BELL scholars rock the house at a Taj Mahal concert in Springfield, Mass. August 1, 2008 Taj Mahal On August 1, over 100 Springfield scholars, parents and friends of BELL celebrated at an outdoor concert given by Taj Mahal. A native of Springfield, Taj Mahal was born Henry St. Clair Fredericks. His father was a jazz pianist and composer and his mother was a gospel singer so it’s not surprising that music was an important part of the Fredericks household. Taj grew up surrounded by music, studied in the Springfield public schools, and worked at an area farm, milking cows, to pay for his education at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. One night while he was in college, he had a dream that his future was in music and changed his name to Taj Mahal. Taj has been performing, composing and celebrating the blues ever since. He has earned two Grammy awards and has built an international reputation as a blues, jazz, calypso, and reggae artist. One of the BELL enrichment teachers in Springfield, Nancy Gadbois, has been a friend of the Fredericks family for many years. Her enrichment course, “Appreciating Other Cultures Through Music,” drew upon the music of Taj Mahal and other international artists to help her students learn about other countries, languages and cultures through their music. Many BELL scholars were able to visit the Springfield Museum to see “Blues in Our Blood”, an exhibit about Taj Mahal and his sister, Carole Fredericks, an internationally respected singer who lived and performed for many years in France. Thanks to introductions by Nancy to Taj’s sister and manager, Taj offered to give BELL Scholars a special treat. One scholar from each cluster was selected as the BELL Scholar of the Summer based on their consistent attendance, effort and modeling BELL values. They were given two tickets so that each scholar and a family member were able to attend the concert. At the end of the concert, Taj called for the audience to give a huge shout-out to all the BELL scholars who had worked so hard this summer. They all stood to a thunderous ovation and were recognized by Taj as “Our future! The best of Springfield!” After the concert, Taj invited the scholars to a VIP reception where he signed autographs and posed with BELL scholars for pictures. While many of the BELL scholars had not heard of Taj Mahal before this summer, Taj now has a new generation of fans in Springfield, Massachusetts.