Greetings XCI #2 - Wayland Academy

What seemed like a pre-emptive
conclusion to a musical career turned
out to be its surprising origin. A
software engineer at the time, Charity
Kahn has now released five albums of
music for children, performs live as
Charity and the JAMband, teaches
music and movement classes and
camps for kids, and also trains
educators.
Kahn lives in San Francisco where she
produces her music. Looking back, one
can clearly see her roots in music from
her childhood and education in Beaver
Dam.
When both of your parents work at
Wayland, there is obviously going to be
some expectation that you attend the
Academy. Charity Kahn was no
exception, but thankfully she recalls
her enrollment in Wayland as “one of
the best choices of my life.”
“My dad was my piano teacher, my
parents had a studio in town, and I
was immersed in that. I did a lot of
different types of music at the time.”
At Wayland she and some friends
created their own swing choir, and
overall she describes her musical
experience at Wayland as a good time.
It’s interesting to note, though, that she
was at least as interested in math,
which she majored in at Stanford
University. When she talks about the
early inspiration she gained as a
songwriter, though, she remembers the
English Department fondly.
“My English teachers were just so
amazing. I was going to love math no
matter what, but it was my English
teachers who blew my mind. When I
think about my roots as a song writer,
I owe a lot to them, especially Mr.
Patterson and Mr. Schlicker,” said
Kahn.
These days Charity is fully immersed in
life as a mother, musician, and educator.
She incorporates all three of these
aspects into her Music and Movement
classes. “In my experience, watching my
two boys and watching other kids, the
way that they learn during that first
year is through total absorption,” Kahn
said. “If they’re in a safe environment
with their caregiver there are all these
benefits to brain development. There are
certain movements that are important to
the development of their neurons and
their brains. In a class environment, a
slightly structured dance party, there’s
this tribal environment. There’s bonding
with the parent, and they’re getting that
exposure to rhythm that grows that
musical part of the brain.”
Charity Kahn will be releasing a new
album in the fall, her first in four years.
“All this music has been waiting to be
born. It must be the longest gestation
period for any album of children’s
music.” After that, she plans to
assemble an album of some of the more
grown-up songs she has written over
the years. “I have probably 80 songs in
that vein waiting to be recorded,” said
Kahn, “but the reality is that I’m not
getting any younger. I don’t just have
things to say about children and family.
I have a lot of other things as a
songwriter I want to say.”
Listen to samplings of Charity
Kahn’s music at her Web site
www.jamjamjam.com. Or visit the
Greetings Web site at
www.wayland.org/alumni/publications.cfm
where you can watch a few short
videos.
Photo credit
Image © Aaron D. Anderson, 2009
www.wayland.org 7
ALUMNI ARTISTS