Ben Nordstrom, the executive director of St. Louis Children’s Choirs, chats about the organization’s mission with Michael V. Smith, the E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor of Music Education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, during the E. Desmond Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative 2024-25 kickoff on Mon., July 29 at The Sheldon (Photos by Heather Riske).

Aurelia Hartenberger thought long and hard about what instruments to bring with her to the annual E. Desmond Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative kickoff earlier this week. Hartenberger owns World Music LLC, which brings its eclectic collection of over 3,000 historic musical instruments and artifacts to local schools through traveling exhibits, and she wanted to make an impression on the local arts educators gathered for the event.

The Paris 2024 Olympics, which kicked off just days earlier, made for a timely theme. On Monday morning at The Sheldon, Hartenberger showed off a collection of musical instruments all made in France – mostly in Paris – during the 1700s and 1800s and chatted about them with educators from 15 partnering St. Louis-area school districts.

Aurelia Hartenberger, the owner of World Music LLC, chats with a guest about the organization’s collection of historic musical instruments and artifacts.

“I come to your school, all paid by Des Lee and everything, and we have a display cabinet,” Hartenberger told the crowd. “Every month, we usually change it with different things – the most popular theme right now is Heritage Month, and then I do some on STEAM.”

Hartenberger was just one of the many representatives from the 26 Des Lee fine arts partner organizations on hand for the collaborative’s 2024-25 kickoff. The collaborative seeks to make fine arts education more accessible, especially to underserved populations, by fostering connections between St. Louis students and local educators, artists and performers. Its annual kickoff event offers an opportunity for educators to discover ways for their students to get involved with everything from ballroom dancing to classical guitar to opera.

“It takes a village, as the saying goes,”said Michael V. Smith, the E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor of Music Education at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. “The Des Lee Fine Arts Education Collaborative is just such a unique community of fine arts educators. The collaborative is supported by both an endowment created by E. Desmond Lee as well as the University of Missouri–St. Louis. By combining efforts and resources from across the community, we all have a better opportunity to create a synergy that can fuel the power of the arts in students’ lives.

“The kickoff has become a gathering place where community fine arts educators can come together and stoke a fire of enthusiasm and energy for the new school year, taking music, visual arts, dance and theater out into St. Louis schools, as well as bringing students on field trips to many St. Louis concert halls, studios and galleries.”

Smith kicked off the event by immediately turning the mic over to representatives from each of the participating organizations in the collaborative, including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, St. Louis Dancing Classrooms and Pianos for People, who shared more about the opportunities they offer to help students get immersed in the arts.

Andy Lewis, the education coordinator at the National Blues Museum, shared how the museum is ramping up its educational programming to get students interested in the history of St. Louis blues, while Lauren Hanahan of Missouri Alliance for Arts Education explained how the nonprofit organization is delivering on its mission of arts integration in the classroom.

“We are also looking for schools to be part of our arts-centered education program where we will bring in teaching artists to work specifically with you either in a small cohort, in a one-on-one setting or it could be your whole school,” Hanahan said. “We are very flexible in building a specialized program that works for you at no cost to your school.”

Accessibility is a major throughline in the work of the collaborative, which specifically aims to improve arts education programming for ethnically and culturally diverse students who qualify for free or low-cost meals through the National School Lunch Program. Ben Nordstrom, the executive director of St. Louis Children’s Choirs, explained to the group of educators how the organization seeks to make its programming accessible and affordable to all with the help of the collaborative.

Angelia Butler, an art teacher at Normandy Middle School at Lucas Crossing, chats with representatives of the Scottish Partnership for Arts and Education. Butler has been working with the collaborative for three years.

“We are so proud to offer full financial assistance or as much financial assistance to any and every family that needs it,” Nordstrom said. “We have never, ever lost a family due to finances. If your students cannot make it to our tiny little campus for a placement interview, we are eager to talk with you and find a way to come to your school and audition your students after school on a day that works for you. We want to make it work.”

Angelia Butler, an art teacher at Normandy Middle School at Lucas Crossing, has been working with the collaborative for three years. She’s taken students to a Des Lee art project at UMSL and on field trips to the Saint Louis Art Museum, and she was particularly excited to learn more about newer programming like the Story 2 Stage program, recently launched by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and The Sheldon’s Sound Studio for middle schoolers. As an art teacher, she appreciates the opportunity to think outside the box and offer new experiences to her students.

“This is an excellent program with lots of resources,” she said. “You see how to open your mind to think of how you can use this music component as an art teacher.”