In this “Spotlight On” interview, we meet Ledell Mulvaney: Fulbright scholar, civil rights activist, jazz singer, Packers fan, and ISB’s performing arts program director extraordinaire. At ISB, she teaches 2nd-7th grade music, heads the drama club, and coaches the band. Before coming to ISB two years ago, she was teaching at The Little Red School House in Greenwich Village; prior to that, she taught at the School for Ethical Culture on the Upper West Side. Her career in education began in the early 1980s, at a school in the South Bronx, where, after a week, she knew she had found her calling. Robert Sekac, ISB’s Facilities Manager, sat down with her in the music room at ISB to find out more about her plans for the performing arts program at ISB, her influences, and her formative life experiences.
Robert: How should we start off? Maybe you could tell me a little about yourself?
Ledell: I was born in Chicago, then my family moved to Kansas City; from there, we moved to Geneva, Switzerland. I went to a private school and traveled throughout Europe with my family while Dad worked for World Council of Churches. When we returned [to the US], we spent one year in Wisconsin, which is where I became a HUGE Green Bay Packers fan. Then we moved to CT, where I attended high school and had a rock and roll band. After high school, I went to Berklee School of Music, where I was the only female in all my classes in all the years I attended.
R: That must have been tough.
L: It WAS tough! It was tough because I don’t think I was taken seriously.
R: As a musician?
L: As a musician, right.
R: And you were a Fulbright Scholar?
L: I was! That was about 15 years ago. I went to Ghana for six weeks to study the culture and music.
R: You have some interesting instruments here, like that drum set. Is it African influenced?
L: I have a lot of African instruments here, as well as Latin ones: djembes, guiros, gong-gongs, bells, and maracas – anything that might pique a child’s interest!
R: I know you are very passionate about civil rights, and I understand your father knew Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What was their connection?
L: When I was in elementary school, my dad was a minister at an inner city African American church in Kansas City, Mo. He was very active in the Civil Rights Movement, and he went down south to march alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, Alabama several times. He was also invited to the White House to have lunch with President John F. Kennedy to discuss issues of the movement, and he met Dr. King there as well. My dad also organized several buses and went to the March On Washington where Dr. King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.
Whenever my dad went to a march, I was very afraid for his safety and would run home from school to see if he had been arrested or hurt by the fire hoses. But he always returned home, and like any parent, would bring me a gift. His gifts were unique: they were gifts of songs like “Back of the Bus”, “We Shall Overcome”, and “Freedom”.
R: The Jimi Hendrix song? The one he sang at Woodstock?
L: No, this one: (she sings a few bars). These songs shaped my childhood, and to this day, I teach them to my students. I have been very influenced by the non-violent teachings of MLK, Jr., and I am still active in a variety of social justice issues, especially about the environment and LGBTQ issues.
R: I know you were very saddened to hear about Pete Seeger’s passing. Tell me about your connection to him.
L: My parents had all his records. And Pete had these amazing children’s concerts that he recorded, that I listened to. And so I learned these great traditional American folk songs. As an adult, I actually met and sang with Pete Seeger – twice.
R: How did that come about?
L: I was a member of the Clearwater Singers, upstate New York, and this was a group Pete Seeger started, oh, thirty years ago. We sang on the sloop Clearwater, an environmental boat where people would come aboard to learn about cleaning up the Hudson River. Pete would stop by once in a while to see how we were doing.
The most memorable time I met him was when I was living in Connecticut. I was involved in the anti-war movement post 9/11, “George Bush Two”, and I organized a peace rally. Pete Seeger heard about it and said he was going to come. I said. “My goodness – you’ve got to sing, and we’ll put you on the flyer!” And he said, “Don’t put my name above yours.”
R: What did you sing?
L: “Down By the Riverside”
R: So you’ve done some performing.
L: Before I was a teacher, yes. I was a jazz singer.
R: Influences?
L: Oh my!
R: I know, it’s a big question!
L: Ella [Fitzgerald]. Betty Carter, Aretha [Franklin], Joni Mitchell, Sarah Vaughan… I performed in the tri-state area. I had a group – two actually. One was called Lush Life and the other, Further Notice.
R: By the way – “diva”: compliment or insult?
L: Both. Of course it’s used as an insult, but what are they really saying? The singer is strong-willed, very accomplished, and knows what she wants.
R: What made you decide to give up performing?
L: After ten years, I decided the late nights weren’t conducive to raising a family.
R: Is the rest of your family musical?
L: My sister is a violinist. My daughter is a singer-songwriter, my son a filmmaker, and my husband Don is a drummer and pianist. We all compose music.
R: I know your daughter is currently working on her first CD. Did you have any advice for her?
L: Be authentic. Be yourself.
R: What do you love most about teaching at ISB?
L: The enthusiasm the students have for learning! They make many connections between other subjects and music and sing their hearts out. Oh, and all the numerous hugs I receive every day!
R: What is your hope for the music program at ISB?
L: My hope is that every student who walks away from ISB has another language: the language of music. My hope for the drama department is that students are able to dive inside their own stories and create new ones. And that they can step inside another character and learn something. Imagination and risk-taking are great tenets of ISB’s teaching philosophy! My hope for the band is that someday they march down Court Street, proclaiming ISB in song!
R: What do you have your students working on right now?
L: On Mondays, I direct the After School ISB Drama Troupe for 3rd-5th graders. We are presently rehearsing “The Hamiside Mystery”, an original musical about the Three Little Pigs told from the wolf’s perspective. It’s a comedy caper where the audience decides the wolf’s fate.
R: I have to ask: what would be your three essential CD’S when stranded on a desert island?
L: Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue”. Any early Stevie Wonder. Joni Mitchell’s “Court and Spark”.
R: Final thoughts?
L: At the end of the day, I just want to go home and knit.
