Music
Preparing for Improvisation
Written by Barbara Krebs,
Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member
The thing I like most about Young Audiences’ Impact Breakfast is that I never know what new insight I will take away from it. Sometimes I go home and think about the things I heard and saw, and something takes root and grows from my pondering. Other years it hits me immediately with, um, impact. This year’s Impact Breakfast was of the second variety.
It started with the music. Because the day began with rain, award-winning Folk singer and guitarist Letitia VanSant welcomed guests with her songs in the lobby of the Vollmer Center, and not outside, like planned. She played and sang softly, setting a mood of serenity. Ahh, yes, very pleasant as I sipped my coffee. And then as I started looking at Maura Dwyer‘s handmade crankie, a wooden box containing an illustrated scroll that reveals a moving picture story as it is slowly wound by the artist, a very different style of music was unleashed–ragtime! Now that gets the blood pumping!
The guitarist’s intimate melodies were quickly drowned out. Assessing the situation–and the weather, YA staff and board members moved the duo’s entire set-up where they belonged all along–just outside, at the entrance of the building. And that improvisation really worked, as Letitia’s musical style and the moving panorama that accompanied her songs connected naturally to the park-like setting surrounding the Vollmer Center. You can’t control the weather, but you can spring into action when it changes for the better!
After listening to her a while, I wandered back into the building to take in some more ragtime and to look over the student works displayed downstairs. And that’s when one of the accompanying quotes struck me. Labeled “What Students Have to Say,” a 6th-grade improvisational theatre major stated, “My favorite major is improv because of how we can laugh and be silly. We can be anything because it is based on your imagination. In your imagination you can be anything and see anything.” Exactly!
More improvisation followed as Mama Rashida and WombWork Productions performed. With Virtues as the theme and a backdrop listing a huge variety of positive qualities, she prompted the audience to participate in a call-and-response activity, shouting out “gratitude” and “unity” and “creativity” as we swayed in our seats and responded, “yeah, yeah!”
When it was time to hear Femi “The Drifish” Lawal speak, I have to admit I was particularly happy to hear from him. That’s because I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to observe him in action in the classroom, at Art Crawl and at introductory “house” parties that showcase what YA does. In all of these settings, he’s a master at getting both kids and adults involved.
So I was both surprised and amused to hear him admit to “winging it” before he began working with Young Audiences. But what did not surprise me was to learn how his involvement with Young Audiences helped him hone and master his teaching style. He knew he was already positively impacting young lives in the classroom, but with YA’s assistance, he learned techniques that extended what he could offer and bring out in the kids.
As a person who enjoys contradictions, I thought about the nature of improvisation. Yes, it is about doing things without previous preparation. Yes, it is about responding to whatever circumstance comes your way. And yes, it is about reacting to your imagination as the 6th grader said.
But… it is also about the preparation, oddly enough. When you prepare fertile ground for your imagination to take you places, you become increasingly comfortable with the journey, and you find new and creative ways to respond to real-world situations. When you learn classroom techniques that allow children to explore their worlds in different ways, you discover the power of improv paired with preparation. How it helps them rap their way to mathematical formulas, dance their way to literature themes and draw their way to social justice.
So at this year’s Impact Breakfast, I learned that preparing for improvisation is not quite the oxymoron it appears to be. Because no matter how prepared you are, you need to be able to improvise when the moment calls for it. And no matter how stellar you are at winging it, preparation makes it easier to soar on those improv wings.
Visit our Flickr page to see more images from Young Audiences’ annual Impact Breakfast.
A Saturday Morning Tunes Giveaway!
Thanks to our smARTbeats partners, WTMD, we have five Family Four-Packs for the Saturday Morning Tunes Grateful Dead tribute show with Ed Hough’s Dead Collective to give away! That means five of our lucky Facebook followers will receive four tickets each to the SOLD-OUT 9:30 a.m. show at the American Visionary Art Museum on Saturday, February 2, 2019!
Grateful Dead fans with young kids won’t want to miss out on the chance to attend this sold-out event! Ed Hough’s Dead Collective, who are some of Baltimore’s best roots and Americana musicians, will be channelling the music of the Grateful Dead in AVAM’s banquet hall among the museum’s renowned colorful and engaging artwork. Tickets also include organic snacks and juice for kids and coffee for adults. Doors open at 9 a.m., and the show runs 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Many thanks to WTMD for sharing this amazing opportunity! This contest is now closed.
