been
told they can’t sing or play an instrument and they give up trying.
There is no such thing as tone-deaf to her – there is always music
inside a person and something to build upon. This is reflected in one
of her favorite African proverbs: “If you can talk, you can sing.
If you can walk, you can dance.”

In music classes, she helps the children learn about different genres of
music, as well as how to identify melody, harmony and rhythm. Kids
are encouraged to improvise, compose, arrange, and conduct music.
Creativity is key. And so is teamwork. Without teamwork, she notes, no
music every really comes together. Everyone must work together.
For Eve, it is very important not just to listen to, but to feel music. It is
connected to the whole person. She strives to make her classroom a space
in which kids feel safe to express themselves without rigid standards. Real
music, she says, grows out of trusting yourself and being validated.
!”
History is also an integral part of her program. A good story, she says, will
draw everyone into the music. If kids are engaged in a story, the next thing
you know, they’re singing. t happens every year & it isone of her favorite things
about teaching.

Adding this narrative element also helps encourage children across
learning styles. Giving music a human face, a place in time or even in
nature, makes it more real and brings it to life for everyone. This year,
for instance, a spiritual called “Follow the Drinking Gourd” caught
fire. The kids would run into the room and start humming the tune.
Encoded with messages for meeting times and places for escaping
slaves, the song was more than a collection of notes – it was also a
story about the safe houses and paths leading north toward freedom.
In March, the program is all about Irish music. The children are learning
about instruments used in Irish music: the harp, penny whistle, Uileann
pipes, accordion, guitar, fiddle, and banjo. They are also learning Irish
songs and even Irish Set Dancing!
In 2005, there was no music program at PS41. Eve started it from
scratch and is full of gratitude for the support of the administration,
the PTA, and the parents and kids in our school. Today we have a full
general music program, a full choral program (the 100-voice Songbirds),
an in-school band program (Groove Cats), and two after school band
programs (Rockin’ with Rhythm and Advanced Groove Cats).

Recently Eve was nominated for a Music Educator GRAMMY .
For more information about Eve’s program
and month-by-month details on her curriculum,
read her newsletters and updates on eChalk