Ted Williams became a voice for homeless adults after he was discovered in early January, but a group of current and former homeless teens in San Diego is giving them a beat -- in the form of a steel drum band called the Steel Monarchs.
The troupe has been around since 1999 and is part of an after-school program offered at the Monarch School, a K-12 public school established exclusively for homeless youth.
It's one of only three schools in the nation specifically established for homeless students and the only public school of its kind with a nonprofit partnership to supplement students' needs.
Since the musicians age out at some point, the repertoire is also in flux as well. Still, the song list usually includes steel drum staples like Yellow Bird, Jamaica Farewell and Pan in A Minor, as well as (slightly) more modern compositions like My Cherie Amour and Return to Sender.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdjtFvMdUjw&feature=player_embedded[/media]
All the kids have had homes before, so they know what's that like, he said. The practices are held in the school courtyard -- which is our equivalent to a playground -- so that can be distracting to a 12-year-old. On the other hand, being in this band beats hanging out at a homeless shelter where there aren't that many things to do and there are a lot of rules they have to follow.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/12/teens-at-homeless-high-school-form-steel-drum-band/
The troupe has been around since 1999 and is part of an after-school program offered at the Monarch School, a K-12 public school established exclusively for homeless youth.
It's one of only three schools in the nation specifically established for homeless students and the only public school of its kind with a nonprofit partnership to supplement students' needs.
Since the musicians age out at some point, the repertoire is also in flux as well. Still, the song list usually includes steel drum staples like Yellow Bird, Jamaica Farewell and Pan in A Minor, as well as (slightly) more modern compositions like My Cherie Amour and Return to Sender.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdjtFvMdUjw&feature=player_embedded[/media]
All the kids have had homes before, so they know what's that like, he said. The practices are held in the school courtyard -- which is our equivalent to a playground -- so that can be distracting to a 12-year-old. On the other hand, being in this band beats hanging out at a homeless shelter where there aren't that many things to do and there are a lot of rules they have to follow.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/12/teens-at-homeless-high-school-form-steel-drum-band/
