Beginning in the Fall of 2023, the Sacramento Mandarins Music Academy has been offering a general music class to students with special needs. The school is called the Jessie Baker School and is part of the Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest district in Northern California. There are approximately 160 students, ranging from 5 to 22 years old.
This program was started by Jim Tabuchi, who was at the time the President and CEO of the Sacramento Mandarins. Their mission is to "Transform Lives through Performing Arts". This is just one of the ways that the Mandarins achieve their mission. The idea behind this program is to give the gift of music by providing access to music and to focus on their abilities, rather than their disabilities. This idea was presented to Jennifer Wilbanks, EGUSD Director of Instructional Support, and she immediately agreed to the program.
Keiko Miyasato, a former Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps member, spearheaded the effort to create the program and document the teaching processes. A typical 30 minute session begins with the "Hello Song". This is sung in a call and response format where each student can either sing and/or use sign language in response. Then a musical instrument is introduced. These could include tambourines, egg shakers, xylophones, boom whackers, rattle drums, hand drums, triangles or many other instruments suitable for the students abilities. Every session ends with the "Goodbye Song" where each student is invited to stand, if able, and dance. Currently, Alyssa Gonzales is the current Music Director.
"This program has been an absolute labor of love for me personally. I get to interact with the students every week when I assist with the class. In the beginning the students may have low energy, but by the time we start singing and playing on their new instruments, the joy on the students faces is a heart warming gift. I can't think of a more meaningful way to give the gift of music to such wonderful students", stated Jim Tabuchi.
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