Johnny Irion and the Mastheads
On this Giving Tuesday, we want to highlight the inspirational work that our friend Johnny Irion has been doing to bring music education to schools in his community. With support from the Blackwing Foundation, Johnny has been partnering with The Mastheads program to travel to local schools in Pittsfield, MA, teaching students about the transformative power of song-making and enriching creativity.
A letter from Johnny Irion about his work with the Blackwing Foundation and the Mastheads program:
“It began when I met Tessa Kelly & Sarah Trudgeon of The Mastheads Program. They are a public humanities project based in Pittsfield, MA that connects residents to the literary history of the region at the Herman Melville home. I became curious about the surroundings of the house where he had written Moby Dick which in turn, sparked a yearning for me to be more involved in this community.
Arrowhead, Melville’s historic house, is no more than five miles from my home in the Berkshire Hills. I had learned that Melville had lost that very home where he had written Moby Dick and died in obscurity in New York City before the book was able to be published. With The hardships of the last couple of years, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between Melville’s story and the future of touring musicians.
It’s been an honor and a blessing to teach songwriting to these students of Morning Side & Conte Elementary. Saying that the students and teachers have been resilient would be an understatement. Building community through music education has renewed my faith in the power of a song. Pete Seeger once said, “participation that’s what’s going to save the Human Race”. With the support of The Blackwing Foundation & The Mastheads Program, I’m honored to have the opportunity to teach & encourage students to explore self-expression and creativity through the craft of song making.” – Johnny Irion
A portion of every Blackwing purchase goes to the Blackwing Foundation and its mission to support music and arts programs in public schools.