Inspire, Imagine, Improve!
Written by Barbara Krebs,
Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member
A few weeks ago, I was happy to attend Young Audiences’ third Art Crawl, held this year at the Single Carrot Theatre adjacent to YA’s offices.
For those of you who have not attended this annual event, I highly encourage you to do so. First of all, you’ll get to party with a group of fun, interesting, entertaining and dedicated folks. Secondly, you’ll get to enjoy the learning environment presented to the kids who attend YA’s Summer Arts & Learning Academy (SALA). And by that, I mean you’ll act, play music and create artwork, which helps you understand your reading assignment or your math homework. And finally, you get to nosh on great hors-d’oeuvres and sip handcrafted cocktails created by some of YA’s board members!
As always, I find myself splitting my time between talking to people I’ve met in the past, and meeting new folks who have interesting stories to tell. This time was no different. Balancing a plate of delicious appetizers from Copper Kitchen and a glass of wine provided by North Charles Fine Wine & Spirits, my husband and I soon found an empty spot at a table and introduced ourselves to Cori Daniel and Carlotta Williams. Turns out they were actually a teaching artist/teacher team who would later explore the book, Tar Beach, a story by artist Faith Ringgold recalling the dream adventure of a young girl flying high above her neighborhood in 1939 Harlem.
No matter the genre, the goal is making sure the children stay focused on the subject matter, sneakily presented as a lot of fun.
But I didn’t know this yet. What I did find out though was how long they had been teaching, what they taught, and I got to observe their obvious enthusiasm for the children and learning. Their animated conversation about their SALA classroom was fascinating, as were their fond memories of inspiring kids to learn while the children used their imaginations to improve their reading scores.
Oh, did I just use inspire, imagine and improve in one sentence? Yes, I did, and that is, of course, no accident. Having witnessed teachers and children in action in several of SALA’s classrooms this summer, and getting a chance to actually engage in it myself during Art Crawl is to truly understand how those three words create an arts-integrated learning environment that SALA uses to stem summer learning loss and bridge the Inspiration Gap.
In SALA’s five-week summer classrooms, kids use a wide variety of art techniques to help them master core subjects – whether it’s textile art to illustrate a story they are studying or rapping their multiplication tables or dancing to show character development. No matter the genre, the goal is making sure the children stay focused on the subject matter, sneakily presented as a lot of fun.
And so it was. In the segment taught by the second-grade teacher and teaching artist I had just met, we warmed up with some dance movements to highlight acting concepts. Then we looked at the pictures in the book and explained what we saw in them. Finally, we paired off and used our imaginations to explore a special place for us – one that made us feel warm and welcomed.
Next up was a math segment, guided by teaching artist Nadia Rea Morales and teacher Jose Hernandez. With a chart in the room illustrating ones as yellow, tens as red, and hundreds as blue, I created a Piet Mondrian “masterpiece.” The focus was to teach second-graders their ones, tens, and hundreds places and the relationships between digits and their place value. My own memory of learning such things was of boring, rote exercises that left me cold. Here, I hadn’t had so much fun with scissors and construction paper in ages. And to think – I was learning math!
I ended the evening with teaching artist Christina Cook, who was surrounded by a variety of percussion instruments. As she demonstrated how these were used to sound out the syllables in words, I noticed how she was combining both math and vocabulary – a certain number of syllables to express a phrase, as she beat the rhythm on her drum. She then handed out instruments and instructed us to follow along.
In addition, she said she used this technique to help the pre-K kids she taught to express their emotions. At first, she told us that the students mostly stuck to “happy” or “sad,” but soon she noticed that, as the kids gained confidence with the percussion pieces, their emotional range expanded, too. Now they were “curious” and “frustrated” and “ecstatic.” She admitted that she was impressed with the varying emotions the kids conveyed as well as the fact that they already had the vocabulary to communicate it. They had only needed the little nudge the music gave them to open up and express themselves more fully.
I have to admit – Inspire, Imagine, Improve is a mantra I can really get behind. Because each time I’ve attended Art Crawl, I come away inspired by all the people who donate time, expertise and/or money to make SALA a reality for 2,100 elementary school-age kids. I can only imagine how much harder it would be for the children and their teachers if this summer program didn’t exist. And I know that Young Audiences’ aim to improve test scores and access to arts-integrated learning is something I’m behind 100 percent.
