Inspiring the next generation one performance at a time

A music project that started as a way for a new teacher to connect with and engage students has grown into a traveling program that reaches millions of students across 12 states. It sounds like a movie, but for Central Michigan University alumnus Joe Vercellino, it’s his reality.

Joe, ’12, a former music teacher who taught in the Detroit area for nearly a decade, founded The Lion Heart Experience, a high-energy, intense performance teaching K-12 students the importance of self-worth.

“It's a performance where visual art, story and music are fused to change the way young people see themselves,” he said.

The Lion Heart Experience originated as a school assembly. Joe’s class would perform original music, and he would freehand paint a canvas — showcasing how life might seem messy at times, but it’s all part of the bigger picture.

After the first few assemblies, teachers suggested that they also would be beneficial for other schools. Within five years, he and some of his students were traveling and performing around the country.

“We help kids stay curious about their life and build a resilient mindset,” Joe said. “When schools are booking The Lion Heart Experience, they're investing in tangibility. Students are going to have a growth mindset and improve their relationship with themselves.”

In the audience of The Lion Heart Experience, students are suddenly swept up in the electric energy before them — a full-on concert right in their school gymnasium or auditorium. It’s a spectacle of lights, singing, rapping, dancing and the creation of art. The performance amplifies a core message: the future is full of bright possibilities and opportunities and they are within every student’s reach.

The start of a dream

Early in his career, The Lion Heart Experience was a way for Joe and his students to write and perform music together. But his love for music started way before his teaching days, on a trip when he was young to Chicago with his family.

“I saw a guy banging on a bucket on a street corner. I was infatuated by everything that I saw and the way that he was working the crowd,” Joe said. “I loved that he looked happy. I didn't really grow up seeing a lot of adults who looked happy and fulfilled.”

That itch for music followed him until the end of middle school, when he finally gave it a shot.

“One day, I got home from school, and I had this stomachache that would not go away. It's the stomachache you have when you know life is passing you by and you're not the person you're supposed to be,” Joe said.

His mom dropped him off downtown with a bucket, and from there, his passion for street performance began.

“After singing my first song, a lady walked up to my bucket, put fifty cents in it and said, ‘You're really good. You should keep going.’ From there, I started dreaming about what my life could be.”

This is when Joe said he first experienced “somebodyness” — a term coined by Martin Luther King Jr., in which someone goes from feeling invisible to feeling seen and realizes they have value to offer the world. It’s central to what Joe teaches in The Lion Heart Experience.

Joe's journey to CMU 

Joe continued street performing through high school and college, visiting cities like New York, Chicago and Boston. Aspiring to become a music teacher, he found CMU’s School of Music, which is known for its music education program.

“My professor didn't try to force me into this idea of what a music teacher or a professional musician is supposed to look like,” he said. “They worked with me personally and were invested in my creativity.”

A few months after graduating, Joe was hired as a music teacher at a school in Detroit because of his street performance experience.

“They said, ‘We don't have any money, and we don't have any instruments. Could we hire you as our music teacher?’ That was one of the first times I knew I was in the exact spot I needed to be,” he said. “I used my street musician skills to make magic happen in that classroom, which is the magic that I now tour around the country.”

The Lion Heart Experience continues to travel across the U.S. Joe wants to expand the performances to colleges and into as many American schools as possible. His goal is for The Lion Heart Experience to become a go-to mental health resource for schools.

In 2021, Joe was named Detroit’s Region 10 Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Department of Education. He earned the title just one year after the award was given to a charter teacher for the first time in history.

“Teaching is not just a profession; it's an opportunity for an adventure with your students. I love that I've been able to build something alongside my students,” he said. “I’m honored that I've seen what happens when you fuse your creativity with your students' creativity. It’s really special.”