Merle's Perspective

Being a third-year student at Drake, I was beginning to get antsy, and wanting my studies to somehow transcend the classroom. I was at Mars Café, celebrating the release of my friend’s new book. The book was a personal, in depth look at the community of Des Moines, and many people from the community had come to meet the creators, two twenty-something year olds who live in the Drake neighborhood.

I was not surprised to see an old friend and Drake professor had shown up; she too was passionate about the community and eager to find out what creative projects were happening right here in town. She too had a creative project up her sleeve. Three months later, my internship at Civic Music Association is the product of her out-of-the-box thinking.

At the coffee shop she told me about a class she was creating, called Service Writing, in which students would be deployed to non-for-profit organizations all around Iowa. They would spend a few months learning about the agency and serving them in various ways. The idea was born out of the common frustration within the university: “anything I write here is simply read by a professor, given a letter grade and then disappears into the abyss of forgotten college papers."

But so many times I had spent hours writing papers about topics I really cared about, and wanted others to care about too. I was changed through the process of writing them, and I thought others could be changed as well. This professor’s class answered my cry, being formed around the goal of student’s writing having a positive impact on a wider audience: the community of Iowa.

I grew up on a rich array of classical, folk and choral music. The music culture watered down throughout my high school years, but when I moved to Des Moines I was hungry to discover what musical treasures the city had to offer. I joined the Drake choir, and fell in love with the brilliantly passionate director, Aimee Beckham-Collier. Due to a busy homework schedule I had to quit choir and forget music for awhile, until a couple of my friends, energetically attempting to return to and recreate the richness of orchestral music from years past, came out with, not yet another rock garage-band album, but an impressive score of orchestral music, layers of instruments, chock full of cultural messages and inspiring, since the two had been born and raised in the small rural Iowa town of Van Meter. Listening to this composition, I was inspired to return to my quest for civic music in Des Moines, and see what other types of projects and performances were taking place.

At Drake, my professor called off the list of NFP organizations that were offering internships to our class. “The Chrysalis Foundation, the Iowa Afterschool Alliance, Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, Civic Music Association.” Civic Music Association sparked my interest, and I quickly requested the internship. A few weeks later I walked through Sherman Hill, into the CMA office and met CMA director, Carrie Clogg. I found out that CMA had brought jazz star Kurt Elling in to town, and in my first week of interning, I was able to attend his concert.

Being at the concert showed me what a small world Des Moines really is, how much like home it is, even though I’ve only been here three years. So many pieces of my three years here came together, as CMA’s concert brought the community together around the amazing voice of Mr. Elling. As usual, the concert was held at Sheslow auditorium on the Drake University campus, which I was more than familiar with, since I used to have choir practice, and perform for huge crowds in the Drake Choir. On this Friday night though, I got to be an usher, and I caught a glimpse of the musical community within Des Moines. I was surprised how many young people came to the concert, and was happy to see that there were young people who appreciated creative, quality musical performances. I took the tickets and directed guests to their seats, and waited for the show to begin. From up in the balcony, I overheard the “pre-concert talk”, which was given by Linda Roth, a vocal jazz professor at Southwest Community College in Iowa. She engaged the audience with questions about their background in jazz music, and explained interesting facts about the unique musical style of vocal jazz. She described some of the specific qualities of Kurt Elling to watch for during the concert and described his mastering of “vocalese”.

Next, from up in the balcony I heard Kurt Elling being introduced, and stuck my head in the door to see him enter. First his pianist, drummer and bassist entered the stage, the pianist with dark sunglasses hinting that we were in for some serious jazz. And sure enough, when Kurt Elling took the stage, he stood up to the mic and the first words out of his mouth were the beginning of his first song. I was stunned by his voice. It started out slow and quiet, and then grew in volume and the beat picked up. It was impossible not to tap along with the perfect rhythm of the bass, piano and drums; their players glancing at each other to stay in syncopation. The pianist took off on an incredible solo at which his entire body was swept up with his hands that lit the crowd on fire. Yet still, the smooth baritone voice of Kurt Elling was the biggest surprise to me; I had never heard a voice so surreal.

Anniversary season. Unfortunately, due to Drake’s homecoming event the same night, I was unable to attend the festivities at auditorium, I noticed a sign on a table with that read Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure. Two big pots of the best coffee in town were there as a customary donation to Later, a Donor Appreciation Reception was held at Lucca in the East Village. The celebration thanked everyone who made a donation to the Civic Music Association during their 85thLucca, but had to leave early. On my way out of SheslowCMA’s concert. Another piece of my life, my friends at the coffee shop, fit into this community gathering. I smiled as I walked out into the cold night air, realizing that I was part of a rich society of generosity, creative culture and a desire for good art. I smiled realizing what a small world Des Moines is. My first job in Des Moines was barista at Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure, and it felt good to know that I was a part of the community; it felt good to know that all these parts of the community could come together over music, brought to us by Civic Music Association.

--Merle Domer, Civic Music Association Intern