Wouldn’t you like a little Inspire, Imagine, Improve in your life? Come join us next year and I think you’ll find your own stories of imagination that inspire you to improve. Until then, Happy Holidays!
smARTbeats is back with Khaleshia Thorpe-Price!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD on Saturday, June 14 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews talks with the multi-talented Khaleshia Thorpe-Price. Khaleshia is a musician, actor, and Young Audiences teaching artist with a contagious and explosive energy for the arts that fills students with creativity and excitement.
For over 15 years, she has facilitated residencies and workshops for children and adults for many arts organizations including Wolf Trap, Arena Stage, Young Playwrights’ Theater, Young Audiences of Maryland, Folger Shakespeare Library, Shakespeare Theater Company, and M-NCPP. In classrooms across Maryland, DC, and Virginia, Khaleshia helps students create and perform original plays with props and visual aids. In addition to teaching, you can find Khaleshia directing performances in the Folger Shakespeare Children’s Festival and serving as a dramaturge for the Young Playwrights Theater Festival.
The artist not only co-wrote A Journey with Jazz, an interactive performance experience for young audiences, for the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning through the Arts, she performs in the production with the Wolf Trap Jazz Trio. “In my classes I love to use music to unify my students, to build ensemble and community,” Khaleshia said. “The language of music has a way of speaking to my students and pulling us all together. I begin and end all of my classes with some type of music.”
Young At Heart airs weekly on 89.7 WTMD from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.
Tune into 89.7 WTMD this Saturday at 7 am as YA teaching artist, actor and musician Khaleshia Thorpe-Price joins host Lisa Mathews in the studio!
Andrew Greene Shares the Art of Ragtime on smARTbeats!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD on Saturday, June 9 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart!
On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with pianist, conductor, musicologist, and founder of the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra, Andrew Greene. A new addition to the Young Audiences roster, Andrew is excited to share his love and appreciation of Ragtime in Maryland schools and open ears and imaginations to the genre!
Be sure to tune in to hear the artist talk about bringing to life important, historic films by performing original silent film scores from the era! On his website, Andrew explains, “All of our silent film scores use the actual music that existed when the films were originally released – it’s the closest thing to actually being back in the silent era!” The group accompanies short silent films featuring renowned actors like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, or Laurel and Hardy.
As an ensemble that re-creates the sounds and sights of a century ago, the Peacherine Ragtime Orchestra is both entertaining and educational. The musicians teach their audiences to understand, appreciate, and make connections to modern-day examples of the music they present, how sound can impact emotions, and to think critically to understand the role sound plays in creating scenes, moods, feelings, and emotions. “With critical thinking, we can create a scene just using music and sound!”
This unique ensemble gives audiences a true appreciation for the role ragtime music played in the art and history of cinema and an understanding of how ragtime music relates to the music we hear today. “When film was in its beginning stage 100 years ago, there was no sound to accompany the movie — so we work with audiences to show how sounds can change how we think about a certain scene or action sequence.” Their work has not gone unnoticed. “The premier American ragtime ensemble” as hailed by the Washington Post is rapidly becoming the leading professional ragtime orchestra in the United States- which is great news for Maryland students.
Young At Heart airs weekly on 89.7 WTMD from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.
Listen online as YA teaching artist, conductor and musician Andrew Greene of Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra joins host Lisa Mathews in the studio!
Steve Cyphers Talks the Physics of Sound on smARTbeats!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, May 5 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with professional frontman and percussionist, Young Audiences teaching artist Steve Cyphers. Tune in and you’ll hear why Maryland students absolutely love drumming with Mr. Steve!
The musician has performed for audiences on stage his entire adult life, touring with bands in the U.S. and abroad, contributing drums, percussion, songwriting, and vocals. “I truly believe music and art can help break down social and political walls and help to build cultural bridges,” Steve explained. “That being said, I simply enjoy performing for, and with, people!”
In schools, Steve helps students gain a deeper understanding of playing and notating rhythms and the science of sound. In addition to body percussion and call-and-response exercises, Steve’s students learn how to play a bucket with mallets designed and fabricated by the artist to accentuate the high and low pitches of the buckets, and to provide more volume control for the classroom. With Mr. Steve in the classroom, students investigate the physics of sound waves and even get creative by altering their “instrument,” to change its sound.
