“Almost 800 fourth- and fifth-graders from the Madison School District will perform May 15 with the Madison Symphony Orchestra,” writes Pamela Cotant in Tuesday’s (5/6) Wisconsin State Journal (subscription required). “Through Link Up, a music education program created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the students have been rehearsing on recorders. They will play six songs with the orchestra at a special concert … at 10:15 a.m. in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center…. ‘I am hoping that no one will mess up,’ said fourth-grader John Niah Clark-Richmond, 9…. The MSO is among 59 national and international orchestras currently involved with the program.… For the 2014-15 school year, the program will be opened up to schools all over south-central Wisconsin, said Michelle Kaebisch, director of education and community engagement for the orchestra. The plan is to partner with 20 schools and have two concerts with half of the students performing at each one.… Students [in Link Up] learn how to play popular classical melodies on soprano recorders, while also developing skills such as listening, note-reading, rhythm, improvisation, composition, and ensemble and rehearsal skills. [Madison music teacher Amy] Nelson said the program is helping her students feel competent about reading music, which could open doors for them to continue to be involved in music.”
Posted May 7, 2014
