For more than four decades, music teacher Doug Goodkin nurtured the innate musicality in children in San Francisco. Dropping in on what would turn out to be a tumultuous final year of teaching before his retirement, the documentary gives an intimate view into Goodkin’s transformational teaching approach, the vibrant impact it has on students and alumni, and the value of musical improvisation in navigating real-world challenges.

Goodkin’s time-tested methods are thrown into disarray as the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly forces the school into remote learning. A program that once prioritized group singing, movement, dance, and learning music “through the ear, not through the eye” has to find a way to keep the music playing and the learning going.

Goodkin and his fellow music teachers had to pivot and learn how to connect with students, even in the isolation of “distance” learning. The film celebrates a community with music at its core, revealing the depth and reach of one person’s gifts, and the profound importance of arts and music in our lives.