“I’d like to inspire students to venture further into music and performance, and interact with them in a positive, fun, and educational way.”
And inspire students, he does. If you’ve ever wondered what true happiness looks like, just watch a group of Steve’s students singing and playing James Brown’s “I Feel Good” on bucket drums!
Young At Heart airs weekly from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.
Hear Steve Cyphers‘ smARTbeats interview online now!
Rock and Roll and Learn: smARTbeats returns with Elias Schutzman
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, March 10 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with Young Audiences teaching artist and internationally renowned resident rock and roll drummer Elias Schutzman!
For over five years, Elias has been performing interactive story-telling assemblies in public schools throughout Maryland, and in 2016, began enchanting Maryland’s youngest students and enriching learning in Pre-K and kindergarten classrooms through his work with Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts. Last summer, he joined the ranks of teaching artists in YA’s groundbreaking Summer Arts & Learning Academy, immersing Baltimore City children from Title 1 schools in an engaging arts-rich program that sends children back to school in the fall ahead, inspired, and ready to learn.
“Music is a universal language that touches us all. It’s food for the soul,” says the artist. “Through song, rhythm, and storytelling, I hope to release the young imagination to explore here, there and everywhere.”
When not in the classroom, you can find Elias playing drums in venues all over the world with The Flying Eyes and Black Lung. The Baltimore native attended the Baltimore School for the Arts and went on to receive a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park, leading him to work with local theatre companies such as Center Stage, Everyman Theatre and most recently the Baltimore Rock Opera Society.
Young At Heart airs weekly from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.
Listen to YA teaching artist and musician Elias Schutzman online now!
smartbeats is Back with Uncle Devin!
smARTbeats returns to WTMD this Saturday, February 10 during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, hostLisa Mathews sits down for a chat with the original “Drumcussionist,” Young Audiences teaching artist Uncle Devin. Tune in and you’ll hear why The Uncle Devin Show has been called “pure edutainment at its finest.”
Devin Walker has been playing percussion for more than 25 years with groups ranging from Fertile Ground to the Great Dizzie Gillespie, and has gained national acclaim as a leader in the children’s music industry with his unique musical style, real percussion instruments, and the latest in electronic drums.
“I realized I wasn’t just there to perform music, I was there to teach.”
In schools, the artist teaches children that percussion instruments are an essential part of history and the human experience. He uses different musical instruments, along with his award-winning book, “The ABC’s of Percussion with Music CD,” to help students understand how sounds made by percussion instruments were used to communicate. “If we never spoke a word, we could communicate through music,” said Devin.
The musician didn’t begin his career performing for children, but spending time with the young kids in his life certainly helped to steer him on that course. Devin’s niece loved his music so much that she once took recordings of her uncle reciting stories along with music to school so she could share them with her class. The children loved listening to their friend’s ‘Uncle Devin.’ “Soon enough, people began to refer to me with that title and that’s how the name came about.”
They weren’t the only kids that his music and stories stuck with. After performing in a school in Baltimore, he received a phone call from a friend. He suddenly heard his friend’s daughter on the line, reciting some of the same concepts he had shared with the school children earlier that day. She had been in the audience! “I thought, she’s got it! That was a wonderful moment because I realized I wasn’t just there to perform music, I was there to teach.”
Young At Heart airs weekly from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.
Listen to Uncle Devin online now!
Jamaal “Mr Root” Collier Talks smARTbeats on Young At Heart
smARTbeats is back this Saturday, January 13 on WTMD during the weekly children’s program Young At Heart! On this month’s segment, host Lisa Mathews sits down for a chat with Hip Hop performer, YA teaching artist, and Maryland Wolf Trap Artist, Jamaal “Mr. Root” Collier.
A dynamic and engaging Hip Hop artist, Jamaal has been working with Young Audiences/Arts for Learning since 2007, has served on its artist roster since 2013, and was named Artist of the Year for 2016. His energy and passion for the arts is boundless, and show in the volume of work he does, not only offering assemblies and long-term residencies in schools, but also providing professional development for teachers.
By incorporating rapping, vocal percussion, and dynamic stage presence, Jamaal articulates his passionate appreciation for his artistry every time he teaches and performs.
