JEFFERSON COUNTY — Mary Bowlen took a trip to Hawaii five years ago and came back with a whole new way to teach music to her students.
At a friend’s house in Hawaii, Bowlen, the music teacher at Montessori Peaks Academy in southern Jefferson County, spotted a small stringed instrument sitting in the corner and asked about it. The friend gave her a quick introductory lesson on the ukulele.
“He showed me a few chords and I fell in love with it,” Bowlen said. “The next thing I knew I was talking to (principal Char Weaver) about getting it into the school.”
Bowlen and Weaver were able to acquire some ukuleles for the school and, the next year, Bowlen started an extracurricular ukulele band for 15 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. The group meets once a week after school and has regular performances scheduled throughout the year. Bowlen, a flute player by training, also uses the ukulele to teach some basic music theory to her students.
Children who sign up for the after-school band pay a small fee for T-shirts, printed music and bus service to gigs. They must also rent or own a ukulele to practice at home. Bowlen stresses practice, practice and more practice to her students throughout the year.
“If they want this to be a strong group, they have to practice at home,” she said.
Over the years, the group has played at its regularly scheduled concerts for parents and also at a Jefferson County Board of Education meeting, local nursing homes, a charter school conference and an annual Veterans Day performance.
The group will co-host an event with the art department on April 17.
“It’s been a nice value-added for us. They can anchor certain things,” Weaver said, adding that she sees great improvement in many of the students who participate in the band.
“I see them really grow in their confidence. It just looks like a ball — they have smiles on their faces. They represent the school in such a nice way.”
At a March 12 rehearsal, Bowlen led the students as they practiced “Here Comes the Sun” and “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles and “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding.
Bowlen said she programs songs like these, as well as a lot of Americana. The students sing along on some of the tunes.
The band has become a hot commodity at the school, but Bowlen said she likes to limit the group to 15 members. She said she is considering expanding next year. Fourth- and fifth-graders who are in the group the previous year are guaranteed a spot the following year, but sign up is first-come, first-served after that.
Ruby Driscoll, a sixth-grader, is in her third year in the group and plays a solo to kick off “Here Comes the Sun,” which she said is her favorite song to play. Driscoll said she enjoys how Bowlen teaches the class and that she plans to keep playing ukulele next year when she moves to middle school.
“I think she’s an amazing teacher,” Driscoll said of Bowlen. “I like that she puts humor into it.”
Parent Ali Williams, who has a fifth-grader in the group, said she has two other children who play music, but they never got the opportunity to play in a ukulele band, noting how unique an opportunity it is.
“It’s so much fun and there’s lots of great songs,” Williams said, adding that Bowlen “keeps their interest piqued.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
Ukulele band performance and art show
When: 6:30 p.m. April 17; band plays at 7 p.m.
Where: Montessori Peaks Academy, 9904 W. Capri Ave., Jefferson County
More information: 303-972-2627;
