PIANO SLAM: VOLUME 2

“Life Inside A Song”

Have you ever been trapped inside something so big,
You thought it could never be true,

That life was playing a trick on you?
Well that’s what music can do,

Can take away the saddest moments,
That way happiness can stay,

Hip hop will make you want to move,
But gospel really touches you,

Classical may put you to sleep,
Jazz will help you find the beat,

The beat that takes you where you want to go,
But that’s just life inside a song.

By Alexus Wilson

What do you get when you mix classical tunes, with urban beats, and reflections of music’s meaning from students across Miami Dade County? Piano Slam: Volume 2 presented by The Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation. It began as a Super Saturday English lesson at Breakthrough Miami. Students were asked to creatively express the role that music plays in their lives while listening to the melodic tunes of William Bolcom, 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. Some students wrote poems while others created artwork to illustrate their feelings toward the music. Each poem was entered into the Piano Slam poetry contest along with the poems of 15 other middle and high schools in Miami. Out of over 2000 entries, Breakthrough Miami student, Alexus Wilson was chosen as one of 16 finalist. Alexus received a phone call from Piano Slam producer ,Deborah Magdalena, revealing the great news. In addition to being awarded one hundred dollars Alexus would perform her poem in front of an audience of over a thousand at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. Alexus had an opportunity to attend two spoken word workshops with performing artist Lela Lombardo and Summer Hill Seven prior to the May 12th event. While Susan and Sarah Wang, Dranoff International Two Piano Competition Silver Medal Winner played Bolcom’s “Recuredos” Alexus made her poem come alive, her words danced around the James L. Knight Concert Hall, echoing sentiments of “Life Inside a Song.” The Wilson Family, Friends, and Breakthrough Miami Staff are very proud of Alexus’s accomplishments and look forward to Piano Slam: Volume 3. http://dranoff2piano.org/outreach.htm.

Ariel Edwards
Associate Site Director