Learning through music

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, October 28, 2006

Before the kids began to sing, their teacher had an announcement.

“This is the first audience in the history of the choir,” Daun Brown told his students at ACES Alternative High School.

It was an audience of only two, a Herald photographer and me. The fledgling choir rose nicely to the occasion.

Standing on risers in a classroom-turned-music-room Friday, the teens launched into a 1950s medley, beginning with “Jailhouse Rock.”

As Brown played an electronic keyboard, young voices joined in with “let’s rock, everybody, let’s rock.” Shirley Tune, Brown’s music teaching partner, directed vocals.

“We’ve never had a band or a choir,” said Tune, who’s taught English and other subjects at ACES in south Everett since 1997. Never, that is, until this year.

Brown’s been a musician since boyhood. Tune is a classically trained singer. Together, they created the choir, which meets weekly and counts for one fine arts credit. About 25 students are involved, out of the 200 or so at ACES.

“This is all new to me. I sing at my house, by myself,” Thomas Collins said. The 19-year-old came to ACES this year after attending Mariner High School. With the choir, he’s also learning to operate a sound system.

“It’s a cool class,” said Collins, whose musical choices are usually alternative rock and punk. “I’ve never had teachers like this.”

It’s a new experience for Brown, too. He came to ACES part-time last year after retiring from Edmonds-Woodway High School, where he was head boys basketball coach for 11 years.

“I came to help out. I was only supposed to be here a few days. I kind of felt I made a difference,” said Brown, 55, who has 30 years of coaching experience. “Some of these kids have never been involved in any kind of team. They’ve never been part of something larger than themselves.”

“It’s an exciting place. The kids are very bright and creative,” Tune said.

The teachers aren’t alone in their effort. Their program recently received a big boost from the South Everett-Mukilteo Rotary. The club presented a $3,500 check to Brown for the ACES choir at its Oct. 20 meeting, said Randy McDonald, president of the group.

McDonald said a private donor had designated $1,500 for ACES music, and the club added $2,000. Rotary, he said, has supported art at ACES for years, and music was a good next step.

“We’re doing it on the run with money we don’t have,” Brown said. “In an era of schools cutting fine arts, it’s incredible for Rotary to be that kind.”

By Friday, the donation had been used to purchase an amplifier and a sound system, along with several microphones. Brown is using his own keyboard and hopes to acquire a drum set and guitars.

He isn’t a member of Rotary, but Brown has a close connection with the club. He and Rotary member Buzz Rodland of Everett have been friends since before they were classmates at Everett High School.

“Daun is a lifelong friend of mine,” said Rodland, an Everett auto dealer. On boating trips to Canada, Rodland said he’s seen Brown get a roomful of strangers partying with his keyboard prowess. “He’s inspirational,” Rodland said.

“He took the floor last Friday for an impromptu talk and spread his passion for teaching music to these kids,” McDonald said.

The money went further than it might have. C.J. Fox, owner of the Lighting and Karaoke Store in Everett, cut his price on the sound equipment. “They probably got double of what they actually paid,” Fox said.

One of his employees had left school and later earned a GED credential, Fox said. “She has one of the best ears for mixing in the Northwest. She had the basic talent,” he said.

At ACES, the singers don’t have choir robes, or even matching T-shirts. Ripped jeans, sweatshirts, wallet chains, their look is informal. They are singing, though. And they’re thinking.

Tune led them through “Tears in Heaven,” accompanied by a recording. Chad Jackson, 19, didn’t like the version of the song. It didn’t sound like Eric Clapton’s original. “Can you get a version with just guitars?” Jackson asked.

They’re learning to hear and read music, and to sing. It’s about more than that, Brown said. “There’s a movie with Antonio Banderas, he taught ballroom dancing at an inner-city school,” he said of the film “Take the Lead.”

“It’s not about teaching ballroom dancing,” Brown said. “It’s teaching them about life.”

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.