Students Perform in Spring Recitals!
Teaching Artist Andrea Dowdell & a Harry Bridges Recorder Student
Grand Vision is thrilled to wrap up another successful year of our Meet the Music (MTM) program in schools! Since last September, MTM has taught 3,000 students in 20 schools with our weekly music education courses under the direction of Music Education Manager Sukari Reid-Glenn and Education Program Coordinator Lupe Montiel.
Courses included the 12-week Roots of Music Program (RoMP), and the 24-week Recorders in Schools, Strings in Schools, Keys of Inspiration and Percussion Program.
Each week, students learned music concepts, new songs and performance skills with Grand Vision music teachers (whom we call teaching artists). This spring, all participating MTM schools held culminating recitals demonstrating the student’s new musical skills. Advanced 5th-grade recorder and percussion students also wowed the community with a special recital in San Pedro.
Plainview Percussion Students
At in-school recitals, students played music from the MTM curriculum and worked with Grand Vision’s teaching artists to create their own original arrangements. Percussion students at Plainview Academic Charter Academy created an arrangement of Toto’s “Africa.” Hawaiian Elementary School RoMP students sang a traditional folk tune, “Little Piece of Cornbread” while playing cardboard guitars that they made in class.
Recorders Students Recital at First Thursday
On May 2nd, 22 brave Meet the Music students performed at downtown San Pedro’s First Thursday ArtWalk. Led by Teaching Artists Lupe Montiel, Andrea Dowdell and Nicholas Miller, the students performed with peers from several schools. Some advanced students have benefited from multiple years of regular in-school instruction with MTM. Enrique Vega, a father whose children spent two years taking our MTM classes, said that getting an early start in music helped his kids “get over their jitters” and really enjoy performing. He went on to say, “The only thing we wish is that [the kids] had more… because it’s really amazing.”
We are so proud of the work our MTM students have put in to gain new musical skills and confidence through their recitals! They can take their new knowledge of music into middle school and beyond. Some MTM Alumni even attended the public performance and shared stories of songs and instruments they are now learning in middle school and high school. Thank you to our MTM staff, teaching artists, classroom teachers, school administrators and Grand Vision supporters who have worked together to make this year’s MTM program a success!
Grand Vision Foundation’s Meet the Music is supported, in part, by LAUSD, LA County Department of Arts and Culture, the California Arts Council, Crail-Johnson Foundation, the Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, Chorus America, City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), The William C. Bannerman Foundation, 4th District LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, U.S. Bank Foundation, and Councilmember Tim McOsker of the One Five (15th District).
