Striking A Chord of Gratitude

Editors Note: This article was originally featured in our SAAS In Focus magazine, Summer 2023 Issue. To see the full photo spread of the Advanced Music Production class, visit this link.

Written By: Gena Wynkoop, Editorial Content Manager

The ask was simple: Would your class be willing and able to perform at SAAS in the City? 

The answer? Yes. 

Yet what unfolded next was not quite as simple. In fact, what began as just an opportunity to perform transformed into an extraordinary, full-fledged creative endeavor that resulted in a musical masterpiece crafted and envisioned by the Advanced Music Production class.

Amos Miller and Paris Randall, the teachers and masterminds behind the Music Production program were stoked to learn their Advanced Music Production class was slated on the roster at SAAS in the City, Seattle Academy’s largest financial aid fundraiser event. 

Amos and Paris began envisioning what it would look like for a class of students, with multiple musical interests and talents, to come together and collaborate on one epic, culminating performance.

“Amos wanted the class to move into more of a performance-based class and getting students on stage,” said senior Niva Price and Advanced Music Production student. “From there, it was up to us, the class, what we wanted to do.”  

Whether the students were instrumentalists, vocalists or engineers the first step was to write a banger.

“We started with the intention of having something to showcase at SAAS in the City. We knew it was a fundraiser for the financial aid program here at SAAS so we decided to build on top of that,” said senior Matteo Poydras-Angeles, another Advanced Music Production student.

“That night, I made the beat at home, wrote my verse and then took it to Music Production on two hours of sleep,” said Matteo.

“I was talking to Matteo about the song and he said, ‘I can see a bunch of people on this’,” added Niva.

“Then I played the song for Amos,” continued Matteo. “He liked it, so we all went into the main room, everybody plugged in their instruments and we tried to replicate the sample. From there, it made history,” smiled Matteo.

The beat was made from a sample of “I Say A Little Prayer,” written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick. Matteo used the Aretha Franklin version from 1968. 

In their practices, the students started talking, singing and writing and were trying to be intentional about the messaging, the venue and even how the song title “I Say A Little Prayer” played into the lyrics and story of the song they were creating.

For Matteo, it was all about expressing his gratitude for the financial aid program at Seattle Academy.

“For my verse, I wanted to talk about being a part of the financial aid program. I’m not from around here, I live down south and [mostly went] to school down there. Coming to SAAS was a culture shock,” he said. “That being said, I’m grateful for the opportunities, the education and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Basically, the premise of my verse is that I am grateful to be here. I am grateful for the help that I’ve gotten from my family, friends and teachers.”

Matteo huddled with fellow senior Diana Maciel, who has been involved in Music Production classes for several years at SAAS and who writes and produces beats outside of school as well. She had been working on a separate song and had a rap written but felt the two weren’t gelling.

“Matteo [said he had] a similar rap about being grateful [while mine was about] dreaming big. We thought it formed a really great message for SAAS in the City which has provided an opportunity for a lot of students,” said Diana.

“The original rap was basically a reflection of how I got here, how I came to be at SAAS and how it’s been a rocky path. In my verse, I was talking about how I was really proud of where I am now in my senior year,” she said. “It’s about how when we are little, we think that the world is really simple. For me, it wasn’t. There were a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of homework but it all paid off in the end.”

Storytelling with meaning is a theme that both Amos and Paris have tried to encourage the entire 2022-2023 school year. Both instructors noticed that at the start of the year, there was room for improvement in creating a space where the students felt they could tell their own individual stories. 

“It was a real struggle to have kids back in the classroom after COVID,” said Amos. “It was imperative to create some kind of community that believed in this vision of performing original music in front of hundreds of people. It was a challenge to figure out how to engage them and figure out how to come from their heart instead of recreating what they are seeing on their screens.”

“Part of it is messaging,” said Paris. “We had a lot of discussions with the class about messaging and how important the content is. In music and other media, there is content across platforms that are normalized. They may be fun to watch sometimes, but I don’t think it necessarily helps folks improve their lives.”

Through workshops with guest speakers like Roberto Ascalon, a spoken word artist, Paris and Amos watched as the students felt more comfortable using their artistic abilities in alignment with their own individual stories.

“It’s important and more impactful to look inwards as artists and have our truths be on display whatever that truth may be,” said Paris.

“That’s why it’s such a struggle,” agreed Amos. “It was so challenging in this post-COVID world, this new world, to create a safe, inclusive community space where people can tell their truth because our truths have been intense. Maybe you had a great pandemic but maybe the person next to you didn’t. Being able to share that in a real space, in real-time, has been beautiful to watch.”

Once that level of vulnerability was achieved, the instructors began to see a shift in how the students related to one another.

“It was beautiful to see the students start to feel safe with each other. Like, ‘oh, I can just speak my truth, whatever it is,” said Amos.

Once Diana and Matteo locked in their versus, Teka Smith-Bates (Grade 11) had something to say.

“Amos asked me to start with writing poems and he asked me to write about where I come from, like ‘what is my life story?’ It started off as just a poem and then I tried it over ‘Say A Little Prayer’ and they matched," said Teka.

“My verse starts off with talking about [being born in Ethiopia]. I say, ‘I was born from the motherland’ and then I talked about my parents and how they were not really present during the beginning.”

I was born from the Motherland
Mother left the earth before she held my hand
Dad was gone, out of service out of town

“Then I go further into how I was adopted, my new family, the start of my new life and how it’s difficult when I’m younger but it gets better,” shared Teka.

The lyrics between the songwriters all share a common thread: the story of where they come from as individuals and what it’s like to experience being at an institution like SAAS. After having those foundational stories in the song, it was time to add the essential instrumentation, melodic vocals and all the bells and whistles, no pun intended.

