Suzanne L. Burton (University of Delaware), Newark, Delaware
Assisted by: Brian Bersh, Shari Feldman, and Kathryn Makos (University of Delaware)
Boise Eliot Elementary School, Portland, Oregon
October 23, 2009
ProjectMUSIC teaching artists musically engaged three separate classes of children. (ages 7 – 9)
This project helped students learn new musical concepts and skills through close interaction with teaching artists. The children were musically engaged in singing, rhythmic chanting, playing instruments, movement, and labeling. Specifically, the students accompanied newly learned songs with body percussion and were taught gestures to indicate basic dynamics. These gestures led the students into conducting the teaching artists. In addition, they moved to music, sang songs at different tempi, and engaged in playing small instruments. Students were enthusiastic and participated whole heartedly. A thank-you letter from the children and their music teacher indicated the event’s success in engaging the children in the presentation. It further suggested that the music teacher would integrate what she had learned from the presentation into her future music classes.
