Ars Lyrica is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that produces a yearly series of concerts of early music, primarily Baroque, for general audiences. Part of their mission is a school outreach series. The following is from a press release I got from their Executive Director Kinga Ferguson, who is also a neighbor of mine:
Ars Lyrica is proud to bring a series of educational outreach programs to Houston’s public and private schools during the 2010-11 season.
“One of our primary educational goals is to reach out to young people who would otherwise seldom encounter live classical music“, says Artistic Director Matthew Dirst. “We realize the funding for arts programs has been dramatically cut in recent years, and we hope that our presentations will help to fill the gap and enrich schools’ arts curricula“, adds Executive Director Kinga Ferguson.
To make early music in particular engaging and accessible to children, the organization has developed two distinct educational outreach programs, one for K-5 students and the other for middle through high school students. “Harp History“ features harps from the Middle Ages through the Baroque and is specifically designed for K-5 students, to address and enhance the requirements of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards; while “Songs from the Heart“ features vocal music from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods and is designed for middle through high school students, as an introduction both to early vocal styles and period instruments.
Renowned historical harpist Becky Baxter will serve as both primary artist and program coordinator for “Harp History.“ Working closely with classroom teachers, Ms. Baxter will incorporate a series of historic harp presentations into the music curriculum at the elementary school level in the Houston Public Schools. These presentations are interactive in nature: the children participate by touching the harps and asking questions as well as answering questions asked by the artist about their observations of the harps. Familiar music examples are used as well as examples of earlier repertoire. Key to this program are basic musical and acoustic concepts: tone, shape, pitch, vibration, resonance and echo are all demonstrated with the active participation of children (by having them lay their hands flat on the wooden body and frame of the harp, for example).
Ars Lyrica’s vocal soloists bring a wealth of performance and outreach experience to “Songs from the Heart,“ a program designed to introduce middle and high school students to early vocal literature and period instruments. Designed to give students with some musical experience a better understanding of the history of song, this program features solo vocal works in various languages and styles, accompanied by period harps and lutes, and includes demonstrations of various special techniques, including embellishment and dramatic inflection. Individual coachings of selected student soloists, in those schools that offer private vocal instruction, make this program interactive and give students the opportunity to improve both their skills with and knowledge about early music, with the help of seasoned professionals.
School principals, music program directors or PTA volunteers who are interested bringing such programs to their schools should contact Kinga Ferguson at [email protected] or at (281) 636-4951. If you’d just like to learn more about Ars Lyrica, they’re in all of the usual social network places, and they have a blog, too. Let’s help make Houston’s schools a little more musical.
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