Lead for Inclusion adds inclusive choir and songwriting classes in Bemidji

Lead for Inclusion is opening two inclusive music classes in Bemidji, giving participants a choice between an inclusive choir and songwriting workshops at Headwaters Music and Arts. The sessions will run on Saturdays from Aug. 1 through Oct. 24 at 519 Minnesota Ave., with registration closing Friday, July 24. Families and caregivers can sign up by emailing shannon@leadforinclusion.org.

The classes are being led by local musician Shannon Murray and are designed for people who have often been left out of traditional music instruction because of disability, access needs, or other barriers. Instead of asking participants to fit a pre-existing program, Lead for Inclusion is building the experience around accessibility and participation from the start. The group says its work in the Bemidji area is focused on increasing opportunities through inclusive, youth-driven innovation, with an emphasis on job and leadership skill development, community advocacy and outreach, and social engagement.

The program is backed by a Minnesota State Arts Board grant funded through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, which allows the classes to be offered as a community resource rather than a private lesson package. That state fund is one of Minnesota’s legacy funds, created by a 2008 constitutional amendment, and state guidance says it can support arts, arts education, arts access, and the preservation of history and cultural heritage.

The setting matters too. Headwaters Music & Arts says it has offered music lessons in Bemidji as a nonprofit for more than 30 years. The organization started with 7 teachers and 72 students, then moved to its current downtown location at 519 Minnesota Ave. in 1997 before growing into a full-service school of the arts. Housing the classes there puts the program in a familiar community space rather than a one-off rental room or a separate special program on the margins.

Lead for Inclusion was established as a social enterprise with help from the Initiative Foundation and the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, with a mission to co-create accessible and welcoming communities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through inclusive youth development. In Bemidji, the new choir and songwriting classes turn that mission into a weekly fall schedule, creating a recurring place where participants can write songs, sing together and take part in the city’s arts life on their own terms.