Support for this program is provided by the Weldon F Osborn Foundation.

The Schillhahn-Huskey Foundation.

And viewers like you.

Thank you.

On today's show, we will feature two non-profits dedicated to engaging our community in music.

One offers music instruction for the underserved.

And the other offers a stage to performers of all skill levels.

Stay tuned to learn more.

Welcome to Chattanooga, Stronger Together.

I'm Barbara Marter.

In 1993, Barking Legs Theater became a home for the performing arts in Chattanooga.

Over the years, this organization has presented everything from full theatrical productions to hundreds of live concerts and arts experiences.

Ann Law is executive director and founder of Contemporary Performing Arts of Chattanooga, better known as the Barking Legs Theater.

Welcome and thank you so much for being here with us today.

I am so excited to have you tell the story of Barking Legs to our audience.

Why you started it?

I guess is your why in all of this.

So welcome.

Thank you, Barbara.

I'm so glad to be here and especially with you.

We started barking legs in 1993, so you can only imagine what Chattanooga, Tennessee really looked like in 1993.

And we had no small alternative performance space.

We had the Tivoli, we had the Memorial Auditorium, but there was no 100 seat theater.

And without that kind of grassroots, smaller environment, more intimate environment, we we knew we were losing a lot of performers, a lot of art that didn't have a home.

We had little clubs and bars, but we didn't want to run a bar.

We didn't want to run a club.

We wanted to run a nonprofit arts organization.

And and we really felt that there was a desire and a strong need.

And that's why we started Barking Legs Theater.

Well, what you did was you took your passion and you implemented it and made a nonprofit.

That's awesome.

I want to talk a little bit about how you're using that.

Okay.

So on the outside, the building are the legs, which I absolutely love.

And you've got two local artists that have painted them and did the drip paint on them, which I absolutely love when I saw those.

And that's beautiful.

And I think it's a great entrance into the community down there off of Dodds Avenue.

But one of the we've talk about four legs, which is your strategic plan.

One of those legs, which I love the the put together like that.

But one of the legs is talking about how you want the rebirth of the community in your neighborhood and everything.

Can you talk a little bit about how you're doing that?

Yes.

For years, because we were on Dodds Avenue, we would spend some time reaching out into our Ridgedale neighborhood and McCallie School with very limited success.

And I kept thinking, where are my partners?

Where is those individuals that are thinking similar to how you think?

And all of a sudden, just recently it happened.

So we have a partnership with McCallie.

We're starting to develop a partnership with Ridgedale Neighborhood Association and this gives us an opportunity to really think strategically about how to reach into our neighborhood and be able to support our neighborhood and the things that they're needing now.

We also have MillTown coming up on Main Street.

We finally have a neighborhood bar around the corner where everyone's meeting outside.

So all of a sudden, the neighborhood is really starting to see a rebirth or a renaissance period of Highland Park has experienced that.

And of course, it's just moving over into Ridge now.

So Barking Legs is really ready to become a major player there.

That's awesome.

I noticed that Jazz is back now on Wednesday nights.

How's that going.

Unbelievable.

I have to give full credit to our music programmer, our music director, Bruce Kaplan.

He has done a phenomenal job for six years.

He stayed the course and said, we have to develop jazz as an art form in our city and no one else is really doing this.

So though we took two years off during the pandemic, but he opened the doors again in March and it's been phenomenal.

April It's been full out jazz in the lounge on Wednesday nights at barking, legs packed.

The energy has been phenomenal.

And of course, our jazz musicians are off the chain.

So are you starting now to get programs going on Fridays and Saturdays and things like this?

Starting also, he's starting back with his music programing.

We just had Willie Watson.

I just feel like it's going to be one performance after another.

Yeah.

And the cool thing about it is when I went in to take I've been in there before, actually the first time I came through was the Leadership Chattanooga Class of 2000.

We went over there one day and spent a day.

I spent a couple of hours with you guys and that was my first exposure to Barking Legs because I was like, What in the world is Barking Legs?

But now I think everybody in town knows what Barking Legs is, so we.

Can make that assumption.

As well.

After they see the show today, they will know Barking Legs!

I should get back to Leadership Chattanooga and say Come on over again.

