Where Music and Education Meet: Anne Lundy’s Mission

By: Erin Slaughter

In the heart of the Third Ward, she sat in her living room, golden sunlight spilling across the floor.

Her patience was as thick as the black-and-gray dreadlocks woven intricately down her back.

Her music students were running late for practice, leaving her a brief moment of stillness to reflect on the deeper purpose of her work: bringing color to black-and-white pages.

“Well for me, it’s making sure that our black community, our black kids see people that look like us, that we are represented in the world of orchestra,” she said.

For over six decades, Anne Lundy has been a prominent educator and orchestra conductor, falling in love with classical music at the age of four.

With her hands moving in harmony to her words, she described how classical music serves as a vacation from reality.

“When I play and when I conduct, I just feel joy,” she said.

“For that period of time, it seems like the world is not quite as chaotic, not quite as crazy. I’m not saying I can cure anything, but at least for that period of time, I just feel kind of joyful and I can just share what we bring to the audience.”

One… Two… Three… Begin.

Her students arrived, and the room came alive with the hum of instruments and eager energy as practice began.

Dedication, satisfaction, and gratitude filled the air as Lundy’s fingers danced across the piano keys. She smiled at her students, their violins singing in harmony—a shared moment of triumph and connection.

“We have to make sure that our kids, especially our black kids, are getting the very best. Because I do have very strong feelings about our kids deserving high-quality education,” she said.

For Lundy, seeing and hearing what she calls perfection before her—paired with the golden-brown faces of her students—gives her work profound meaning.

“It’s one of those things where a lot of time, I was the one black kid growing up in the world of orchestra, and I’ve always wanted to see about involving more black folk in the world of orchestra, actually participating in it, because I love it. I think it’s kind of a magical world,” she said.

Her dream of involving more Black children in the world of orchestra has become a reality, supported by proud parents who stood in awe of their children’s blossoming talents.

“My wife and I, we are very strong proponents of black excellence and I looked Dr. Lundy up, found out who she was, and was like, there’s just absolutely no way that I would not do that,” said Marrio Hinkle, father of one of the violinists.

Adamma Lotus, a mother of a violinist, echoed Hinkle’s admiration for Lundy, saying it was an opportunity she could not pass up.

“My aunt, who sings opera in Chicago, she had heard of Dr. Lundy. So as soon as she said, wait, Dr. Lundy, and I was like, yes. She was like, oh Adamma, and I said, oh, you don’t have to tell me twice,” she said.

Lundy’s representation of Black excellence, dedication, and musical talent leaves a lasting impression on all who experience her world of orchestra.

She exemplifies how passion, discipline, and pride in one’s roots can create a powerful harmony that resonates far beyond the stage.

 For Lundy, the moment of connection through music has brought her the deepest joy of her life.

“I hope my legacy is this: that I love music, that I love sharing it with everyone, but most of all, that I love sharing it with Black folk,” she said.