Yesterday, at PS 321’s Winter Carnival, an exercise in sonic overload, I remembered how wonderful it feels to sing.

At a mid-afternoon concert  in one of the kindergarten classrooms, a group of musicians  including Frank McGarry, PS 321’s beloved music teacher, and Bill Fullbrecht, a talented kindergarten teacher, performed for the parents and children, who sat on child-sized chairs.

A welcome respite from the noisy fun of the fair, two teachers sang and played guitar and banjo, joined by an upright bass player and an all-around musician who played guitar, percussion and a small clarinet – turns out he is a member of the duo, Polygraph Lounge AND he’s in Paul Simon’s band. It was a real hootananny.

I’d always heard about the great Mr. McGarry. Both of my children have come home from school singing civil rights songs, that they’d learned in Mr. McGarry’s music class. But this was actually the first time I’d ever experienced the magic first-hand.

In his gentle way, he and Mr. Bill led parents and children in songs like:  "I’ve Been Working on the Railroad," "Fishing Blues," Bob Marley’s "Everything’s Gonna Be Alright," and a glorious version of "Here Comes the Sun." With no annyoying prompting, the assembled crowd sang and clapped along joyfully.

It felt so good to sing with this large group; all kinds of voices joined in make-shift harmony.

I  thought of Dan Zanes, who is performing today at the Kane Street Synogogue, and his crusade to encourage families and friends to sing together. "I believe in music as a shared family experience," he told an interviewer. "Not that kids have
their music and adults theirs. I hope to inspire people to go out and
make their own music. It’s easy, it’s fun, and we can all do it
together."

I am so grateful for people like Mr. McGarry, Mr. Bill, and Dan Zanes, who teach our children the simple joy of singing.

Yours from Brooklyn,
OTBKB