During the segment, you’ll hear how the artist, who is also half of the family-friendly beatboxing duo Baby Beats, invites students to learn, listen, and participate.
“(Mr. Root’s program) was a true testament of how you can take learning and make it fun,” said Ms. Hines, Principal of Villa Maria School after the artists’ residency. “He was able to get some of the most resistant kids engaged.”
Jamaal uses rapping, freestyling, and beatboxing to appeal to a variety of learners. His students craft rhyming couplets and non-traditional quatrains to analyze and summarize their course content, gaining a deeper understanding of lesson material through elements of Hip Hop.
Take a look for yourself:
Staci Taustine, Fifth Grade Teacher at F.L. Templeton Preparatory Academy said that through her class’ residency with Mr. Root, students didn’t just advance academically, but socially.
“My students learned how to be vulnerable with one another, brave enough to share their feelings, and empowered to use their voices to express everything they learned,” she said. “Each and every one of my students came away with a unique perspective on who they are as individuals.”
Jamaal’s passion for the arts is clear, as is the impact it has had on his life. “Our life without the arts can be so empty,” he has said. Thankfully, the artist shares the power of art, music, and rhyme with students and their teachers across the state of Maryland every day.
Young At Heart airs weekly from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.
Hear Jamaal “Mr. Root” Collier online now:
Algebra in the Drum Shop: Plotting the Rate of Change with Kevin Martin
“Will I ever use this in real life?” A teacher could rattle off the professional fields that a mathematician could enter after pursuing a degree when students challenge, “Why do we have to learn this?” Or, they could show them what they can do now with the skills they are practicing. The arts are good for that, and YA roster artist Kevin Martin is an expert at teaching students how to employ their new mathematical knowledge in a very cool and tangible, real-world way.
Kevin has been building and playing steel drums, also called steel pans, for more than 20 years. Through his company Rockcreek Steel Drums, the artist has built thousands of steel drum instruments for clients across the world, and now, he is sharing this knowledge through a residency with students at North County High School (NCHS) in Anne Arundel County. “A steel pan is really a musical sculpture,” says Kevin. These sculptures are tuned instruments that have been methodically hammered into a very specific shape and thickness from the flat base of a steel barrel.
This residency came to NCHS thanks to professional development for teachers in arts integration as part of The Arts Empowered Minds Initiative. Through the initiative, schools are learning to use arts integration as a strategy for boosting student achievement and engagement. Classroom teachers and school administrators are building sustainable partnerships with teaching artists and arts organizations that inspire students and use the creative process to make meaningful, real-world connections to the curriculum.
Kevin worked with 9th grade algebra teacher Sarah Dobry to teach students how steel drum design and fabrication requires the same mathematical concepts explained in their textbooks.
Using careful measurements and the same tools and algebraic formulas that Kevin uses in his shop, the students learn to graph a drum’s rate of change to see how the sides of the pan slope inwards at different rates. Because they’re not just learning, but applying the strategies and formulas they’ve learned, students appreciate the instrument’s transformation from flat to concave and the depth and location of each depression.
Of course, the class also learned to play the instruments. Pairs of students learned where to hit specific notes on the pan and how to control their drumsticks to achieve different effects, rolling them over a note to extend a sound, or striking it purposefully.
As the students gained confidence, they took turns demonstrating their ability. Ms. Dobry was impressed by her class’ excitement and eagerness to participate, “The kids who are usually silent in math have been volunteering to be the example this week.”
“As a math guy, I enjoy the challenge of learning the notes and shaping the metal,” Kevin told Trumpf Express, a professional magazine published for the sheet metal processing trade. “As a musician, I try to recreate the essence of sound.” The artist gave Ms. Dobry’s ninth graders an introduction to what’s possible when you combine an academic skill with the art form you love. And perhaps some of them even discovered a new talent.
The Arts Empowered Minds Initiative is the combined effort of many groups and individuals seeking to build a movement for increased equity through the arts in their community. With funding from the NEA in 2016, we built partnerships with Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS), Chesapeake Arts Center (CAC), Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance (AEMS), Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, and University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC).
