Well Composed

This article was originally published in the Summer 2025 issue of the GFS Bulletin.

On a gray day in early April, while Upper School students filtered into music teacher Shawn Hennessey’s "Digltal Music" class, a music video played on a projector screen. In it, a young man with shoulder-length blond hair and a fuzzy cardigan sweater sat on a stool, strumming a guitar and crooning into a microphone.

“Does anybody know who this is?” Hennessey asked as the students took their seats.

“Kurt Cobain?” one replied. 

Yes, Hennessey answered—the video was from infamous grunge band Nirvana’s 1993 set on “MTV Unplugged.”

As Cobain and the rest of Nirvana worked through “About a Girl,” Hennessey instructed each student to turn on the keyboard in front of them and urged them to pay attention to the power chords which enabled the band to swing between major and minor keys. As he picked up a guitar and strummed, he encouraged them to follow along through the progressions on their keys.

“Watch the power chords here,” he said. “See how the song gets moody really fast?”

This type of conversation might typically be reserved for advanced music students. But Hennessy’s music composition class is made up of seasoned musicians and newbies alike. The learning taking place is part of an intentional effort at GFS to ensure that every student is exposed to music, and offered opportunities to create their own, regardless of their ability as an instrumentalist.

“One of the things we try to do in this great institution is help students recognize the ways in which they have agency,” said Brian Bersh, head of the GFS music department. “And the creative process is such a beautiful way of recognizing that agency and developing a sense of self-efficacy.”

Striking a chord

Dr. Andrew Westerhaus, a music theory teacher at GFS, has witnessed a changing music curriculum in his 11 years at the Upper School. Previously, all students were required to take a music class in ninth grade. But that stretched faculty thin and lumped students with basic and advanced musical skills together. 

So about six years ago, the department modified the requirement to allow students to take two semesters of music classes at any point over their four years. Faculty expanded the curriculum by adding new classes, particularly those designed to help students make their own music. To include everyone, regardless of skill level, courses such as “Songwriting” and “Digital Music” were introduced, which allow students with limited prior instrumental or choral experience to engage with and understand music.

At the end of each school year, the work produced in music creation classes crescendos at the Composer’s Assembly, where students showcase original works, regardless of their skill or chosen media.

“It varies by interest,” Westerhaus said. “We’ve had different kinds of ensembles, like string quartets, or sometimes it’s electronic music that students have written. In more recent years we’ve had a lot of students interested in film music, so sometimes we’ll be presented with original film scores.”

In addition to expanded offerings at the Upper School, Bersh says music faculty also introduce composition work at the Lower School as one component of the general music class. In Middle School, “Composition” is one of the classes seventh grade students can choose from as part of their music coursework. 

“This cross-divisional progression creates a throughway that sets up our students to excel,” Bersh said. “GFS students learn about making music in formal settings with ensemble directors, and in informal student-directed ways that will be so important for their continued participation in music, either for their own benefit, solo or with peers, and in whatever community they choose to tap into as they move forward.”

Inside the music

The foundational premise of Hennessey’s music composition classes is that one doesn’t need to know how to play an instrument to create music. This philosophy opens the door for a broader cross-section of the student community to explore their artistry and grow as musicians.

“I think the goal for us as teachers is that everybody leaves school loving music, whether they want to start creating their own music, or just want to be lifelong listeners,” Hennessey noted.

In Hennessey's classes, students start with the basics: the components of a song, what a chord is, how to use a keyboard, and the Soundtrap software they will use to produce music. Then, they progress through various projects and genres. One week, they might break down a Bob Dylan song, and a few days later, produce a hip hop beat. The tasks become progressively more complicated. The penultimate assignment asks them to cover a song of their choosing, in any format of their choosing.

For their final project, it’s their turn to create a wholly original song that could be performed at a student coffeehouse or submitted for consideration to be performed at the Composer’s Assembly.

“Every kid leaving [this class] is going to have a baseline understanding of how music and songwriting work,” Hennessey said.

Of course, some students want more. Bersh takes pride in the scope of the Upper School’s offerings: 12 teachers running about two dozen music classes with student access to nearly 20 private lesson teachers offering one-on-one instruction. And that is in addition to the music faculty in Middle and Lower School and Early Childhood. Upper School course offerings include plenty of traditional opportunities such as Jazz Ensemble, Chorus, and Orchestra, and have also expanded to include “World Percussion” and “Chinese Instrument Ensemble.” 

The department has also worked to give advanced students further venues to create their own music. Westerhaus, who holds master’s and doctorate degrees in music theory, notes that music theory and composition classes offer robust opportunities for students to sharpen their competency.

In these classes, students begin by studying advanced concepts and techniques on their instrument of choice. By the second semester, they’re writing their own music and building up toward a longer, original piece that they’ll also share at Composer's Assembly.

These can result in full-on productions, with the composers enlisting the help of other players to bring their music to life.

“It’s one of the highlights of the year,” Westerhaus said. “It’s a great showcase of the creativity and skill these kids have.”

Fine tuning

Joe Block ’17 is one of the school’s most successful recent graduates in the music industry. And he says that’s in large part due to the creative opportunities he encountered here.

“So many of the things I’m now doing professionally involve musical direction, composing, or arranging,” Block said. “I got a really great head start at GFS.”

By the time he arrived at the Upper School, Block was already an advanced musician, studying at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts and working as a professional musician around Philadelphia. In ninth grade, he leaned into the program’s compositional offerings, starting with “Advanced Music Theory” taught by former GFS instructor, Duane Large. 

“That was great for learning the fundamentals: counterpoint, harmonization, Roman numerals, rhythmic dictation,” Block said. “It helped me to actually place out of those classes in college.”

As a sophomore, Block successfully proposed a Directed Independent Study (DIS) in musical composition with Westerhaus, studying classical composers such as Stravinsky, Beethoven, and Debussy. In the DIS, some of his projects included composing incidental music for the Upper School production of “Don Carlos” as well as a choral piece for the Upper School Choir based on Winston Churchill quotes. For his senior year capstone, Block chose to play interpretive jazz piano as a silent movie rolled on screen during the school assembly.

After graduation, Block earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the prestigious Columbia-Juilliard dual-degree program in New York City and began a career as a jazz musician. He served as associate musical director and pianist for George Clooney’s Broadway show, “Good Night and Good Luck,” applying many of the same skills he began building at GFS.

Of course, not every music student is going to end up on Broadway like Block. Hennessey frequently reminds his students that creating art has many purposes. During one class, while handing out a reading assignment, he urged students to consider the author’s meditations on the differences between creating music for oneself and creating it for others. 

“Writing songs or poetry—doing any kind of art for yourself—is awesome,” Hennessey told them. “It’s therapeutic. It’s good for you. It’s good for your soul.”
 

- by Kyle Bagenstose