Saturday, April 02, 2005

Sights and Sounds on Saturday

Before the ribbon cutting to open the Exhibit Hall this morning, a string trio from Winter Park High School filled the hall with beautiful music to welcome conference goers. Michael Simpson directed the trio.

Then, before David Satcher's opening General Session presentation, the Bear Lake Sound, a student group from Bear Lake Elementary School, inspired the audience with their presentation using a variety of instruments and songs.

The students seamlessly tied in introductory remarks that reflected the conference theme, "Voices of Education: Unleashing the Power, Passion, and Promise," and ASCD President Martha Bruckner noted afterward how pleased she was that they included the "three P's" in their presentation.

As an introduction to the song "Possibilities," the elementary students took turns sharing their career goals by saying, "There's a great possibility that I will be ..."
  • a veterinarian
  • an elementary music teacher
  • the first female and Hispanic president
Their inspiring presentation brought tears to the eyes of some audience members. One South Carolina elementary music teacher in the audience noted that they sounded great and that such a wonderful program required funding for the variety of instruments.

The group of about 100 students from Seminole County Public Schools was well-coached by music director Artie Almeida and well-supported with parent volunteers who helped transport, set up, and break down the instruments and sound systems.

The students started off surrounding a section of the session participants and doing a rhythmic song with boomlackers that echoed a welcome throughout the hall. Wearing bright purple shirts with black shorts or skirts, the students played a variety of instruments including glockenspiels, metallophones, xylophones, steel drums, tubano drums, hand drums, maracas, and sporting blue, green, and red recorders around their necks.

Other songs included "Teach the Child, Touch the Future," which the students punctuated with hand gestures and well-rehearsed solos. The finale was a celebration of Florida wildlife using instruments such as duck sounds, wooden clackers, and bells, to tell a story about "Florida critters" including squirrels, alligators, ducks, flamingos, possums, and manatees.

At one point, audience members were bumping into each other trying to capture the performance on cameras. The presentation let audience members appreciate the inspiring demonstration of learning that can occur when schools give priority to their arts programs and help children develop their creativity.

Photo: Mark Regan


2 Comments:

At 10:39 AM, Blogger ASCD said...

Thank you for the great performance at conference. Everyone really enjoyed it. As you can see from our position on arts in the curriculum, we agree that there is power in the arts. You can read about how students can make connections between art and life, how to teach Arts with the Brain in Mind, and the importance of teaching the whole child. You can also hear conference speaker Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explain how arts can inspire students and motivate them to improve their performance in all subjects.

 
At 10:01 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

As far as Venezuela arrived news about your wonderful concert. Music is a beautiful road to spiritual development but it can also be a way to flourish inner talents often hidden . The Venezuelan experience on children orchestras is praised all over the world, even by famous concert
masters, so it is always rejoycing to hear a children's concerto. Congratulations

 

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