At the upcoming All-City Art Show, young musicians at Marion Community Schools are joining forces for a special premiere performance of a song commissioned to tell the story by one special student.
The project is being facilitated by the Sing Me a Story Foundation, which gives children in need the opportunity to write and illustrate stories of their own, then have the stories turned into illustrated songs by professional songwriters.
Elliott Winegardner, a kindergartner at Frances Slocum Elementary, with the assistance of his brother Kaden, a senior at Marion High School, submitted a story to Sing Me a Story. The opportunity was brought to the family’s attention by Elliot’s teacher Courtney Etherington, who had learned of it from McCulloch Junior High School choir director Christina Huff.
Elliott Winegardner, a student at Frances Slocum Elementary, and his brother, Kaden, a senior at Marion High School collaborated on a story to be turned into a song through the Sing Me a Story foundation. (Photo courtesy of the Winegardner family)
Jonathan New, a composition major at Indiana Wesleyan University, took on the commission from Sing Me a Story and created the song. The song was then provided to our Marion Community Schools music educators, who have been rehearsing it with their students for weeks.
Elliott has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic condition that affects the motor neurons, which are nerve cells in the spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Because the muscles cannot respond to signals from the nerves, they atrophy, or weaken and shrink, from inactivity.
Elliott’s mother, Jonni Winegardner, is a bus driver for Marion Community Schools. She said the kids who have been working to prepare for the premiere of the song have been “awesome”.
“Every day it seems there’s a new kid at my bus door asking about Elliott,” she said. “They’ve all been really respectful with their questions. It’s nice that they’ve taken the time to get to know about him. They even sang happy birthday to him on video!”
Etherington even set up a question and answer time at McCulloch because the students wanted to learn more about Elliot and the challenges that SMA creates for him.
Elliott and Kaden created a “pretty cool story” about pirates, Jonni said, noting that Elliott is “super smart” but talking is pretty difficult for him. She said it was great to see how the brothers collaborated on this creative project.
“Elliott’s Song” will be premiered publicly on Saturday, May 11, by an ensemble featuring young musicians from every Marion Community Schools building. The performance is set for 11 a.m. on the main stage of the Walton Performing Arts Center, kicking off the All-City Art Show weekend. The performance is free and open to the public, as is the Art Show, open from 11 to 6 p.m. both Friday, May 10, and Saturday, May 11. (For a full detailed schedule, click here.)
“We’re pretty excited,” Jonni said. “He’s going to be right up front to see the premier. He’s really into music, so I think this is going to be really nice. He’s going to be super happy.”
A recording will be made of the performance and will later be a part of a donation drive to benefit Help the Hopeful, a local organization that provides support to families of medically challenged children in Grant County, including to the Windegardner family, who got to designate the beneficiary of the donations.
“There are all kinds of great organizations out there, but Help the Hopeful helps our own community,” Jonni said. “I could never say enough about them. They have been so helpful to us.”
Marion Community Schools is grateful for the collaboration of Sing Me a Story, Help the Hopeful, music educators across our district, along with the work our students have put in to make this special performance possible!
A group of family and friends gather for a photo at the Cure SMA Walk with the Winegardner family. The event helps raise awareness of spinal muscular atrophy, and raise funds to help find a cure for the genetic disease. (Photo courtesy of the Winegardner family)