It is afternoon in hot and humid Zanzibar, the beautiful East African island off the coast of Tanzania. Derrick Rainey, 25, is teaching a music class. He came all the way to Zanzibar from his home in Little Rock, Arkansas to teach this class. On his laptop, he plays some different types of music for the students, two underemployed and undereducated twenty-somethings who are taking the class as an elective.

“I would play some songs from different genres—blues, rap, classical—and the students would say ‘That isn’t music,’ to one song, but ‘This is music,’ to another one,” Rainey says. “After it went on for a while, I finally said, ‘It’s all music. Music is everything, music is everywhere. Music is universal.’ That became our class motto from that point on. Different cultures have different ideas of what music sounds like, but it’s all music just the same.”

Rainey (right) is pursuing a master’s degree in public service from the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. He also happens to be a life-long musician and skilled cellist, a former City Year volunteer, and a graduate of Morehouse College, where he became a member of the national Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity, which promotes “the advancement of music in America.” It’s through tying all these streams together that Rainey’s identity as a Service Artist becomes apparent. 

His studies at the Clinton School brought him to Zanzibar to conduct a ten-week international public service project in partnership with Creative Solutions Resource Systems (CSRS), a local NGO that promotes community development through education and health awareness. CSRS offers two-year certificate programs in computer technology and English. Engaging primarily teenagers and young adults who are unable to complete their formal education, CSRS enables youth to develop valuable skills that help them in the competitive job market.

Rainey’s objective was to develop and launch a sustainable music program that would support and reinforce the students’ core education while allowing them to discover new creative outlets. “The curriculum I developed takes a practical and foundational approach to music education,” Rainey says. “It doesn’t go too deep into advanced music theory; it takes a basic approach – looking at how to read notes, build chords, understand rhythm, and eventually how to start writing songs and making music.”

In fact, the music curriculum Rainey developed can be seen more as a means to an end than an end in itself. “One of the students I was working with—and she is not atypical of the type of students CSRS deals with—was 23 years old but had only a first grade education,” Rainey shares. “Obviously, she had some major barriers to overcome in terms of her English ability.”

With this in mind, Rainey designed the curriculum to straddle the intersection between pure music education and core linguistic skill development. “I tried to take an arts integration approach to the course by incorporating poetry, writing and translating lyrics, and encouraging songwriting as a way to develop English fluency,” Rainey says. “And in the process of doing all that, students are also strengthening their creativity and collaborative instincts, which are also important skill sets for the job market.”

Now back in the U.S., Rainey looks back positively on his experience. “That was really my first time taking on the sole role of music teacher,” Rainey reflects. “Just the act of teaching provided significant personal and professional growth for me. When you take on the responsibility of teaching others, it really makes you become more closely involved with the subject at hand. I’ve started teaching cello for the first time here in Little Rock now, and I’m really excited about it.”

To get the music program off the ground, Rainey also played the role of fundraiser. “We raised approximately $1,100 to purchase and ship 13 ukuleles, 10 recorders, 10 slide whistles, 3 roll up pianos, and 40 kazoos, as well as extra strings and 3 tuners,” Rainey reports. “It took a while for everything to arrive, but they’re being put to good use now.”

As for the two students he had to leave behind in Zanzibar? “They took on the responsibility of continuing the music program and have now become the ongoing teachers for other students.” Teachers, like music, are universal.