ETHAN ALBALA CREATES MUSICAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS

 BY LYNETTE CARRINGTON D SOPHIA ELLE

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Ethan founded the nonprofit that is dedicated to bringing the drumming experience to diverse communities in Stockton in a very hands-on way, creating it when he was teaching at Stockton Unified, pre-pandemic. In working with other teachers, he saw there was lack of universal music education in the district. “There are 40-something elementary schools and not even half of them have a full-time music teacher,” he explains. “It opened my eyes… There were not enough kids getting this vital component of their upbringing.”

As a result, Ethan formed a team of people that shared his concerns that also had experience with nonprofits. “We all agreed that drumming is the most accessible form of music,” he says. “You don’t need years of training or an instrument. You can drum with your body or find pots and pans. I have some background in drumming in drum circles, so it made sense.”

Serendipitously, Ethan was contacted by a school in Oakland that was shutting down at the time, and it just happened to have 50 mint condition hand drums it needed to unload. The nonprofit now conducts community drum circles. “We went into an elementary school and did [a] 10-week long program with drum circle for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade and we got a lot of positive feedback!”

He’s also expanding the artform to other school environments. Ethan went to science camp at Sky Mountain Outdoor Education Center near Lake Tahoe and trained on-staff naturalists how to facilitate a drum circle. It has now become part of the camp’s regular program. “The impact there is insane! They see 100-200 kids a week.”

While he’s running Rhythm Works, Inc., He's also teaching full time. “It’s been a little bit turbulent with some staffing changes,” says Ethan. “When I started last year, we had a different band director and drama teacher. This year, we have a new band director and our drama teacher left, so I’ve taken over the theatre department, in addition to taking on the department chair role. It’s been a little crazy, but it’s a good crazy.”

Both a St. Mary’s High School and UOP graduate, Ethan is on a quest to get the word out to the community about the quality of Weston Ranch High School’s comprehensive performing arts program. “We have the only school in Manteca Unified that offers orchestra,” he says. “Also, this semester, we’re piloting a new course that I’m teaching, called Audio and Music Production. It’s recording arts, live sound, and really trying to set students up to be successful in this industry immediately after graduation.”

It is the only high school in the county with a dedicated audio and music production course. The goal for the course is to get graduates immediately working in careers such as theatre, sound design, or as a DJ or podcaster.

In wearing so many hats, staying organized and focused is key. “It’s about prioritizing what needs to happen and when,” Ethan explains. “We’re very project-based, so if a concert or a musical is coming up, I put a lot of my mental energy in that. On top of prioritizing the day-to-day tasks, it’s coming home and stepping away from work. That’s pretty important, too.”

Ethan’s fiancée, Bailey Nelson, teaches math at Weston Ranch, and is also the varsity girls’ soccer coach. Although they enjoy working at the same place, they came to an agreement early on when they were both working at the school, that work “ended” when they got home. In juggling the demands of teaching, concerts and coaching, and the priorities of two children, work-life balance is important.

“I love the school, and the community is awesome,” notes Ethan. “The school is so deeply connected to the community, and it has a really big impact on what goes on there.”