MYSO’s steel bands are about far more than rhythm or technique. For the students who gather each week to rehearse and perform, the program becomes a place of belonging, confidence, and personal growth — a community that shapes their lives both on and off the stage.
Steel band director Tim Rush says that sense of connection is built intentionally from the moment students walk through the door. “We try to create a culture within that room an environment of family, of respect, of friendship, of patience,” he said. The ensemble’s welcoming atmosphere encourages students to spend time together, build friendships, and support one another. “They become friends, they become family,” Rush said.
That acceptance gives students the confidence to step outside their comfort zones. Steel band musician Cortez Sutton describes the band as “a home away from home,” where students can be challenged musically while knowing they are supported for exactly who they are.
You’re able to push yourself and really step out of your comfort zone and still be accepted,” he said.
For many students, the experience leads to lasting personal growth. Alumna Simone Ward said the program helped her become more confident, while current musician Adrianna Elliott shared that playing in the steel band helped her come out of her shell and become “more outgoing and joyful in general.”
Families notice those changes, too. Adrianna’s mother, Jodi Elliott, recalled seeing her daughter become more comfortable and self-assured. Cortez’s grandmother, Pam Oberg-Sutton, has watched the program transform Cortez over the past year. “Before he was kind of insecure, didn’t open up, didn’t talk to a lot of people,” she said. “It seemed like once the music started, everything started rolling.” Since joining the steel bands, she says Cortez has become more active at school, more engaged with others, and more confident overall.
There’s a spirit of care and inclusion among these students that is especially meaningful for younger musicians entering the program for the first time. Layla Salas remembers arriving as a nervous fifth grader, only to be immediately welcomed by the group. “They really took me in like one of their own,” she said.
As students grow within the ensemble, they also strengthen the wider Milwaukee community. When the steel bands perform throughout the city, Rush says students carry pride in representing MYSO and their Milwaukee schools. Support for the program, he says, creates ripple effects far beyond the rehearsal room — investing not only in young musicians, but in the future of Milwaukee itself.
