Maddalena Liburdi: A Teacher’s Tale of Tenacity and Tunes
Born to Italian parents, Maddalena Liburdi, was born in Windsor but the first language she learned was Italian. Soon enough, music became the language that spoke to her heart. In 2013, she performed and conducted at the Vatican in Italy. So, Liburdi’s connection with the European country is in her destiny, which was more evident than ever a few weeks ago. During the concert of one of Italy’s most famous singers, Andrea Bocelli, she also fulfilled a promise she had made to her students: to deliver a CD recorded by her music production, senior-level instrumentalist, and therapeutic music class of songs by the Italian singer, tenor, composer, and music producer.
Liburdi has been teaching music to students for the past eight years, the last two of which she has been at F. J. Brennan Catholic High School. One of her many music classes is Life Skills, comprised of nine students with disabilities, aged between 14 and 21, who learn music therapeutically. Annually, they hold several concerts, and for this year’s Valentine’s Day concert, the class decided to record a romantic CD with songs by Bocelli and other famous artists. “I suggested Bocelli because I grew up listening to him, and he is also blind. I wanted my students to know that a man with a disability can sing and play the flute and the piano. And my students are just as awesome as everybody, says Liburdi.
The concert performance and CD recording succeeded, but teaching songs in Italian wouldn’t be Maddalena’s biggest challenge. “When we finished recording, one of the students said, ‘We gotta send this to Andrea Bocelli. He would be so proud to hear us, especially knowing what kind of people we are,” she remembers. “I thought about how I was going to send this to them. There is Instagram, but they get thousands of messages a day. Then I saw he was on tour, and Detroit was on the list. I knew it was my chance, and I got concert tickets.” She told her students she was attending the concert, and they started the mission. “We designed a poster with a picture of our class and wrote that he inspires us. I also wrote a letter in braille telling who we were, the students’ medical conditions, obstacles, and achievements.”Maddalena also recorded the songs on a USB in case they didn’t have a CD player, and all the students signed their names. Then, she went to the show, equipped with the poster and the love and pride of her students.
From that point it would be up to Liburdi’s grit and persuasion. At the entrance, she was stopped for having the poster, which, according to a staff member, was prohibited. “I always follow the rules, so I looked on the website before I went, and it just said you had to have this tiny clutch purse, which literally fit my phone and barely fit my passport. It didn’t say anything about no posters. I asked them to show me on the website that it was forbidden.” The staff members couldn’t prove Maddalena wrong, but neither wanted to let her in. She explained what the poster was about and even folded it so they would let her in, but with no success. That’s when she had the idea of approaching the staff members, saying that it was a gift and that she would like them to deliver it to Bocelli. After much suspicion and insistence – Maddalena even stopped people from entering the arena – the staff agreed to receive the poster and deliver it to Bocelli’s team. “Just before the show started, I saw the employee and made him show me a picture that he had handed them. I always say: if there’s a will, there’s a way”, she happily said.
Eventually, the mission was fulfilled. In the show’s final stretch, Maddalena noticed movement backstage with their poster. She started filming and saw that Bocelli’s wife was reading the letter. She was already thrilled that the poster had been handed to them. But the highlight was when Virginia, Bocelli’s daughter, who is only 12 years old, went on stage with the poster to thank the audience. Maddalena couldn’t believe it. “I’m immediately trying to take all the pictures and excited; it was great.”
The next day, the teacher showed the delighted students the pictures and video. “They asked if they were famous, and I said yes, not only to those at the concert, but they put the pictures on their Instagram and Facebook, so now millions worldwide are seeing our picture. They were pleased,” she remembers. When asked if she is always this persuasive, she answers: “With my students, yeah. Especially those students, because they can’t speak for themselves. So, it’s my place to advocate for them. Music always speaks where words fail”. After all these emotions, the class now prepares for the Spring concert.
Thisis just on e of several in Liburdi’s life story. Music has already provided her with many significant moments: she has performed three times at Carnegie Hall, a worldclass performance venue in New York; she also performed a Canada Day service in France at the Battle of Vimy Ridge and performed at the Vatican, still being the youngest person to conduct there. She is also an active member of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Yet, despite these big achievements, Maddalena’s true passion lies in seeing her students’ dreams come true. She sells popcorn daily in the school to fund their instruments. Her dedication to their success is a testament to her selflessness and commitment. “I always say to them that to move your audience, you must move yourself first. If you don’t believe in it, don’t love what you’re doing, or don’t feel the music you are playing, your audience will not feel it. You have to work hard in silence and let your success make the noise for you”, she concludes.
