I am the elementary music teacher for Newfield Central School District in Tompkins County. I have been here for 10 years and have a great interest in world music and the myriad of cultures and traditions that can be discovered through music education.
The psychologist Gordon Allport once said, “No one person knows his own culture who knows only his own culture”. This has become my motto and has led me to host a guest artist series each year at my small school.
This invitation to explore other ideas, cultures and traditions through music aims to expose our young — and often sheltered — rural students to a wide variety of music and artists that they would otherwise be unable to experience.
We have hosted a great many artists in my 10 years, some of the most memorable being the New York State Baroque Society; Mignarda (a Renaissance Duo); Dave Ruch (pictured with me), who shared his expertise on Native American music of New York; Aloja Airwele a Nigerian drummer; and the world famous jazz trumpeter Allen Vizzutti.
(Sunshine Miller is a member of Newfield Teachers Association)