I mean, that was like 22 years ago, right?

Connection.

I love that.

I love that.

But when we talk about when I went in to take a look at it not too long ago, just to check it out, I love the the the architect inside of the lounge area, all those different chandeliers and lights and stuff.

All of this stuff is made from local artist, isn't it?

Yes, I try to.

Well, if it wasn't made by a local artist, it was definitely found in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

It was given rebirth and your life and your in your lounge.

I like.

That.

I, I have a very eclectic aesthetic and with the Jades and with live performance is and then with the artwork from local artists and, and then a twist with our other things that are in there.

It just turns out that I think it's a great environment.

It really you really feel the energy when you walk in, which is I love and I love the way that you've done the windows with the different geometric design, with the wood and everything, and all of those jade plants, which I believe the Chinese say this is wealth, riches and wealth.

Riches and wealth.

You're right.

Okay, cool.

I love jade.

My mom love jade, too, and everything.

Tell me about the piano.

Yes, the piano is a Steinway piano that is over a hundred years old now.

And it originally had its home at Roseland in New York City.

The Birdland Jazz Club.

Yes, the Birdland Jazz Club.

Over 100 years old.

So it it seems happy there and was donated by a private donor.

And musicians love to play on that piano.

A Steinway will last forever.

That's amazing.

I didn't realize that.

Okay, so the.

The lounge area, the back on the stage is it can seat up to 120.

But you will actually you can rent that out.

Yes.

And that that's another real strong commitment that we've made to our community of artists.

So many do not have a home.

There's a lot of nonprofits that don't have a home.

And we're able to keep our rental rates really, really low and invite our community of artists to come in and activate this space and and bring their artwork alive.

So the music genre is just not jazz.

I mean, you can do bluegrass, you can do rock because you have a backyard.

Yes.

That rock.

Yes.

And the acoustics and barking legs are phenomenal for just live.

But not a but not electric instruments.

So we found that the backyard you can amp that and it's just amazing.

And so now we've got kind of two different listening spaces that seem to be in great need in this community.

It also gives our young artists a chance to say, What if I produced this?

What if I present this?

And they're not stepping so far off on the limb that they're losing money?

So we keep it really reasonable and we encourage and we also do a lot of mentoring.

You know, okay, now wait.

How do you want your lights?

How do you want your sound?

How are we going to handle the ticketing?

How are we going to handle the front door?

Where were seating going to be?

I mean, all of that stuff is just basic presentation, one on one, on one, but that's how we mentor the next generation and.

Talking about the next generation Barking Legs is just not local.

You have the cultural cross ties.

Let's talk about that, about the this artwork that I saw from the lady from Israel and the young lady from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and how they are coming together to create works of art.

Yeah, about that.

So during the pandemic, I realized that our artists needed more than just financial support.

Where was the creativity?

Where was the support?

The support emotionally and and psychologically?

And I thought, if we stay in these four walls, we cannot encourage growth.

We cannot encourage our artistic community to take it to the next step.

That's when I came up with this idea to work with Sister Cities of Chattanooga and investigate our sister cities and the artists that live there.

So our first sister city that I selected was Giv'atayim, Israel.

I so I selected for artists there, put them with an artist here in Chattanooga to spend 2 to 3 months just on Zoom, talking and supporting and elevating cultural awareness, diversity and our two very diverse cities.

And out of that came the creative process where they created work together as well.

Some created dances together and musical scores and artwork.

It was amazing.

And so we've decided to continue this project and to to every sister city we have in Chattanooga, which at this point, at this very point, we have seven, but expect that to grow.

So that.

Global.

Arts community, what does it look like?

And I think we're doing a great job exploring that and also demonstrating that the love, the relationship ups that have come about will last a lifetime.

I think they will, too.

And I absolutely love getting to know you and getting to know more about the insides of barking legs.

And not only that, but the opportunities that we have to take your passion and also instill it in our schools or other nonprofits or and also promote our local artists, whether they're a painter or a songwriter or performer or whatever it is, musician of what can and how do we uplift them and promote them and make the community aware of this gift that they have and and just give them an opportunity to self express themselves and share their passion with the community.

