Standing in high heels in a nearly empty basement classroom Monday afternoon, Maria Ellis looked at the clock on the wall in expectation. It was the first day of school at St. Louis鈥� historic Sumner High School. And in a matter of minutes, Ellis would be convening the first choir rehearsal at the school in many years.
As Ellis waited to meet her students and help kick off a brand-new arts and activism focus at the , Chuck Berry tunes played quietly through a speaker.
鈥淲hen you really get to understand [that] the person I鈥檓 playing right now, the Chuck Berry, was in this space, to me that makes it so much cooler,鈥� Ellis, a local choral conductor and radio show host, told St. Louis on the Air. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to talk about the legends that were here, and then we鈥檙e creating new legends that are going to go forward.鈥�
Opened in 1875 as the first high school west of the Mississippi River to award diplomas to Black students, Sumner has a rich history of accomplished alumni, including great musicians. In addition to Berry, the school boasts rock star Tina Turner and opera singer Grace Bumbry among its graduates, among many other luminaries.
Despite that impressive tradition, Sumner hasn鈥檛 had a choir in about 20 years, Ellis said. She was recently tapped to help change that, with local cultural institutions partnering with the school to bring in teaching artists, including her, to offer more arts classes.
On Friday鈥檚 St. Louis on the Air, we stepped inside Ellis鈥� classroom for a glimpse of how that first day went. Fellow teaching artist Katarra Parson, a local musician, stopped by while waiting for her own class to start and became emotional watching the new arts program get off the ground at Sumner.
鈥淭his is everything that I wish I had as a kid,鈥� Parson said. 鈥淚 grew up in Wellston, went to public schools my whole life, had the same lack of resources. And it鈥檚 like 鈥� it鈥檚 a full circle moment for me. Just coming back and being able to bring art and music, and value and appreciation for it, back to the public schools is 鈥� it鈥檚 a lot for me personally.鈥�
She admitted to some first-day jitters, as did Ellis.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get a chance to audition students or meet them in advance. 鈥� I鈥檝e got an hour to have them fall in love with me, and fall in love with music and want to be part of this magnificent program,鈥� the choral conductor said.
鈥淏ut if they do, let me tell you: We鈥檝e got so much in store for them 鈥� not just regular choir performances and stuff like that, but I want to create a podcast. I want to use them in music videos. I want to teach them how to compose and produce and have recordings and stuff like that. The sky is the limit.鈥�
Sumner High School senior Brian Keyes, a percussionist in the school鈥檚 band, was the first student to show up for rehearsal. He said he鈥檚 glad to see more arts opportunities returning to Sumner.
鈥淢y freshman year, there wasn鈥檛 a lot of classes,鈥� Keyes said. 鈥淚 came in the year they were taking most of the things out.鈥�
The chaos of any first day of school was apparent, but by the end of rehearsal, Ellis had her new students stretching and beginning to sing, even with masks on. Any first-day hiccups didn鈥檛 deter Ellis. She remained hopeful about what the choir can do in the months ahead.
As students started to trickle out of the room, one student turned to another and said: 鈥淚 like her. She鈥檚 cool.鈥�
St. Louis on the Air plans to check in again with the choir soon.
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by and produced by , , and . The audio engineer is .
