The power of the Arts-- "Love, Power, Soul, and Strength"

Mar 2, 2017 / Blog

The following below was written by a Blumenthal Performing Arts intern, Jennifer Tisdale, in collaboration with Stephanie Mudd. Tisdale describes how her first day at her Blumenthal Performing Arts internship impacted her. 

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January 26, 2017 was the first day I started interning at Blumenthal Performing Arts, and as I walked up North Tryon, I started to realize that I was on my way to pursuing a career in the arts that reaches out and touches the lives of so many individuals.

My first day included attending a school show by the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is a collaboration of eight brothers, and was founded by the illustrious jazz legend, Phil Cohran. They strongly believe in the four things that are designed to get us through life: love, power, soul, and strength. The band performed a variety of genres, including jazz, hip-hop, and rock and roll. This special afternoon school show was designed to provide a recreational, educational, enjoyable experience for schools in and around the Charlotte-Metro area, including: FOCUS Garinger Academy, Hawthorne High School, Allenbrook Elementary, Ashley Park Elementary, and several other home schooling systems.

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I cannot remember a single moment where any of the 350 students were off of their feet! Attendees of all ages were dancing, jumping, singing, and freely expressing themselves during this energetic performance. One of the pieces that the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble performed was entitled, “War”, a jazz piece that was featured in the 2012 film “The Hunger Games.” Members of the ensemble engaged the audience and asked us to hold the memorable peace-sign up in the air as high as we could. We started waving it in the air from side-to-side, and the positive energy just overwhelmed the crowd. One of the vocalists in the band sang a brief melody for the audience to recite back. I found it incredible that the students could hear the melody once and be able to reciprocate it, note-by-note, so flawlessly. Some students were even invited on stage to dance and sing with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble! It was so entertaining to see the students perform in front of all their classmates, and to hear their supportive schools cheering them on!

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“The atmosphere was brimming with laughter and smiles! It was so uplifting to see how music touches so many lives in one awesome moment in time.”

Even if you are struggling from a stressful week, flustered from the amount of scheduling that needs to take place before the start of the week, or if you need a break from the hustle and bustle of your daily life, music has always been there to release us from that stress. It is so amazing to see the positive impacts that Blumenthal Performing Arts provides in all our lives, and to see it providing so much hope, peace, and joy to the youth.