SP2426 I Choose Reproducible Kit by Elizabeth Camozzi / downloadable pdf and audio files
In the summer of 2024, my colleague Meg asked me to consider writing a song for our students’ AOSA performance, and the song came together in 24 hours. I resonated with the word “choose” and began to think of what choice means to children, and what I hope for all children. With Orff Schulwerk being grounded in singing, dancing and playing, it was easy to add those words. But in the face of an unknown future, I thought about what I hoped for all children; what I see in my own classroom, with my colleagues, with my family and children: to laugh out loud, to be ourselves and proud of our decisions, and together as a community, always inviting others.
I am a cis-het white ally, a childhood cancer survivor, a musician and a dancer, and I write from all of those identities. When I woke from my childhood cancer surgery,I was given a new chance to dance and live brightly, sharing a love for life that is never a guarantee. I grew up churched, and community was built through song. As a mother, I wish for my children a joyful, thoughtful and loving life. As I grew in my allyship, I saw a chance to build community through songs of hope and truly seeing each other. During the pandemic of 2020, I began to write songs focused on social-emotional health and since have produced two albums. The world can feel so incredibly overwhelming, but I find a bit of light when we create music together.
The octave lift in the beginning of the song felt powerful, that a child’s voice can soar over the chaos around us and can declare their choice. There is something poignant in a child declaring themselves, with their innocence and gentle voice. It was an exciting moment when I could hear the chorus and verse partnering together, the declaration sung over the description of challenges facing us. I set it in the key of C in case we wanted to add barred instruments, and though that key brings a singer into their chest voice, it built a fire to the performance that was powerfully surprising.
