April’s connection with Austin Classical Guitar began when she was hired as an administrative assistant in 2009. A few years later, she became the Director of Development and was an integral part of the fundraising initiatives that allowed ACG to expand its education programs. We caught up with April to see what she’s been up to since leaving ACG in 2015 to go back to school, and to ask her why she is still such an enthusiastic supporter of the organization.
Was there a particular moment or experience that connected you to ACG and its work?
My connection to ACG is the result of seeing the good it does in the community. This organization puts deep goodness out into the world, and I say that with no reservations. ACG uses guitar as a way to meet certain people who aren’t being met in other ways. For some people, classical guitar speaks to them when other things might not. I’ve heard so many stories from the education team about students using music as a way to express difficult emotions that they hadn’t found any other way to express.
ACG provides an opportunity for people to find beauty in their lives, or to define for themselves what they think is beautiful. Music can be a way to express or grapple with grief, trauma, and other difficult experiences. It’s not going to magically make everything better, but giving voice to that kind of emotion is very powerful. I love that beauty in music can be a complicated beauty. In the Lullaby Project, ACG works with young mothers who are facing extraordinary challenges to help them write a lullaby for their baby. In one sense there is a mother having a child, and there is all this joy around it, and yet these women might be incarcerated, or facing severe economic challenges. Music can express that joy and that complication at the same time.
“Beyond teaching guitar, ACG uses music to foster a community. ACG listens to people’s stories, and provides a safe space where people can share their feelings. It creates a space for everyone to feel comfortable being themselves, and that is something we should seek to do in all walks of life.”
Could you tell us about your history with ACG, and what have you been up to lately?
I actually worked at ACG for about 6 years, even though I didn’t have a background in music. I started off working in operations, and ended up as the Director of Development. It was an incredible place to work and an incredible service to be a part of.
I’m now a student at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and I hope to eventually serve as a church pastor or a chaplain, maybe in a hospital or a prison. I haven’t decided on the specifics, but that’s the general direction.
In some ways this new direction is a big shift from my work at ACG, but at the same time it’s not a shift at all. What I saw ACG doing, and the way the organization went about doing it, I remember thinking that I want to take those principles with me for the rest of my life. I first thought about becoming a pastor when I was in middle school, and then I put it away for a while. In a way, working at ACG reignited that passion for me. It’s not a religious organization, but there is a spirit in the work that is also present in my new path. ACG uses music to bring people together, and create meaningful connections, and that is what the best churches and the best organizations of any kind do, and so the transition has felt very natural for me.
Why did you decide to name ACG as a beneficiary in your will?
Beyond teaching guitar, ACG uses music to foster a community. ACG listens to people’s stories, and provides a safe space where people can share their feelings. It creates a space for everyone to feel comfortable being themselves, and that is something we should seek to do in all walks of life. Naming ACG as a beneficiary was all about how much I love what happens here. I still contribute to ACG every year, but as a student, it’s not as much as I would like. I believe in what this organization does and is, so this is a way I can still say “yes” to ACG.