Holding their recorders and walking single file with teachers and chaperones, more than 1,800 Akron Public Schools fifth graders — nearly 3,000 students total including other area schools — invaded downtown Wednesday outside of the Akron Civic Theatre.
The kids were there to participate in “The Orchestra Swings,” two concerts with the Akron Symphony Orchestra funded by the Link Up program through Carnegie Hall. Schools opted in to introduce third through fifth graders to orchestral music. Nearly 3,000 students performed Wednesday
As part of the program, Carnegie Hall provides teachers with materials, training and support.
Once inside the Civic, the students packed the theater’s seats. On stage, Akron Symphony Orchestra members were joined by host Stephanie Childers-White, a music teacher from Akron, and Daniel Schneck, a music teacher from the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District.
Childers-White led the students through several songs with the Akron Symphony Orchestra. They included jazz pieces such as “Duke’s Place” and “Recorder Mae and the Giant Swing Machine.” The fifth graders followed along to the beat and played recorder pieces they had previously learned.
Educating the students about the makeup of an orchestra was also part of the program, with the players introducing strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and rhythm, one section at a time.
There are three categories that rotate each year — Orchestra Swings, which introduces a jazz component, Orchestra Sings, which introduces a melody component, and Orchestra Moves, which introduces a rhythm component.
Paul Jarrett, the executive director of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, told Signal Akron that the program has been running for nearly 10 years and is a huge success — he looks forward to it each year.
“The biggest key is that this program is so interactive,” Jarrett said, “and we want the kids to come and participate rather than sitting in silence.”
Once inside the Civic, the students packed the theater’s seats. On stage, Akron Symphony Orchestra members were joined by host Stephanie Childers-White, a music teacher from Akron, and Daniel Schneck, a music teacher from the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District.
Childers-White led the students through several songs with the Akron Symphony Orchestra. They included jazz pieces such as “Duke’s Place” and “Recorder Mae and the Giant Swing Machine.” The 5th graders followed along to the beat and played recorder pieces they had previously learned.
Educating the students about the makeup of an orchestra was also part of the program, with the players introducing strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion and rhythm, one section at a time.
There are three categories that rotate each year — Orchestra Swings, which introduces a jazz component, Orchestra Sings, which introduces a melody component, and Orchestra Moves, which introduces a rhythm component.
Paul Jarrett, the executive director of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, told Signal Akron that the program has been running for nearly 10 years and is a huge success — he looks forward to it each year.
“The biggest key is that this program is so interactive,” Jarrett said, “and we want the kids to come and participate rather than sitting in silence.”
