Years ago, when Anna Ginnetti-Ricci looked for a song to use for a teacher appreciation day at her children's school in Salem, she was stumped.
"There weren't any," she recalled, "nothing specifically dedicated to teachers and what they do."
She marvelled at the work the teachers did with the students at the Saltonstall School, which her children attend. So when she couldn't locate a fitting tribute, she decided to write one.
The song sat around for a while, but during the school budget crisis last year, she dusted off the lyrics and brainstormed the idea to have local children perform her song and boost morale, first at the school's annual Volunteer Tea.
"They got a standing ovation," said Ginnetti-Ricci.
So she contacted music teachers at other Salem Schools and asked them to recruit students to join the group.
"And it's been growing rapidly since," said Ginnetti-Ricci of Salem, who has three children and works as an aide in the Salem Schools.
"The schools are hurting badly," she said. "When all the things happened last year with the budget crisis, it was heart-wrenching, and I don't think people realize how short-staffed we are. So we had the idea to produce the song and give all the proceeds to the teachers."
Now, the group of young vocalists — 22 children and two alternates — have made a professional recording of the song, titled "I Wonder." They are canvassing the community for donations to produce the enhanced CD, which features music and video of the children at the recording studio at the New England Institute of Art in Brookline, which donated the space.
"It really is going to be successful because people want to make it successful," said Ginnetti-Ricci, who praised all the local volunteers and musicians involved with the project.
On a recent afternoon, the young chorus, ages 7 to 11, filed into the Hawthorne Hotel lobby and began to warm up their voices under Ginnetti-Ricci's guidance.
Minutes later, they proceeded into the ballroom and performed "I Wonder" for roughly 50 members of the Salem Rotary Club at its weekly luncheon. Following the performance, Salem resident Paul Wennik, who is helping to produce the CD, made a pitch to the Rotarians for sponsorship.
"This is a little community effort that should remind you of 'The Little Engine that Could,'" he told the group.
So far, Wennik said they have raised about $1,000 — including a $500 donation from the Foundation for Salem Public Education — and they need $3,000 more to produce the enhanced CD.
"And after we produce it," said Wennik, "we're going to need all the local merchants to merchandise the CDs and sell them... and all the money will go to underfunded programs in the Salem schools."
Little voices come together
For the children involved in the project, mainly Saltonstall students, it has been a thrill.
"It's been a great experience," said Saltonstall third grader Hannah Lieberman. "Not many people get to do this."
There are only three boys in the group, and the song features 11 solo parts.
"I just love our teachers," said Jacob Pelletier, a fourth grader at Bentley School. "They support us so much."
"They like to be part of something that's bigger than them," said parent Tracy Kapantais, whose daughter, Alexandra, a grade-five student at the Horace Mann Laboratory School, sings with the group. "They all remember the end of last year and how hard it was with the budget crisis in the city. Alexandra was so glad she could do something she likes, and help at the same time."
Ginnetti-Ricci sings and composes songs as a hobby and is in a band. Her three children are also on the CD: Alandra and Luciano Ricci, who attend Saltonstall, and her oldest, Giovanna Ricci, a student at Salem Academy Charter School.
"Great teachers make great minds to lead our country," said Ginnetti-Ricci. "We need to keep giving to education. These kids have today; we can't wait till the budget gets better. I'm so pleased with the response we're getting — it's contagious."
