In Wednesday’s (5/1) Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington), Jody Lawrence-Turner writes, “The first day the small group of Garfield Elementary students gathered in the music room, their teacher told them they’d been hired by the Spokane Symphony for a special performance. Nearly 700 budding musicians and singers in grades 3-5 will join the Spokane Symphony for morning and evening performances Friday. The second-annual event is the culmination of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute national LinkUp program, in which 40 orchestras across the country partner with local schools. Students from Orient and Wellpinit school districts, eight of Spokane Public Schools’ elementary schools and area private schools will sing and play recorder with the orchestra from their seats in Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. Among the songs on the playlist: ‘When the Saints Go Marching In.’ … Janet Napoles, manager of education programs at the Spokane Symphony, said the goal of programs like these is to expose kids to music, orchestra instruments and the theater. Additionally, she said, ‘We want kids to aspire to be a musician, or a conductor, or just to take up an instrument for the sheer joy and emotional beauty that music brings.’ ”
Posted May 1, 2013