I always think of nonprofits and I think you do too, as a resource.

And I think the biggest and best resource we have in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is our nonprofit arts organizations.

Agree with you?

I agree with you.

Thank you so much for coming in today.

This has been awesome.

I love it.

So thank you.

Thank you.

And thank you for coming today.

Up next, we will be joined by Libby O'Neil of Eastlake Expression Engine.

Stay with us.

We want to know how you serve your community.

Send us photos or videos of you or your family volunteering.

And we may feature it on a future episode email stronger at WTCITV dot org or use the hashtag stronger WTCI on social media.

Welcome back.

We are excited to have with us today Libby O'Neil, executive director and co-founder of East Lake Expression Engine.

They work with underserved students from kindergarten through 12th grade, providing free music instruction.

Welcome, Libby.

So glad that you're here with us today.

And I can't wait for our viewers to learn more about this like expression engine.

So tell me what is is like expression engine and what's the history?

Thank you so much for having me.

East Lake Expression Engine is an after school and summer music program that serves children in the East Lake neighborhood of Chattanooga.

We offer high quality music education to students who would not otherwise have access, but in a way where we focus on leadership development and their whole development as a person.

And so kind of lead me through what instruments they use.

What does a class look like?

Those type of things.

Sure, we get to do a lot of different things at Expression Engine, so our students all sing in our choir and play in our bucket band, which is all of our students together with drumsticks on five gallon buckets, playing rhythms.

It's really fun.

Oh, that's what I was going to ask you.

What in the world's a bucket band?

So that's cool.

It is.

And it's a really great benefit because a lot of times music students struggle with rhythm, but because they're in bucket band working specifically on rhythm, it becomes a strength instead of a struggle.

But they also get a chance to play multiple different instruments.

So we offer 11 instruments now.

So violin, cello, sometimes a viola, clarinet, saxophone, flute, trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion, guitar.

Wow.

So where do you find the talent to teach these students?

Chattanooga has an incredible amount of musical talent and artistic talent in general, and we just get to work with really incredible artists.

So we have teaching artists who work with our kids two or three times a week.

And then from time to time we pull in guest artists from out of town as well.

I know you have an intern program, so what does that look like?

Oh, we're so excited about our intern program.

When our students turn 14 they can work with permission from their parents.

So we hire them.

And because we work on a peer learning model, when they have started in kindergarten or second grade or whenever they came to us, they already started to learn how to teach.

So by the time they turn 14 and are eligible for our intern program, they actually have some teaching skills already.

So what we do then is build on that.

We pay them to be teaching assistants and then they're automatic substitutes.

If one of our teachers is out because they have a gig or a rehearsal, we're able to just put in a volunteer and our interns actually take the lead in those lessons.

Then we are also expanding.

This year we get to hire five more teenagers, so we're going to go up to 15 teenagers now working for us.

And they are going to also learn about other career fields.

We know we're training them well to work for an arts organization, but this year we get to expand and interact with other leaders in town and show them more options for employment.

Oh, that's so cool.

So let me ask you, East Lake Expression Engine... what does that name mean?

What it why why that name?

Well, Eastlake is the neighborhood that we're in and expression engine for our before our very first concert we had just been calling ourselves the Eastlake Music Project and we're like, we really need a real name.

And we sat in a room, the three of us who are co-founders and really wanted to reference Chattanooga.

And so Expression Engine is kind of a quiet shout out to Chattanooga.

Choo Choo has kind of a same train theme, but also we wanted to make sure that our name was reflective of multiple cultures and that we could all be there together expressing music together.

So that's where it came from.

We wanted to make sure with our name we were being deliberately inclusive.

I know that you have you had a summer camp earlier this year.

Thank you, COVID is over with.

You do that every year.

And how long does that last?

We do.

And depending on the year, it's seven or eight weeks, kind of depending on how the calendar works out.

So this year is seven weeks.

And what that does is give us a chance to go much more high intensity with our students.

We get to do two or 3 hours of music every day and then offer additional experiences for our students.

This year we got to partner with Eastlake Montessori School and so our students spent the morning kind of addressing that summer learning gap, which is especially important post-COVID and also a really fun way for them to keep their educational skills sharp and even make some progress.

