Deep Dive with Cava Menzies on Creative Attunement

About this episode

Cava Menzies discusses the transformative power of music in education and its accessibility for everyone.

There's a game Cava Menzies plays with her students. She asks each of them to say a word — snowfall, nightmare, dragons — and then she translates it into music on the piano right in front of them. Every time, something magical happens in the room. In the tenth and final episode of our Wired to Create series, Cava — musician, educator, and founding faculty at Oakland School for the Arts — makes the case that music isn't a talent reserved for the few. It's a birthright we've somehow talked ourselves out of using. Please share this episode with anyone in your life who has decided music isn't for them. Check out Cava and her OSA students singing Purple Rain on stage with Coldplay's Chris Martin HERE. This episode was made possible by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation. To learn more, please visit: waltonfamilyfoundation.org. To connect with Kelly and get a list of her weekly takeaways, join Kelly's ⁠free Substack⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Kelly Corrigan

Guest: Cava Menzies

Topics covered

• music education
• creativity
• student engagement
• musical talent
• performance

Keywords

• music
• education
• creativity
• performance
• talent
• Cava Menzies
• Coldplay

Sponsors

Walton Family Foundation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Coldplay

Books & works: Purple Rain

More episodes of Kelly Corrigan Wonders

• Go To on What We Lose When We Know Too Much · June 12, 2026 · 9 min
• Thanks For Being Here - Amy's Mom PT · June 7, 2026 · 8 min
• Go To on Assuming the Identity You Want · June 5, 2026 · 9 min
• Deep Dive with Steve Day on Creative Pathways · June 2, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Thanks For Being Here - Christina's Gratitude for Mr. O'Brien · May 31, 2026 · 7 min
• Go To on Advice for Grads · May 29, 2026 · 12 min