123 Andrés Talks Music for Bilingual Learners on smARTbeats!
smARTbeats returns Saturday, December 2 during the weekly children’s music program Young At Heart on WTMD. On this month’s smARTbeats segment, Young At Heart host Lisa Mathews sits down with YA roster artists and Latin Grammy winners Andrés Salguero and Christina Sanabria, better known as 123 Andrés.
The two have brought many multicultural performances and bilingual musical experiences in Spanish and English to children across the United States and Latin America. Their second album, Arriba Abajo, even won the Parents’ Choice Gold Award for children’s music!
Andrés’ career began at a very young age in his home country of Bogota, Colombia, performing and even recording an album at only eight years old. His love of children’s music and the opportunity to teach and inspire through music, however, came to the artist as an adult. And we are so happy it did! His talent, energy, and charisma make it easy to see why Billboard Magazine called him “a rockstar for little language learners!”
Families could spend hours surfing just their youtube channel filled with the songs, videos, and cartoons that have kids and adults alike hooked and learning. But these catchy, uplifting beats will make you want to enjoy 123 Andrés in person.
“My aim is for children to emerge more accepting, tolerant and curious when they meet others who are different from them,” says Andrés. Likewise, he says, “For Latino children, it’s especially important to have opportunities to see a positive role model who looks like them and to experience programming that celebrates their language and background.”
123 Andres’ audiences are treated to a tour of Latin America, learning new vocabulary, history, culture, and geography through songs in both Spanish and English, and dances like salsa, bachata, plena, mariachi, vallenato, bolero, champeta, and more.
What 123 Andrés brings into schools is fun, plain and simple. And fun is something everyone understands no matter what language you’re speaking! 123 Andres will make the whole family salta, salta (jump, jump)!
Young At Heart airs weekly from 7 to 8 am on Saturdays, featuring music that appeals to parents and children alike. Previous shows have featured music by Wilco, David Bowie, Andrew & Polly, Weezer, and others.
Hear YA teaching artist and musician 123 Andrés online now!
Art Crawl: The Intersection of Arts, Education, and Cocktails
Written by Barbara Krebs,
Young Audiences volunteer and Sunburst Society member
On Friday, November 17, Young Audiences hosted its second annual Art Crawl at City Neighbors High School, an arts-integrated public charter school in Baltimore City. Approximately 75 attendees filled the school’s stylish café, mingling among lush booths, comfy couches, ambient lighting, and in the glow of neon signs. As the group noshed on delicious hors-d’oeuvres and drinks provided by Flavor, Union, and Noble Vintners, Young Audiences President & CEO Stacie Sanders Evans welcomed the crowd, “Every person in this room played a role in closing the inspiration gap this summer.” The inspiration gap, she explained, is the difference between what we know the best conditions are for learning and what kids actually get these days in school. “Thanks to you, we reached 825 MORE young people last summer and expanded our summer programs to include middle and high school students.”
She presented a short video highlighting Young Audiences’ Summer Arts & Learning Academy, talked about the impact on the students that it serves, and shared the organization’s plans for the future. This year, Young Audiences brought their Summer Arts & Learning Academy to four Baltimore-area schools, serving more than 1,100 students over a 5-week period. Next year, the goal is to double this achievement by expanding to eight academies with an enrollment of 2,200 students.
You couldn’t help but feel proud of what Young Audiences has accomplished in stemming summer learning loss. With the help of dedicated artists and academic teachers, children who regularly attended the Academy not only avoided summer learning loss in reading and math, but in many cases made significant gains over their national peers in standardized testing. The findings showed potentially groundbreaking progress in tackling summer learning loss, a chronic challenge facing public schools.
That sense of pride was especially felt among the attendees who, either through corporate or private donorship, provided funding to bridge the gap between the City School system’s budget and the actual cost of the Academy. I had been fortunate enough to observe one Summer Arts & Learning Academy over the summer and was delighted by how many guests shared their own stories of Academy site visits. And on this evening, we had the pleasure of experiencing the Academy not just as observers, but from the perspective of students.
We were divided into groups before departing on our journey to experience learning with Young Audiences. At three arts-integrated learning stations set up throughout the school, artist-teacher partners invited attendees to step into the shoes of students and learn academic content through the use of various art forms. Of course, since it was an art crawl for adults, there were cocktails to enjoy as well!
