Rye History Spotlight: An Interview with Julie Corbalis

Julie Corbalis is a 7th Grade Social Studies Teacher at Rye Middle School and a Rye Historical Society board member. Julie serves on our education committee and helps us develop programming and strengthen ties to the local schools. During the pandemic, she has also been entertaining many of us with her weekly live concerts, word jumbles and connections to history. Here, we talk with Julie about the intersection of history, music and life during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

ALISON: Many people are finding deeper connections to history during this time. As a history teacher, what have you been thinking about? How has living through this pandemic informed or changed how you think about our place in history? 

JULIE: Big question right from the start! First, let me say that I am privileged to stay home and be safe, work online, and receive a paycheck. This allows me time to even ponder all the history happening as well as what has come before. As we try to envision and plan for going back to school, teachers and administrators have been talking about how past historical events have impacted the daily logistics of school. For example: how did schools respond to chickenpox breakouts? How did schools change as a result of the Spanish Flu in 1918? I'm curious to learn about how those events altered what schools look like in terms of class size, staggered schedules, etc. We know that one major fire at a Catholic school in Chicago in 1958 permanently changed fire safety laws, so how will this pandemic change our school rules and routines to try to ensure our safety?

ALISON: Your live music sessions have inspired people to "gather" virtually and rally behind community causes. Tell us about what you are doing and how you got the idea to use music as a vehicle for change. 

JULIE: I have had two full-time jobs simultaneously for the past 20 years. I'm a middle school social studies teacher and a singer-songwriter/working musician. When NY PAUSE was instituted I felt two direct impacts immediately: my teaching job at school transitioned to a Distance Learning model, and all my music gigs were cancelled for the foreseeable future. Pub and restaurant performances, as well as Ossining's Annual Earth Day Festival, were all canceled due to Covid-19. I am fortunate enough to be part of a teachers union and continue to get a paycheck to work from home as a teacher, but all of the performance income has stopped. 

Gigging musicians across the country have lost ALL of their income for what is going on now for about 7 weeks. I still want to perform and hopefully spread some joy, and I so I have begun to Livestream a one hour concert once a week and have donated any money put into my "tip jar" (Venmo/Paypal) to Carver Center in Port Chester, and Feeding Westchester. Last week, rather than taking donations, my theme was "Census2020," encouraging people to fulfill their civic duty and fill out the 2020 Census while they listen to me play. Music heals many of us emotionally and it brings us together when we are physically far apart. Livestreaming has been a great way to share my art, bring people together from around the world, and raise a few dollars to help some folks. 

ALISON: Music has also been a way for people to find comfort and joy over the past couple months. Are there specific musicians who have been carrying you through? What are you listening to these days? How has it helped you?

JULIE: Mostly my friends: Fred Gillen Jr., Bryan Gordon, Laura Bowman, Albi Beluli. I enjoy tuning in to their Livestreams because I love their music and we never get to hang out - we are always working at the same time! My brother Chris gave me a record player for my birthday earlier this month. I set it up in the living room that I am currently painting, so I’ve been listening to a lot of records I haven’t spun in years: old Rolling Stones, Ronnettes, Double Fantasy John Lennon and Yoko Ono, a new Spyro Gyra record. Working online all day communicating with students, parents, and administration can be a little frustrating at times. Listening to the records while painting walls alone in the evening has been helping me chill out. 

ALISON: You mentioned that most of your seventh-grade students didn't know you made music, and now you are doing a Friday share with them. How have they responded? Can you share one of the songs with us? (Country Roads clip)

JULIE: I always get a kick out of students’ reactions when they learn there is more to my life than “just social studies.” Often they are not sure how to respond and say things like, “Ms. Corbalis, you’re actually kinda good,” which I take as the highest compliment :) I recorded and posted in Google Classroom my cover of John Denver’s Country Roads from my living room (pre-paint job) after our first week of Distance Learning. Many students were supportive and I think surprised. Watch it here.

ALISON: How has this experience changed you? Please include challenges, surprises, changes you'd like to keep and those you will be happy to let go. 

JULIE: I’m not sure how it has changed me just yet. One great thing that has happened is my 15-year-old niece has been staying with me throughout the quarantine. Our nightly dinner time conversations have given me a little personal window into how teenagers are dealing with the pandemic and how they are wondering and worried about their future. Plugging into more activism to ensure school equality has also come into stark clarity for me. Kids don’t get to make choices about where they live and what school they attend. Distance Learning has made it clear that some communities have reliable internet access and devices, and so by extension access to their schools and teachers, while others do not. I would like to work on closing this gap.

ALISON: Is there anything else you'd like to add? 

JULIE: Thank you! Thanks for working so hard at the Historical Society to bring local history into so many classrooms. It makes a big difference!