Highlights from Ken Waldman's September 2026 4-week Alleghany Highlands Arts Council Residency
Highlight #1:
The Saturday after Ken Waldman's second week in schools, he played fiddle from approximately 12:30 to 3:15 for the Farm Fest at the Jackson River Sports Complex. He was mainly background music where it didn't make sense to talk, or tell stories, which is what Ken does in lots of settings. The ones who seemed to be paying the most attention were young children—some of whom mentioned they'd seen him earlier in the week at one of elementary schools. That gave Ken an excuse to play Old McDonald, Pop Goes the Weasel, and others from his youngest kids' repertoire. He also had an excuse to try out his unannounced, but brand-new recently-composed Alleghany Highlands Waltz which he later officially debuted at his September 30th show.
But the highlight? That was when Ken was packing up around 3:30 when a mom with two children in tow came up to introduce herself. One of her children was a high school student. The other was a fifth grader, who had pointed Ken out. "THAT'S HIM."
The mom explained that her younger daughter attended the elementary school Ken Waldman had visited the day before, Friday, where instead of meeting with individual grades, it was a single larger assembly of all the 4th and 5th graders, approximately 160 students total, plus teachers. It was in one of those multiple use spaces, which might be a cafeteria, might be an auditorium, where students were sitting on the floor. There was a stage, which Ken didn't use. Fortunately there was a working sound system, and the school had a portable white board (so Ken didn't have to carry the white boards which he has with him in his van, or use his own little emergency sound system).
Just to say it's not the easiest setting. Every school Ken visited was different. At another elementary school he met students by grade level, all in the gym (and thanks to a staffer Ken was able to revise the schedule on the fly that morning to allow a more impactful program). At another, larger, elementary school, there were good-sized groups of approximately four combined classrooms every hour in a theater space. At a fourth elementary school, the plan had been to only have Ken in contact with those coming to music class that day, but it was switched so all in the grade level could see him at once—it was not a large school so all could fit in the small music room. The middle school, high school, the alternative school, and a local boarding school all had their own spaces and times. That Friday at the elementary school Ken Waldman had visited the preceding day they had 160+ 4th and 5th graders sitting on the floor. Failure in that kind of setting can be akin to a train wreck.
But the mom who came and introduced herself said that her daughter was so excited by the assembly at her school that she spoke to her about it for a half hour when she came home from school that day.
So Ken Waldman had made an impression, which is why he's invited to communities like Alleghany County. And, of course, if Ken made an impression like that to the one 5th grader, which made an impression on her mother, he had to have made a similar kind of positive impression to others at the school. The next week, with a small gap in Ken's schedule, that same elementary school added a second morning there where Ken had brief meetings with all the 1st and 2nd graders in individual classrooms. That also seemed to go well—teachers asked to have him back, but that wasn't able to be coordinated during the last week.
Highlight #2:
Early in the day at the largest of the elementary school, one of the sessions was a bit problematic since the whole special education group was also in the room, and their needs were different than the more than one hundred fourth graders. But Ken offered a lesson he can reliably offer that age group—after playing music, showing some of his own books, and talking briefly about Alaska, Ken read a poem written by a fourth grader from the book Wishes, Lies, and Dreams, edited by Kenneth Koch. That led to an interactive group poem where Ken chose volunteers to tell Ken one of their wishes, which Ken writes on the board, so there's a list of wishes. In other words it's a group poem written on the fly, and also a model for what Ken does next, which, depending on the age, he'll turn into a Simon Says game, which has students eventually making their own list of wishes—sometimes after drawing a face.
The highlight for that group was when one of the teachers in the room noticed that one of the students, who they knew as seemingly problem-free, had listed a few exceptionally dark wishes. The teacher only mentioned it to Ken later after first alerting a counselor at the school.
This has happened before with that particular writing exercise/prompt, and Ken has had school counselors tell him how helpful that can be. While the wishes can be as innocent as owning a puppy dog, or riding a unicorn, it can also lead to wishing a parent back home, or a sibling to stop hurting them, or, well, you get the idea.
It was a highlight that a writing exercise in front of more than hundred students might have helped one of them get necessary help to process issues at home.
Highlight #3:
Ken enjoys performing so it was especially satisfying that a group of three young men, who might have been in their late twenties, who sat in the front row of the September 9th show, returned with a friend to the September 30th show. But it was more than that. Because they attended that first week's show, they learned of a monthly local bluegrass jam session, which they attended, and which they plan to attend next month. They were glad to see Ken there at that same jam--attending it was part of Ken's residency activities--and which may have led to their returning to the September 30th show. One of the young men bought a poetry collection. The whole group clicked several photos of themselves standing with Ken.
Highlight #4:
This is similar to the third highlight. When Ken accompanied the arts council director to the high school Student Volunteer Fair during his first week in the community, he talked at length with two high-schoolers. While Ken didn't remember them well enough to recognize them when he visited the high school two weeks later, they remembered Ken, and were inspired to attend the September 30 show, which they told him afterwards they loved. One student wanted a poetry book, but didn't have the money, so one of the friends lent some money—it didn't feel right to just give the book away, so Ken made a deal, and sold the book at a discount. Everyone was happy that Ken signed the book as well and some poetry cards, and those high-school students also asked to have a group photo with Ken.
Highlight #5:
After the September 30 show, Ken spoke afterwards with the head nurse at the assisted living home which Ken had visited a week and a half earlier. Ken had spoken with the nurse briefly after his set there, and the nurse said she'd come to the September 30 show. Indeed she had and wanted Ken to know that the live music he played there made a real difference to the residents at the home there, and she was already exploring how to build further on that.
Again, it was an example of making a difference.
Highlight #6:
Ken Waldman didn't meet everyone in the community, nor all the arts council board members, but he met many, including teachers who could attest to the work he did in their classrooms at the high school and the boarding school. There were others who saw him at one or both of his September public shows, or saw him playing fiddle while riding in a convertible at the Labor Day Parade, or on stage at the Farm Fest, or at one of the meetings Ken attended—Delta Gamma Kappa, Friday Morning Coffee Club, the Church service, the Friday night bluegrass jam session, the local Women's Club—they all can offer their thoughts at the impact Ken had in the community. And not to forget the local fiddle teacher, known as the Violin Lady, who allowed Ken to visit four of her strings classes at the local schools. She not only had some of her young students, with guardians, come to the September 30 show, but she midway through she came onstage to play twin fiddle with Ken (and even learned one of Ken's original tunes).
Highlight #7:
Not only did Ken compose an original waltz for the community, which he officially debuted at the public show that final week, but he wrote acrostic poems for all eight schools as well as acrostic poems for the larger communities in the county, and an acrostic for the county itself. Every student Ken met received at least one of his poems. If a student, or a whole class, writes to Ken, his promise is to write back (as long as there's a return address on the envelope).
The poem Ken wrote for the town of Clifton Forge was even posted on the town's website, and on to its Facebook page. It was edited to make the acrostic more obvious. Here it is:
