MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN - The East Tennessee Regional Symphony, in partnership with the Milligan College Orchestra, is collaborating with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) to offer a unique music education experience for Washington County, Tenn., schoolchildren.
Link Up pairs orchestras across the country with schools in their local communities, inviting them to learn about orchestral repertoire through a year-long, hands-on music curriculum.
The ETRS is one of only 40 organizations from across the United States chosen for WMI's Link Up program. Funding support is provided by the Harris Fund for Washington County, a fund of East Tennessee Foundation.
"Part of our mission is to provide creative and compelling ways for orchestra to become actively involved in our community, and we've already seen this program do just that," said ETRS Conductor Lewis Dalvit. "The children we have met in the schools are excited about this opportunity, and we're honored to be the only Tennessee organization offering it during the 2012-2013 season."
Utilizing curriculum materials provided free-of-charge by WMI, teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer's lens, with students participating in active music making in the classroom, performing repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion, and taking part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.
The culmination of the yearlong program is a live performance in which students have the opportunity to sing and play the recorder or violin along with ETRS and the Milligan Orchestra in Milligan's Mary B. Martin Auditorium, located in Seeger Memorial Chapel. This performance often serves as students' first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied.
The participating Washington County schools include: Boones Creek Elementary, Boones Creek Middle School, Fall Branch School, Ridgeview School, South Central School, Grandview School, Sulphur Springs School, Lamar School, Jonesborough Elementary School, Jonesborough Middle School and Gray School.
Link Up's national partnerships grew out of the program's ongoing work with New York City schools, through which Carnegie Hall has engaged hundreds of thousands of students in musical learning since its inception in 1985.
Although this is the first year ETRS has collaborated with WMI, the symphony has a long history of bringing important and meaningful arts experience into the lives of local children. ETRS was chartered in November 2004, and since then has provided events for the young people of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina. In past years, the symphony has collaborated with City Youth Ballet, and this is the fifth year it has collaborated with the Milligan Orchestra.
Established in 1999, the Milligan Orchestra performs throughout the region and frequently collaborates with professional ensembles and arts organizations. It is conducted by Dr. Kellie Brown, chair of Milligan's music area.
"We share the symphony's passion for inspiring young people to appreciate, patronize and participate in the arts," Brown said. "Few things are as rewarding as helping young people discover their gift, and then helping them to nurture that and make it part of their lives."
To learn more about Link Up National, visit www.carnegiehall.org/LinkUp. To find out more about Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu.
