A Valley in Rhythm

Music Education Grants help students discover the power of music

AIMA Saxophone Quartet from Spain performs and holds a masterclass with students at Glenwood City Schools thanks to a Music Education Grant from St. Croix Valley Foundation.

In classrooms across the St. Croix Valley, music is doing more than teaching students how to play instruments. It helps them find their voice, understand different cultures, and connect with the world around them. Thanks to St. Croix Valley Foundation Music Education Grants, students in Taylors Falls and Chisago Lakes, Hudson, and Glenwood City experienced the power of music in quite different ways this spring—from hands-on world drumming to cultural exchange and a world-class artist residency. Together, these three programs tell a single, unfolding story of music expanding a student’s world from the inside out.

These stories are part of the Foundation’s 2025 Music Education Grant Program, which awarded $42,000 to 21 schools across the St. Croix Valley.

Finding Their Voice, One Beat at a Time

It starts with a drum. At Taylors Falls Elementary and Chisago Lakes Primary School, music specialist Carmel Leasure teaches nearly 700 students, including approximately 130 receiving special education services. For years, she watched her students light up the moment they began drumming together. She also watched them wait for a turn.

A student at Chisago Lakes Primary School explores sound and beat with a drum.

A St. Croix Valley Foundation Music Education Grant is changing that. The Dynamic Drumming project funds a diverse collection of world percussion instruments — DunDun drums, Native American log drums, cajons, talking drums, and caxixi rattles — with one clear goal: a drum for every student, every class, every day.

"Every student has a voice. It is my mission to encourage every child to use theirs," Carmel says.

Through three units — composing original sound stories, improvising in group drum circles, and exploring world drumming traditions — students are learning that music begins with listening to yourself. For neurodivergent learners especially, the hands-on, sensory-rich experience of authentic drumming creates connection that digital lessons simply cannot.

Drumming as a Bridge Across History

Once students find their own voice in music, they become ready to hear someone else's. At Hudson Middle School, 6^th grade music teacher Lori Bahneman has spent the school year preparing her students for exactly that moment. Their classroom listening lessons have explored traditional throat singing, jazz, blues, opera, and Native American music, genres chosen deliberately to expand young ears and open their minds.

This spring, those lessons came to life. Supported by a St. Croix Valley Music Education Grant, Bahneman brought a Native American (Dakota) Drumming, Dancing, and Singing Performance Group to perform for all 6^th grade students. Five drummers and singers and six dancers, led by traditional Dakota singer and community leader Leo Gunner Baker from the Upper Sioux Indian Reservation near Granite Falls, Minnesota, showcased traditional songs and dances, explained their significance, and invited students to join in.

Native American (Dakota) Drumming, Dancing, and Singing Performance Group visits Hudson Middle School.

Lori says, "Middle schoolers are at an age where the world is starting to get bigger, and they're figuring out where they fit in it. Having the Dakota community share their traditions with us as a living, breathing experience rather than a history lesson, gave my students something no textbook or video can: the understanding that other cultures aren't just things to learn about, they're people to learn from."

The experience didn’t start or end with the performance. Students came prepared through months of classroom learning about Dakota traditions and the cultural significance of music. After the visit, Advisory teachers led reflection discussions. Students left with an understanding that music embodies the weight of history, identity, and community, and that listening is an act of respect.

A World-Class Quartet Comes to a Small Town

Glenwood City is a small district of about 680 students and ranks among the top ten in the state for music participation. This April, High School Band Director Matt Lamb hosted one of the most exciting young chamber ensembles in Europe.

The AIMA Saxophone Quartet, formed in Mallorca in 2024 and winners of multiple international competitions, toured the United States. A St. Croix Valley Foundation Music Education Grant brought them to Glenwood City for a full-day residency, including a concert for the school and broader community, followed by afternoon masterclasses with district band students. For young musicians in a small Wisconsin town, sitting across from performers who have played the Madrid Sax Academy and concert halls across Spain, the message landed clearly: excellence has no zip code, and the world of music is open to them.

Matt says, “When you grow up in a small town, it's easy to think the world's greatest music happens somewhere else. This residency says otherwise, and our students will never forget it. Bringing a world-class musical group to our little community inspired our young musicians.”

The Power of Music Education

In schools across the St. Croix Valley, music is helping students discover confidence, creativity, cultural understanding, and connection. In Taylors Falls and Chisago Lakes, students found their own rhythm through drumming and storytelling. In Hudson, students experienced music as a bridge between cultures and traditions. In Glenwood City, young musicians saw that world-class artistry can reach even the smallest communities.

Together, these programs remind us of what music education does: it helps young people learn to hear the world and find their place in it.