For Niva’s vocal addition, it was really showcasing the soulful range that she built over the years of Music Production and also being a part of the Jazz Choir. Originally on track to become an Onion, Niva pivoted and found that she had more interest in the song-making elements.

“Music Production is a lot more diverse in terms of people’s skill sets and I think that speaks to how the class is in general,” said Niva. “It’s more collaborative. There are writers, producers, beat makers, engineers, singers and other vocalists and instrumentalists.”

Woven within the rap verses, Niva riffed to Aretha’s “I Say A Little Prayer For You” hook and created her own rendition which was a welcome addition for Matteo, Diana and Teka.

Once the story was solidified, the jams began and the band was ready to rock. Sydney Watson and Tessa Hendry dropped in with the bass and guitar, respectively. The girls work together extensively outside of their class on a myriad of musical projects. Forrest Campbell shreds a guitar solo during the song, Tate Carr and Nate Counts brought their engineering skills to produce, Jackson David ripped on the drums, Cayden Brewer was also playing guitar and assistant teacher Andreas Buneci-Trujillo, slapped away on the keys. 

With all students involved and all voices heard, the song, now titled, “Say A Little Prayer” went from sample to loop to becoming an awesome full-fledged masterpiece.

“Compromise is a really valuable skill,” said Niva. “You have to advocate for what your strengths are. [As a listener], I can hear everyone’s different voices and their parts and their [individual strengths] in that song.”

“Like Forrest and his guitar solo,” she added. “He came up with that idea and brought it to class and everyone loved it. It’s not something we would normally see him do in class, he’s a big personality, but it’s not something I’d see him push to the front.”

“With this class specifically, I’m inspired by everyone else,” said Sydney (Grade 11). “Being able to see everyone passionate about what they're doing and being good at it is really inspiring for me to continue my musical journey and improve my skills.”

Tessa (Grade 11) echoed Sydney saying, “I think it's very interesting to see how versatile everyone is. [We] all have different strengths, and we like collaborating together to create different pieces of music.”

The collaborative nature of the project brought Matteo a lot of joy.

“That moment of seeing the beat that I made at home come into creation with all these people that I know, with all these instruments was a very special moment. It was one of those feelings that made me feel like I could do music as a career,” said Matteo.

After countless hours of practice and lots and lots of hard work, it was lights, camera, sights set on SAAS in the City.

Over 550 parents, friends and SAAS community members were there to enjoy an evening of student performances from all grade levels. Overall, it was a very successful night, raising over $1M in donations for the SAAS Financial Aid Department.

[Read: Learning Through Service: SAAS Students Build Homes in NOLA]

For the songwriters who have directly benefited from financial aid, it was a full-circle moment. Matteo’s lyrics and performance were to say thank you to the SAAS community, the folks in the audience, sitting right in front of him.

“‘I’m grateful,’ is what I’m saying in those lyrics. I’m grateful for [everything that has happened for me] so I say a prayer for the audience because I understand and am appreciative of all that’s been done for me,” said Matteo.

“It’s my way of saying that I’m conscious. I have music and that’s the one thing I can confidently say that I have. I can use that [art] to get across the message that I feel I need to get across, and that message is gratitude,” he added.

“The SAAS in the City performance ended up being really good because everyone had something to do with it,” added Niva. “I feel like we put together something that was really, really good and it included everyone in the class which was a big goal of Amos’. There’s just so much talent in that class.”

It was better than good. The show was a massive hit not only among the students, faculty, staff and SAAS community members who watched at both End-Of-Tri and SAAS in the City, but also for Amos and Paris, whose goal of having a fully collaborative, live music experience was achieved.

For the students, the experience of developing a project from beginning to end and performing on such a stage was priceless.

“I’ve gained a lot more confidence because of Music Production. I’m more confident in the things I do. I have a lot of things to say and there’s like, so many things I want to try in the future,” said Diana. “It’s just about putting my feelings on paper and then in music.”

Diana, like Matteo, experienced the benefit of being given a financial opportunity.

“I worked so hard through The Rainier Scholars program and I took advantage of all the opportunities they gave me,” said Diana. “I became a leader for an affinity group. I became more confident in who I am. Through music, I can express myself and tell my story.”

As the days followed from SAAS in the City and dwindled down to summer break, the performers had a lot to reflect on over the rest of the school year.

“My favorite memory from this year was probably performing,” said Teka. “I was really nervous before doing it and not really wanting to but then you just look back and think ‘hey, that was pretty fun.’”

Teka has been involved in Music Production for a few years but this was his first time performing an original rap.

“I told myself that I could do it, I thought I could,” Teka says about trying to rap. “But then being able to see myself actually do it is something different and has given me more confidence in my skills.”

For Matteo, “It was a very special thing for me as someone who wants to pursue music to see something that I put together transform into a physical performance rather than digital,” he said. “You can listen to it through the headphones all you want, but when you see all the instruments come together to create your piece, there’s nothing like it. And for that, I am grateful.”

It was a lot of work, but it was done with style. The goal now is to keep going and to keep growing.

“It’s not just singing and making a beat,” Amos said about the class. “We might need art design, we might need business management. We might need somebody to take the reins and do some of these other roles. Maybe organize an event or a performance opportunity.”

“I would love for Music Production in the next few years to have the opportunity to continue to perform and promote their message. We want to spread positivity and inclusivity,” he added.

Promoting their message might look like social media or building a marketing campaign for a song release on Spotify or Bandcamp; then giving earnings to raise money for financial aid or other youth music programs around the city.

For Amos, Paris and all involved in the Music Production program downstairs in the Vanderbilt Building—it’s all about giving back and recognizing where they are at right now; just like Matteo and Diana and Teka write in the verses of the song.