Harmony in the Park – How a Student's Vision Turned Sheboygan into a Symphony of Community Joy

An interactive Music Garden designed by a High School student to increase young people's interest in music has been welcomed by the local community of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Vollrath Park now includes an installation of outdoor musical instruments incorporated into a 'Storywalk,' which tells the tale of a cheeky monkey called Coda! Each of the five stations in the garden includes a musical instrument and a page of the story, written and illustrated by the project's creator, Eileen English, a student at Sheboygan North High School. In the story, Coda, the monkey, is trying to learn a new musical instrument!

Playing percussion for the Sheboygan Youth Symphony and drumline for her school, Eileen's vision was to create a musical space in her community where everyone can discover the joy of music-making.

Regarding how she planned the project, Eileen says, "I wanted to put music back into our community and get those kids interested in it again. It's an enjoyable way for people to come together. It's something that anyone can do."

To understand what instruments to install, Eileen visited local schools and their music programs, discovering what children liked about specific instruments and what barriers they faced when trying to play them.

She chose Percussion Play’s Rainbow Sambas, Harmony Flowers, Calypso Chimes Diatonic - Set of 8 Notes C4-C5, and Rainbow Cavatina and Music Book.

At one station, Eileen created her own musical instruments out of pots and pans, illustrating how music can be found anywhere and that an expensive musical education isn't needed to engage with music-making.

The local community is enjoying the Music Garden, and Eileen is seeing people of various ages come together to enjoy her story and engage in music-making.

Eileen says, "The music garden is so accessible. I see people in wheelchairs, grandparents, the other day I even saw a baby in someone's arms playing the instruments! It's a unique experience to see how intergenerational music really is and how accessible it can become. Music can be fun when people are not pressured to hit the right notes or make the right sound; they're just there to make music with their community."