And then in the afternoons we did music each day.

So it's a really fun time.

It's high intensity.

There's a particular week that we devote all of our music time to writing new, original music, and so they write words, melody, sometimes harmony, instrumental parts, all kinds of different things.

And we kind of stitch together this big piece that's made up of maybe a verse and a chorus here and a chorus there and kind of a more traditional song there, and then an instrumental interlude.

And it's really fun.

The theme, this year is peace.

And so it's really exciting to just kind of talk through like, how do we have peace inside of ourselves when things around us are not peaceful?

How do we handle it?

So yeah, summer is, is actually my favorite thing at Expression Engine because we get to just kind of dive in and spend all of our time on music, have some really fun concerts and make a lot of progress.

So you had a spring concert earlier this year?

We did, yes.

How successful was that?

It was so much fun.

It was our to date, our concert with the most students on instruments and especially in smaller ensembles.

So one of my favorites was the trumpet ensemble.

They played a whole a whole line of trumpet students playing together, sometimes in harmony, sometimes in unison.

And then the choir, this time sang in four different languages.

I'm so proud of those kids memorizing that much music in that many different languages.

Really fun to watch and a really joyful celebration and I think has an extra element of joy because we did have to take a break from those type of performances.

And so we're just really happy to be together, to have an audience experiencing music with us.

It was wonderful.

Oh, that is so cool.

You use the El Sistema movement.

What is that?

And and what does that involve?

Yeah.

El Sistema began in Venezuela in the seventies, and at that time it was the government saying to an economist, actually, who also happened to be a musician, we're losing our kids to the streets and we have to change it.

And they pretty much said, here's a budget work on it.

And Maestro Abreu, the founder of El Sistema, said, I'm going to build an orchestra and that's going to address the problem.

And over over the years, I think it was in 2020, the one millionth child just in Venezuela joined El Sistema and it has spread all over the world.

So El Sistema is high intensity music education.

So that means an hour or two every day.

So instead of just an hour or two a week, they're on their instruments every day.

It also means that peer learning model, so every student that comes in is given responsibility.

So our programing is free to our students, partly because we want to make sure there's no barrier to access.

But also we get incredible value in broadening our offerings because they learn how to teach.

So if we have a new violin student today, the new student from last week will say, this is how you open your case.

This is how you hold your instrument, because we can't do what we do without that.

We have a lot of kids and our teachers are champions.

They handle a lot of kids at once, which is not your typical music education.

So that peer teaching is really crucial to make sure we can do what we do, but also gives our students a chance to grow and build a profession if they want it.

Right.

And right before we went on air, you shared with me that you got you're doing a write up.

Yes.

The El Sistema international newsletter reached out, heard about our intern program and our ability to expand this year, which we're really excited about, and said, will you please just share about this so that other programs all across the country can learn?

And it's really fun.

That newsletter has helped Expression Engine so much, so many ideas and this worked.

This didn't, that we don't have to test everything comes from that.

So it was a joy to share and we actually facilitated that with our interns.

So they talked about their experience and I typed and they they got to share what it's like to be an intern at expression engine internationally, which is really cool.

That is cool.

That's cool.

So are there any success stories that you could kind of share with us?

There are one of my one of my favorite moments that has happened is we now have a staff member who's gone through our program.

So she started with us back in 2014 at the very beginning and was a student and progressed.

She was our first intern, so she helped us figure out what that looked like.

And now she's on staff.

She's a freshman in college.

We're so proud of her.

And it's really beautiful to see her heart for the kids and for making sure we continue to share the opportunity with them.

Oh, I just I love what you guys are doing.

And and hopefully our sharing your story with our viewers is going to help to educate them more on the difference that you're making not only with these children, but generations to come.

And I know kids learn better and more productive with the stability of music in their lives.

So thank you so much for what you're doing.

Oh, thank you.

It's such a joy.

It's a wonderful thing to get to be a part of.

And thank you for joining us today.

Let us know what you think.

Email us at stronger at WTCI TV dot org or use the hashtag stronger WTCI on social media.

I'm Barbara Marter.

And from all of us here at WTCI, we'll see you next time.

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