Musician helps youths put ‘Arts in Action’
Religion Editor chinton@oklahoman.com
The poignant lyrics of the song “Home” from the musical “The Wiz” could be heard in the halls of a northeast Oklahoma City church.
This was followed by the now-familiar strains of the theme music of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
The recent musical interludes came courtesy of a new program called Arts in Action, which was designed by an Oklahoma City musician hoping to teach and inspire a younger generation of artists over the summer.
Am’re Ford partnered with Quayle United Methodist Church to offer the program at the house of worship, 5001 N Everest.
Arts in Action attracted a small group of six students, and Ford said he was pleased with this because it is the program’s inaugural year.
Over the years, Ford has used his own musical talents in his role as a church organist, music director, home schoolteacher and private tutor, among other things. This past school year, he served as a music teacher at St. Eugene Catholic School. The musician is a 2008 graduate of Classen School of Advanced Studies, obtained a bachelor’s degree of music performance from the University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s degree of music/ music composition from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
He said the new program was created as a nonprofit that would provide musical opportunities to children who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to attend such a session. He said he also wanted to do something for youths of color who are interested in both instrumental and vocal arts.
“I really wanted to do something for little kids who look like me,” he said.
The students involved in the program came from different cities and churches in the metro area and included vocalists, cellists, a pianist and a clarinetist. They ranged in age from sixth to 10th grade.
Ford said the group worked on honing their individual musical talents, and he also taught them about black singers and composers.
“The goal is to help them get better but also to teach them some culture,” he said.
Pianist Canyon Colbert, 12, said participating in the program helped him improve his skills.
“There’s a song I was working on that was actually hard for me, and Am’re helped with that song,” Colbert said.
Samuelle Reese, a voice instructor who earned his master’s degree in voice performance from the University of South Dakota, helped Ford teach the youths. He said he knew he wanted to be part of the program as soon as he heard about it.
“I knew it would give a chance for vocalists and instrumentalists to come together to learn and perform together,” he said.
The young musicians performed at the end of each day during the program, and they held a recital for their family and friends on the final day.
Christina Lang, 12, sang “Almost There” from Disney’s “Princess and the Frog.” Elise Gaymon, 13, performed “Smooth Criminal” on the cello. Jameson McGee, 12, performed a song on the clarinet. Amaya Coleman, 14, sang “Home” from “The Wiz,” while Colbert performed a song on piano.
Ford joined cellist Tayvion Devereaux, 15, for a duet of the “Game of Thrones” theme song.
Meanwhile, Ford and Reese will be featured performers in the first 2018 “Summer Breeze” concert on Sunday at Quayle. Summer Breeze is Quayle’s annual summer music series.