Powered by Youth: More Than a Catchphrase

 
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Powered by Youth: More Than a Catchphrase

Gergely Bándi, Project Manager, Instrumental Program Leader, and music teacher, Superar Hungary

03-05-2025

Superar youth before a concert. Photo: Balazs Ivandi-Szabo.

When I received the news that, through an exchange program, I could spend four months at Zumix (a creative youth development program in Boston, Massachusetts, USA), I checked their website. I read the phrase “Powered by Youth” and thought, “Sure, it sounds good, but it’s probably just a catchy motto.”

But when I arrived in Boston and attended my first Zumix event, a Sunday evening concert at a local park, I realized those words were true. The young people were performing, emceeing, running the sound with a mixer on their tablet, taking professional-level videos and photos, collecting donations, and packing up afterward.

Zumix youth running sound for a concert. Photo: Zumix.

Near the end of my stay, I was interviewed at Zumix’s youth radio station. My young interviewer was sitting behind the mixer; she was pressing buttons and turning knobs, playing music, asking me questions. Good questions—and some silly ones too, which was fine; growing up has to include some silliness. I thought, “That’s pretty cool; here I am, a teacher by profession, being interviewed by a teenager who’s in charge of the situation.”

The stated mission of Zumix is “to empower young people to build successful futures for themselves, transforming lives and communities through music, technology, and creative employment.” Throughout my time at Zumix, I learned that they accomplish this mission by actually putting youth in positions of power and agency in the activities of the program.

In Hungary, my home country, I work as a teaching artist, instrumental program leader, and project manager at a similar organization, Superar Hungary. It was thanks to the Community Solutions Program that I was able to spend four months in the U.S. to work and learn at an organization with a similar mission.

The goals of Superar and Zumix are essentially the same: empowering children and young people to develop their individual and social skills, to boost their self-confidence, and to build communities through music. I also realized that we share some similar challenges. For example, at both Zumix and Superar, when there is an after-school music program at a partner school, sometimes the children forget to go to the program when they hear the end-of-school-day bell ring, and they just go home. A small example of a clear truth: working with young people, no matter the country, often comes with the same joys and struggles.

Superar choir concert. Photo: Marton Monus.

Zumix has been around for more than 30 years, running many different programs—from instrumental lessons, ensembles, and songwriting classes to audiovisual courses, musical theater program, and the above-mentioned radio course. Superar Hungary is much newer; it was founded as a choir program almost seven years ago. Two years later, we started the guitar program with eager students but just a few instruments. Today, Superar Hungary is present in six partner schools where we can reach underserved communities, and we recently started an ensemble program based on Zumix’s approach. This will help us to address our long-standing challenge of engaging more teenagers in our programs: young people respond powerfully to the opportunity to have a say in shaping the programs they attend!

Both Zumix and Superar are teaching more than music. Their teaching artists are helping children and young people to develop life skills and to express themselves and shape their identities. In addition, Zumix gives young people real leadership roles and responsibilities. Sure, maybe they will mess up, especially at the beginning. So what? They’re discovering that it’s okay to make mistakes; it’s part of the learning journey.

At Superar Hungary, we can’t always apply this approach in the same way, since we work mostly with younger children. But seeing what is possible shows us what we can strive for. Children are not always used to forming their own opinions or expressing their needs. Sometimes, invitations to do so are not part of their usual experience at home or at school, For this very reason, it’s especially important for us to offer those invitations! One of my students once said that she likes Superar because her opinions matter here. When students start forming their own opinions and realizing their ideas matter, the transformations can be powerful.

Zumix youth in performance. Photo: Agnieszka Rytych-Foster.

To some extent, this idea has always been important to all the Superar organizations in Europe. Even if we are working mostly with younger children, we always ask their opinions and incorporate their ideas into activities, lessons, and concerts. Our youth choir learns songs that they choose and bring to the choir leader. And sometimes, talking a bit with the students at the beginning of a class can be just as important as playing music together. That sparks creativity, engagement grows, and the learning process becomes even more effective. This year, Superar Austria’s choir will perform Strauss at their annual concert to honor “Strauss Year” (the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss ll), with texts written and re-written by the children. At Superar Hungary’s next concert, we will give more roles to the children, like emceeing or teaching a song to the audience in addition to playing music.

My time in the U.S. reinforced my conviction that what we do matters, and that we can do even more. Giving young people a voice, and opportunities to lead, is not just a nice addition to music and arts education; it’s essential.

One of the most inspiring things I learned at Zumix is that their Program Director first came there as a teenager. He grew up in the program, developed as a musician and a leader, and is now guiding the next generation. This makes their work not only effective but very authentic. I’m wondering: which of the children in our programs today will grow into our leaders? Who might be the Program Director of Superar Hungary, 20 years from now? I’m excited to find out someday.

Community Solutions Program, Creative Youth Development, Empowerment, Gergely Bándi, Leadership, March 2025, Music Education, Superar Hungary, Youth Agency, Zumix

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