Liberty Arts Magnet has blues in their school as 8th graders join blues musician Gerry Hundt for a musical performance.
Gerry Hundt is a blues musician from Chicago who brought his expertise to Lima to educate kids on a genre of music that might not be familiar to them. Hundt is known as a one-man band, so it’s no surprise the diversity of instruments he is able to play and teach the kids about.
“I hope that they had a good time, maybe it was a little distraction from their normal class load and I hope that they, you know, appreciate maybe a different style of music than they’re used to,” says Hundt.
The 8th graders spent the whole week learning about the blues from Hundt and were even able to make their own diddley bows to play along with him. Diddley bows are instruments that were created in the south that influenced the development of the blues.
Sara Chongson, an 8th-grade music teacher says, “It’s very important for them to say, hey I not only can hear this or write about this or analyze that, I can also play it and create it. So, it gives them an opportunity to become creators, which we love.”
Blues in the Schools has been an ongoing partnership between Lima City Schools and the Blues Committee for over 20 years. The money raised from the performances is used to fund residencies in the Lima schools and scholarships for Lima Senior High grads who will go on pursuing a music major.
