BACKGROUNd

“[Making a song] was never something I thought I could do. They pushed me to be resilient and persevere...without this program I feel like I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
— Josselyn, 14

Composition of a City began in 2019 when LYNX artist and soprano Olivia Doig teamed up with hip hop artist Aasha Marie to create a cross-genre educational curriculum for high school students in Woodlawn, a community on Chicago’s South Side with little access to arts education.

Through this free after-school music program, students learned about hip hop and classical art song, finding parallels between both genres through rhythm, melody, harmony, and text. The program culminated in students performing their original compositions for their community.

Composition of a City students & instructors, Fall 2019

While it was not safe to hold in-person summer classes in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Composition of a City teachers teamed up with classical musicians, poets, and hip hop artists to create an online series. Each episode featured interviews that tackled a specific topic and gave weekly creative prompts for students to participate in. 

Composition of a City pop-up event, Summer 2020

In 2020, LYNX received a Peace Grant from My Block My Hood My City to host a community event over the Fourth of July weekend, when violence normally spikes in Chicago. Through a pop-up event in Englewood, LYNX re-connected with students from the Composition of a City pilot program, registered new students for summer classes, and showcased students and local hip hop artists in live performances.

Thanks to generous grant support from the Music Academy of the West through an Alumni Enterprise Award, Composition of a City: Digital will return in the fall of 2021 with a robust new online curriculum. This curriculum will facilitate in-person and virtual learning, and will incorporate Illinois Arts Learning Standards into video lessons, discussion guides, lesson plans and supplemental materials to guide students through the process of writing and performing their own music.

To learn more about Composition of a City, and how your classroom or after-school program can get involved, send us an email!