At the end of the academic year, it is understandable for a teacher to want to pack up their classroom and take a well- deserved break from an active learning environment. And yet, for Samantha Spiridellis, the summer is an additional opportunity to expand her knowledge through new experiences and immerse herself in different cultures. In fact, seizing these moments is a core part of her identity as a teacher—to always be open to learning and especially from master teachers who come from a variety of different backgrounds.

“I am fascinated by learning new things, trying new things, and going to new places. I think it’s an important practice as an educator to always be enriching oneself in something new to stay inspired and to stay connected to the learning process. I want to always be in a state of growth, and challenging myself in new environments is a great way to do so,” Ms. Spiridellis noted.

The result is the joy of returning to her classes with a renewed sense of purpose and exciting new music and techniques to share with her students. Last summer, this enrichment took place in Crete, where she spent two weeks in music, singing, and folk dancing workshops. 

The spark for this experience was deeply personal. Half-Greek herself, she has always felt a strong pull toward the language, music, and dance of her heritage. In the Lower School music program, students already explore global music and traditions—learning folk dances from England, Finland, Sweden, Russia, and Ireland. But she found herself wondering what it would mean to go further. What might be possible if she traveled to Greece, studied these traditions firsthand, and brought Greek music and dance into the Nightingale classroom
for the very first time?

To make this dream a reality, she applied for the Sack Family Community Engagement Award at Nightingale
last April. As stated in the award description, it is meant “to create opportunities for students and members of
the professional community to make a deeper, more ambitious impact in community engagement, locally
or globally.”

Named in honor of Elizabeth Sack ’17 and Charlotte Sack ’19, the award celebrates their commitment to community engagement at Nightingale and beyond in their post-graduate life. The goal is to support “a course of study, travel, or other experience that significantly furthers an existing academic interest, or the pursuit of a specialized opportunity in the area of community engagement emphasizing relationships and partnerships.”

In her application, Ms. Spiridellis wrote, “In addition to ticking curricular boxes, this work is powerful in that it allows me to experience and bring back an increased awareness of how music and dance have been and are used for social utility. Greek traditional music and dance enhance community building and community strengthening, and will add to how that is expressed in the music classroom, and Nightingale. Not only will we continue to improve upon the rich curricular work in LS music, but participating and learning from masters and locals will help me understand a deeper sense of the culture that allows one to absorb nonverbal cues and nuances only one can gain by engaging with the source.”

Within her application, she described several organizations she would be interested in working with
in Crete which were recommended to her by Dimitri Carabas, founder and director of Meraki Laographic Arts, a local Greek music and dance education organization based in Astoria, Queens.

As she pressed submit on her application, it felt like taking a leap of faith. “I was facing a crossroad and was unsure about what direction to take and said to myself, ‘If I get the award, then this will provide me with the clarity on what to do next,’” Ms. Spiridellis recalled. When she learned she had been awarded the funding,
she was ecstatic. Her gratitude towards Nightingale for being able to engage in this type of professional development is boundless.

The first week of her studies in Crete took place at Meronas—Cretan Music and Dance Workshops, where she studied Cretan violin with Stratis Skarakis, focusing on the style of music from Kissamos to accompany dancers in the Syrtos and Pentozali dances. A violinist since the age of six, Ms. Spiridellis found this week to be eye-opening and exceptionally creatively fulfilling. Classes would typically run from 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. followed by an extended break and then pick up again from 6:00–10:00 p.m. But the night was far from over at that point. Participants would gather for a late dinner, then inevitably pull out their instruments, with music and dancing following well into the night.

“Some of the songs were old poems being sung, some were being traded back and forth amongst singers. The music had its own pulse beyond tempo, where once it started, it was its own living being that continued on and on and on. These music sessions would last beyond sunrise. We still had class at 10:00 a.m. so I had to eventually go home. Let’s just say I got less and less sleep as the week went on, though I learned how significant these gatherings were for understanding the music we were learning in the workshops,” Ms. Spridellis recalled.

Her second week was spent at the Labyrinth Musical Workshop studying Greek folk songs from different regions of Greece including islands, the Balkans, those affected by the establishment of borders, and those exiled from homelands in Asia Minor. This workshop was women-only and followed a similar schedule to her first week of workshops. Here, she was able to study with Greek singer and music historian Martha Mavroidi. To have access to her wealth of knowledge surrounding Greek history and the diaspora, observe her passion for music, and to be a part of such an inclusive learning environment was the experience of a lifetime.

Ms. Spridellis was also fortunate to be able to study with Greek composer and lyra player, Kelly Thoma that week as well. “Getting to play with her students in a multi-instrumental ensemble with various international people was inviting, eye-opening, and life changing. She was extremely encouraging, genuine, and loved to connect with me and her students. She truly welcomed me to her class even though I was registered for the singing workshop. It was a fantastic eight-hour experience,” she said.

When Ms. Spiridellis thinks about the main takeaway from her time in Crete, she’s quick to share that there’s nothing like cultural immersion. In her mind, true understanding comes from being fully present, witnessing traditions firsthand, and in her case, being fortunate to participate in them. As a music teacher, her experience reinforced her philosophy of fostering genuine, inclusive musical engagement in her classroom.

By bearing witness to a living cultural tradition, it helped her to think about how to welcome more students in and create a vibrant, collaborative environment where everyone can connect and “jam” together.

She shared, “Sometimes as teachers, we come into the classroom with a lesson, a plan, or a goal—but it’s really about the experience of making music together when it comes down to it. How can we really just play music, have fun, sing, and in the process, everyone gets to find ‘their’ thing. Maybe this student really loves singing, this one really loves dancing, or whatever it may be. I just want to continue to help students find what is their thing within an ensemble. Then, build that space and community within each class, so they can find their own sense of self within that.”

With spring on the horizon, Ms. Spiridellis will be hosting Dimitri Carabas to teach Greek folk dancing with the Lower School, incorporate playing Greek instrumental music in her classes, and of course, continuing to lead with curiosity, inclusivity, and a sense of play, all of which were essential components in her workshops from the summer.