I'm glad to hear the positive feedbcak. Let me give a little history. El Puente Academy is a public high school in Brooklyn, NY, developed jointly by the New York City Board of Education and a community based organization called El Puente, which means The Bridge in Spanish. The school is situated by the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburgh Bridge, but it also serves as a bridge between self and community.

Each school year El Puente Academy focuses on a theme, and the students' year long work culminates in a wonderful multimedia presentation on that theme. During the 1998-1999 school year, El Puente Academy's theme was biodiversity. The school asked me to teach a course in songwriting, and the songs we wrote would be used in the final presentation. We worked hard, and the students came up with three very good songs. We invited guest artits to visit the school and try these songs out, give us feedback, and help us over the rough spots. Four artists accepted our invitation, and each paid one such visit. The artists were Bob Malenky, Sharon Perez Abreu, Alison Kelley (later of the Johnson Girls), and Pete Seeger. We were very thankful of their support.

As I just said, the students composed three really good songs, but only one made the final cut: "May the Waters Keep On Flowing." It was first performed as part of the El Puente Academy Biodiversity Project by a Gospel choir under the direction of Alfa Anderson. For those who recall a 1970s disco group called Chic, Alfa was their female lead singer. Their biggest hit was "Le Freak." These days Alfa, like muyself, spends much of her time working with young people.

I will post the two remaining songs at another time.

--- Steve