Over the past two winters, our resident farmers have erected hoop houses on our property. Recently my teen daughter and I have taken to reading, working, and meditating there whenever time and weather permit (i.e. when it’s not too hot!).
A few days ago I retreated there with my phone for a short, guided reflection. Upon discovering that the billowing of the plastic cover in the April wind was so loud as to drown out the recording, I almost headed back to my own quiet, sturdy house. Fortunately, good sense prevailed—I stayed and put aside my phone.
For the next ten minutes or so I sat and listened to the tarp flap and crackle with the ebb and flow of the wind. Like a celestial orchestra, it would crescendo into a tumult and then gradually subside, giving way to a gust of gentle rain, punctuated periodically by the hollow whistle of a blackbird.
Not a very elegant instrument. But if the wind can have that effect on synthetic plastic, how much more can the breath of God effect through his own complex creation? The books below celebrate visionaries who persevered in developing and sharing their God-given abilities in the realm of music, the divine gift that touches heart, mind, and spirit.
Innovators
The First Notes: The Story of Do, Re, Mi, by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, ill. Chiara Fedele (Little, Brown, 2022, ages 4–9, 48pp) While not the first person to experiment with musical notation, Guido D’Arezzo (c. 991–1033) came up with the solfege system still in use today and persisted in promoting its acceptance and use. Given Andrews’s fame as Maria von Trapp singing “Do-Re-Mi” in “The Sound of Music,” it seems only appropriate that she should have co-authored this account of Guido’s life, along with her daughter.
Do, Re, Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido d’Arezzo, by Susan L. Roth (Houghton Mifflin, 2006, 40pp, ages 4–7) similarly captures the brilliance and energy of this eleventh-century Benedictine monk. Roth’s creative multimedia illustrations effectively complement the life of this persevering innovator. Both books feature author’s notes, historical background, and a helpful glossary.
The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori & the Invention of the Piano, by Elizabeth Rusch, ill. Marjorie Priceman (Atheneum, 2017, 48pp, ages 4–12) In this fascinating piece of historical narrative, Rusch describes why the dissatisfaction of Cristofori (1655–1731) with the harpsichords and clavichords of the eighteenth century prompted him to design a keyboard instrument that could play both piano (soft) and forte (loud). Excerpts from primary sources (principally Medici court records) hint at the extensive research behind this deceptively simple account. Back matter offers extensive teaching material (online recordings, a timeline, descriptions of extant Cristofori pianos) and revealing page-by-page reports of how the author reconstructed Cristofori’s life. The result is not only a rich source of period information but an enlightening glimpse of historiography at work.
Drummer Boy of John, by Mark Greenwood, ill. Frané Lessac(Lee & Low, 2006, 34pp, ages 4–8)—Prior to reading this book I had been exposed to steel drums principally via background music and hadn’t paid much attention to how it was generated. I somehow imagined there must be synthesized component to the instrument’s melodious, ringing quality. Upon reading about Winston “Spree” Simon (c. 1927–1976) and watching a few videos, I was astonished to realize the sound is created “merely” by mallets on steel. All the more reason to marvel at the dedication of the man who started with junkyard buckets and tins and developed this instrument that came to emblemize Trinidad and Tobago.
Brilliant Performers
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music, by Margarita Engle, ill. Rafael López (Houghton Mifflin, 2015, 48pp, ages 3–7) In 1920s Cuba,a Chinese-African-Cuban girl named Millo Castro Zaldarriaga longed to be a drummer. But at the time convention dictated that only males could play the bongó drums. In lyrical free verse, Engle describes how at last a teacher was procured who recognized Zaldarriaga’s genius and opened the way for her to perform. At age fifteen she played at a birthday celebration for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in New York. Eventually she performed alongside all the famous jazz musicians of her day, paving the way for female drummers in Cuba. López’s art captures island life with bold images and vibrant colors.
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, by Katheryn Russell-Brown, ill. Frank Morrison(Lee & Low, 2014, 40pp, ages 4–8) Melba Doretta Liston (1926–1999) was an only child in Kansas City with a vision for playing the trombone. From teaching herself to play when she could barely hold the horn, she went on to compose, arrange, and perform for and with the greats of jazz, blues, and reggae. Although temporarily daunted by racial discrimination in the U.S. in the 1950s, a tour of Europe and the Middle East with a band organized by Dizzy Gillespie reignited her performance career. Even after a stroke in 1985 rendered her unable to play, Liston continued to compose and arrange into her 70s. Illustrator Morrison’s flowing style matches the trombone’s fluid movement and sound.
The One and Only Googoosh: Iran’s Beloved Superstar, by Azadeh Westergaard (Viking, 2024, 40pp, ages 4–8) Westergaard’s first-person voice conveys the personal connection twentieth-century Iranians felt with this remarkable singer, born Faegheh Atashin in 1950. Not only did her resonant voice capture hearts in the 1970s, but her truncated career epitomized the fate of a nation arrested by the 1979 revolution. Westergaard recounts Googoosh’s twenty-one years of silence, followed by her phenomenal return to the stage in Toronto in 2000 at the age of fifty.
Change Makers
Symphony for a Broken Orchestra: How Philadelphia Collected Sounds to Save Music, by Amy Ignatow, ill. Gwen Millward (Walker, 2022, 40pp, ages 6–9) In the 2010s Philadelphia music teachers teamed up to rescue broken instruments by commissioning a symphony performed entirely on the instruments themselves—pre-repair. A brilliant undertaking by composer David Lang gets inspiring treatment by Ignatow and Millward. If, like me, you’re curious to know what it sounded like, you can witness the concert right here. Questions remain, including, how did composer David Lang know what the broken instruments were capable of? Maybe he didn’t and was just as intrigued as anyone else to behold the final outcome.
Building an Orchestra of Hope: How Favio Chávez Taught Children to Make Music from Trash, by Carmen Oliver, ill. Luisa Uribe (Eerdmans, 2022, 44pp, ages 4–9) Oliver tells the remarkable story of how music inspired hope in a community built around a dump in Paraguay. Young Chávez (b. 1975) moved to from Argentina to Cateura to help people who collected trash in the landfill find more effective ways to recycle materials. When they discovered that he also conducted a nearby youth orchestra, they asked Chávez to teach their children to play music. He asked Colá, one of the recyclers and a skilled carpenter, to make instruments from trash. Before long, there were enough instruments for everyone. Word of the orchestra spread and many others contributed to the effort. Not only has the group traveled and performed internationally, the musical abilities and life skills they acquire have provided hope and opportunities for the musicians and their families.
Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma, by Joanna Ho, ill. Teresa Martinez (HarperCollins, 2021, 40pp, ages 4–8) I was only superficially familiar with Ma (b. 1955) as a brilliant cellist. But this moving work reveals his persistent efforts to bridge race, culture, and nationality through music. Spare text and lyrical illustrations disclose the most pertinent biographical and professional details. Four pages of back matter fill in the startling facts about Ma’s impressive career, his singular instrument (a 300-year-old cello named Petunia), and the significance of Bach’s Cello Suites. I am especially grateful to Ho and Martinez for introducing me to The Silk Road Ensemble, a group founded by Ma in 2000.
- Instrumental Musicians: Innovators, Performers, Change Makers - June 16, 2025
- Tenacious Women in History - March 5, 2025
- Books for Black History Month, pt. 2 - February 19, 2025
Leave a Reply