Visiting musicians recently connected with Muse students to share experiences and music from across the globe. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Brett Hill (also known by the stage name Brother Hill) and vocal performer/Muse alumna/teaching artist Amedee Royer toured middle and high schools with performances of “From Ohio With Love,” a distilled expression of Brett’s musical journey — a “folk music alliance” — developed over multiple creative collaborations with Ukrainian and Belarusian musicians.

The school performances sparked inspiration and joyful reactions from thousands of students across Western Ohio. One particularly memorable connection occurred at Magsig Middle School in Centerville — where several Ukrainian students were in attendance.

“They absolutely loved the performance, saying it almost brought them to tears,” said Brett. “I was able to speak some Ukrainian with them on and off stage which brought a huge smile to all of our faces, and as far as I could observe, some more context and perspective of their culture from their peers. This was an experience I will certainly not forget.”