How did your family get involved with ZUMIX?
My daughter, Cecilia, has always loved to sing and play music. She’s been singing and mixing beats on her own since she was four years old. Originally, she was taking piano and voice lessons at another nonprofit. She started learning the classical techniques, but then she kind of lost her enthusiasm.
We’d been to the summer concerts in Piers Park, and we’d seen some of the younger kids from ZUMIX. I said to my husband, “That is the community Cecilia needs. She needs a creative community where she can be herself.”
Immediately post-pandemic, I signed Cecilia up for the AIM program. Omar Sosa called me and told me they had a spot, and she started taking lessons with Ava [Dudani]. Ava really brought back the spark in Cecilia! She was so excited to go and learn. Ava helped rekindle that excitement for her.
Cecilia immediately wanted to learn ukulele, and then she joined the different Sprouts performing arts programs. The community—the confidence it built in her—she’s just loved it. She wants to be there. She feels comfortable. It’s her home.
We came to ZUMIX out of a necessity to cultivate Cecilia’s abilities. But we found a sense of community that we didn’t know we needed, but we now cherish.
I really love that ZUMIX belongs to the kids. ZUMIX belongs to the individuals that go there, and they feel that it’s a place for them.
How did you get involved with Walk for Music?
We live off Bremen Street, and we’ve seen the Walk for Music cross in front of our house. The noise and excitement of the Walk is not new to us, but the joy and community that exists in helping to fundraise and support is new to us in the past two or three years.
Cecilia pushed us to become more involved in the Walk a couple of years ago. She came home and told us about it, and told us we needed to be there. The first year, we donated, and last year, we started to reach out and get other people to support. Cecilia’s love for ZUMIX encourages a lot of people to donate. They see her love and passion. She insisted that this become a part of our annual tradition.
What’s the best part of the Walk itself?
The pre-walk excitement is contagious. Those 15 minutes before everyone’s getting ready to go, and people are getting excited and antsy to go outside—I like that moment. That enthusiasm and anticipation carries into the Walk.
My second favorite part would be walking within the Walk, and visiting with people that I may not have seen for a while. I start at the back; I go to the front; I’m in the middle, and I can see old friends.
Do you have a favorite Walk for Music memory?
When we walk up Orleans Street, we walk past the older people’s community between Maverick and Sumner. And they love it! The joy on their faces, seeing this excited group of individuals go by – it’s taking the love and joy that ZUMIX is and actually disseminating it into the community. It’s a great community event.
Why do you Walk for Music?
I walk for music so that my daughter can continue to have this community, but also to make sure that every kid who wants to join can be a part of the ZUMIX community.
Sabrina Carretie is an Eastie resident and a ZUMIX parent. Donate to her daughter Cecilia’s Walk for Music page here!
