Orpheus Academy's 20th-Anniversary Poetry Contest Winners

To celebrate the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Orpheus Academy(!), we invited students to submit poems about either making music with friends or making music to change the world.

We received so many great entries, and are excited to now share the winning poems with you!

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Grand Prize Winner:
Amelia C.

Amelia's poem will be featured in Orpheus Academy's 20th-Anniversary Anthem, to be composed by Dr. Ruth Meyer Sacks and performed live at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.!

Amelia has also won $500 and 1 free month of music lessons!

"Love of Music"

I hear music, it’s everywhere
In the leaves and in the air
In the bushes and in the ground
Music is just all around

I hear it as I swing in trees
I hear it in the buzzing bees
I love the sound, it makes me glad
I love it even when I’m mad

Thundering drums, soft violins
Strumming guitars, and whistling woodwinds
All these instruments so bright, so proud
A single note could lure a great crowd!

Music is best when played from the heart
But even better when friends play a part
Music has a purpose, one other
It is greatest when shared with another!

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Additional Prize Winners:

The following students have won 1 free month of music lessons, as well as their choice of a free ukulele or 3 months free rental of a guitar, piano, violin, or cello!

"Above the Skies" by Aarush T.

​Above the skies 
before my eyes, 
Angels singing 
a lovely tune. 

I float up 
all seems well, 
but when I look 
down to the ground, 
I see the world, 
Sadly, going by, 
with no hope 
to guide them.  

But when Angels come 
to bring a song 
down to the world  
beneath the clouds 
there is hope 
That they go by, 
so peacefully. 

But when devils come, 
they take the song  
And we all 
sadly, go by. 

But we have a gift, 
of making music 
to make the world 
smile again. 
And if we do, 
we all will float, 
to listen to, 
The Angels’ song.  

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"Music" by Anna-Caterina T.

​Music is yellow happy,
Music is blue sad,
Music is all around, 
on every ground we step.

Music is in nature, 
Music is in plants,
Music is part of our environment.

Music makes sounds,
Sounds make happiness,
We all sing together,
The melody will last forever.

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"Music Is Fun" by Anya T.

​It can be played under stars or sun.
Music is for love,
Like peace is for dove.

Music is harmony,
As sweet as honey.
Let us all sing a wonderful song,
It doesn’t have to be long.

Music is the light,
That shines so bright.
Music is as colorful as a flower,
As soothing as summer’s first rain shower.

Let us all come together,
And think of music forever.
Let us join hands,
And let music be the only language of our land.

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"Untitled" by Eliana T.

​School shootings, sadness, unkindness, and fears
I hear it. I feel it. I shed many tears
When I make beats and songs, I spread pleasure and cheer
People who hear my music forget that worry is near

Joyful, happy, peaceful, and free
That’s what my music does for me
Pop, hip-hop, classic and more
I create music that’s fun for sure

I now play violin, and it’s another way for me to express
Calmness, gladness, and forget about my stress

The birds are going to sing
The sun will come out from hiding
My music will help people all over the world to stop crying

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"When I Go to School" by Elise A.

When I go to school
​I go to my class
And when we're done with PE
We go to music class
And I play music with my friends
And we make silly songs
And when we're done with singing class
We go to eat our snack
And the next day after PE
We go to music again
And when we're at music
We make peaceful and beautiful songs.

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"Every Time You Play a Piece" by Ethan L.

​Every time you play a piece,
Every time you press a note, 
Every time you sing a line,
Of a song you just wrote,

Every time you sing with friends,
Gathered in a grassy field,
Every time you play guitar on stage,
The music swirls out to the world.

The music you just played,
The notes that you just sang,
The perfect melody that you performed,
It spreads out to the world.

Your music flies around the world,
Each and every day and night,
In many people your music swirls,
And imagination starts to take flight.
From songs and poems, to the invention of the century,
Anything is possible, anything could happen,
And just because you pressed one single note.

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"Music" by Grace L.

Music spreads around the world,
Every day and every night.
Music swirls around the world,
Around and around in many circles.

When you think about marvelous music,
Think about the guitar, the great guitar,
Think about the piano, the perfect piano,
Think about the flute, the fantastic flute.

All the amazing instruments ,
All the amazing powers people have to play them.
All the amazing composers we have met,
Pianists, guitarists, everyone.

I am a pianist, she is a guitarist,
He is a composer, we are all…
MUSICIANS! We are all musicians!

"My Saturday" by Louisa B.

​Today I am exited. Why, you ask?
Well, today I get to play my instruments.
You see I am the leader of a garage band.
They come every Saturday.
When they come,
We start by playing the blues,
Then we rock out,
Play Pop.
Then we have a disco party.
We drum and we hum,
We use the flute and the kazoo.
We play the electric guitar that can be heard from afar.
We play some country and the violin,
We play the cello.
And who would and could forget the piano?
We play the tuba ,
We play the trumpet.
We play and we play,
Until we stop.
Then we sing.
High pitched and low pitched,
We sing sad songs and happy songs.
Then whats next you ask?
It’s time to leave.
We say goodbye and say,
See you next Saturday!

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"Duet" by Lynn H.

​When my fingers dancing on black and white keys
When brother's fingers brushing across silver and clear strings
Sweet melody fills up the house
Melting mom’s heart
Brightening dad’s face

When my fingers dancing on black and white keys
When brother's fingers brushing across silver and clear strings
Gleaming melody flows into the backyard
Rising high to the blue sky
Dropping low to the green lawn

When my fingers dancing on black and white keys
When brother's fingers brushing across silver and clear strings
Soft melody drifting through the ocean
Sending the holiday greetings to grandparents
Afar on the other side of the world

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"Music Can Be Loud" by Priscilla C.

​Music can be loud,
Music can be quiet.
But always there’s a sound,
And you have to just try it,
To see if it fits with the rest.

To play a duet,
Or a quartet,
Or maybe even more!
Have fun with the music,
And the tones you get to pick.

No matter how silly the song,
You’ll remember for very long,
The fun experience you had,
And the bonding time,
The beautiful music,
Like a wind chime.

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"The Beat Meet" by Taos P.

​Everywhere I go, 
(if there is a surface)
I will go… 

 knock 
  knock 
   knock 
    knock’ n 
     knock 

It sounds boring, 
but it’s actually not 
(it’s fun to me)

My mom likes it.
But I bet if you hear it, 
you will like it, too. 

You can try it at home. 

 Just 
  like 
   me
    - e -
     - e -

You can do it anywhere. 

I am not afraid to show 
my beating to everyone. 

 You can do it. 
  You can do it. 

(Even if you don’t think you can)

You can count on me.

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"At the Sound of Music" by Vihaan V.

​At the sound of music, there is peace,
At the sound of music, there is joy,
At the sound of music, there is love,
At the sound of music, there is nostalgia

To the sound of music, nature blooms,
To the sound of music, babies smile,
To the sound of music, puppies prance,
To the sound of music, peacocks dance,
To the sound of music, nightingales sing

At the sound of music, the world is renewed,
At the sound of music, the world speaks one language,
At the sound of music, the world comes together,
At the sound of music, the world heals

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Thank you to everyone who participated for expressing and sharing your wonderful words about music with us.
​
​Congratulations to all of our winners!