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Lemonade, vodka, and Blue Curaçao garnished with a Swedish fish
Concocted by Board Chairman and Sunburst Society Member Randy Osteen and Stephanie Felix
We took our seats in the library where paper, markers, glue sticks and googly eyes had been set out on tables. Fiber artist Kathrine Dilworth and her teacher-partner, Jaime Clough, explained they had worked with first graders in the Summer Arts & Learning Academy to reinforce math skills.
We were instructed to draw a monster, name it, and then partner with someone to create a mathematical word problem, as this is a difficult skill for six-year-olds. So after Pink Plush (my furry pink monster) was completed, the gentleman across the table handed me his monster, Curley, and I wrote the following, “If you subtract Curley’s eyes (3) from Pink Plush’s (4), you are left with one eye.” The teacher smiled and encouraged me with a cheery, “Perfect!” I can picture her having done that many times this summer.
S.T.E.A.M.
Belgian-style amber ale and Grand Marnier
Concocted by Board Secretary and Sunburst Society Member Tea and Kevin Carnell
You’ve heard of STEM, haven’t you – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math? Well, when you add the Arts, you get STEAM! In the music room, after grabbing our next cocktail, we met percussionist Jason Armstrong Baker who taught us the basics of beatboxing. After demonstrating how to get Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, to beatbox for you – one incredulous person asked, “Seriously?” to which another wit deadpanned, “No, Siri!” (you gotta love this crowd) – we went through a couple of patterns to master the skill.
Convinced we were ready (really?), he turned the floor over to classroom teacher Shana Smith who had assisted third graders with their multiplication tables. After picking a card (the 5 of hearts), which was our factor (in this case, rhythm size), and after a roll of the die (3), which determined our group size (in this case, the number of times the rhythm was repeated), we had our multiplication problem, 5 x 3. Thus prepared, we broke into a stuttering chorus of BttKt, BttKt, BttKt – our answer, 15!
Poetic License
Dark Rum, lime, bitters, mint, and a splash of Prosecco
Concocted byVice Chairman of the Board and Sunburst Society Member Alan Hoff and Trisha Frick
Moving back into the room in which we had begun the evening, we grabbed our cocktail and gathered around tables as Femi the DriFish, a slam poet, and his teacher-partner, Erin Inouye, explained how they used the book Seedfolks as a basis for their lessons.
Using the example of “Through My Window,” we were asked to write our own poems to illustrate what we see through our window. Just as the pair had done with the fourth and fifth graders they led this summer, they offered several ways to accomplish this. A green sheet provided partial sentences with blanks left for the author to fill (think Mad Libs). Some participants were handed blank pink sheets of paper on which to pen a poem from scratch (a few brave souls chose this). For those feeling intimidated by the written word, colored markers and a blank white sheet were provided on which we could draw our window scenes.
After completing our poems, we were invited into a circle to share them. And folks from each group (pink, green and white) did so. Particularly sweet was a gentleman who drew his poem, explaining that the trees were still green, not because they hadn’t changed colors yet, but because he left for work before the sun rose and got home after it set. So the last time he saw his trees, they were still leafy and green – a detail he might have felt hesitant to explain in writing, but that came flowing from him through his artwork!
At the end of the evening the groups reunited for a few more snacks and conversation. And what struck me as I talked with these people was their shared passion for both the arts and education. One woman, Sharon Button, had actually been the Executive Director of a Young Audiences affiliate in Buffalo, NY in the 1970s. At the time she was a workforce of only one, but toiled tirelessly to secure funding for arts-integrated programs long before the term was in fashion.
Another gentleman who had worked with Young Audiences affiliates in other states had this to say, “Young Audiences in Maryland is one of the most highly respected groups, both in this city and among its peers.”
I can believe it. The energy, passion, creativity, imagination, and sheer fun that Young Audiences exhibits makes me very proud to be associated with it. I have been fortunate to meet teachers and artists who blend academic subjects and art to reach school children. And I have been doubly blessed by being able to contribute monetarily to this amazing organization as a Sunburst Society member.
If you believe, as Young Audiences does, that the arts transform lives, and that every student should have the opportunity to imagine, create, and realize their full potential through the arts, then I urge you to join us in supporting this amazing organization. And then next year, join us at the Art Crawl and discover the magic that happens when arts, education, and handcrafted cocktails are combined.
Find more photos from Young Audiences’ 2nd annual Art Crawl can be found on our Flickr page.