On the road with Beth and Ken

Well, 2007 seems determined to rush into history, but String Celebration has lots to do before year’s end. Ken just returned from the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Booking Conference in Columbia. He reports a great turnout of schools and libraries, and he enjoyed the opportunity to say hello to several of our fellow teaching artists. We look forward to seeing more of SC in the future!

[Update: Nov. 13, 2007 -- Our visit to James H. Hendrix Elementary School in Boiling Springs, SC, was definitely one of the highlights of this fall! The children were well prepared for a "Sounds of Science" program, and they exhibited a love of learning, excellent manners and a joyful willingness to participate! Hats off to the wonderful staff and to Principal Dawn Neely -- your good work is showing in your students!]

Speaking of SC, we’ll be traveling to the Spartanburg area in mid-November to present our “Sounds of Science” and “Multicultural Musical Mix” shows. From there, we head north, to Charlotte, NC, for shows at Hawk Ridge Elementary and Providence Spring Elementary, and later, to Lincolnton, NC, where we'll be performing at Battleground Elementary. One of the schools we'll be visiting this fall is James H. Hendrix Elementary School in Boiling Springs, SC. This K-4 school appears to have a very energetic administration and staff, and it is distinctive in that it is both a Title I school and an International Baccalaureate Candidate school! Next stop: Thanksgiving turkey, a little R&R with friends and family, and a possible trip to Asheville, NC.

December brings a trip to New York, with performances at several events (We can’t release any details yet, but we’ll be trying out some new markets and show formats). One other event we love is our upcoming Christmas show at Carolina Meadows Retirement Community in Chapel Hill. We perform there for the residents several times a year, and many of them have become old friends. Rather than our usual "Seniors Show" format (songs from the 30’s and 40’s and folk standards from the 60’s), we’ll be singing Christmas songs that the residents know and love. Next day, it’s off to Granville County for a visit to Kerr-Vance Academy,where we'll present two school shows and a workshop.

After the holidays, we're looking forward to a January trip to Richmond, VA, for more great school shows. This will be our first foray into the Richmond area and a wonderful way to start 2008 off on a good note!

Peace,
Beth and Ken

Getting into the new school year.

Hello and welcome to String Celebration's first blog! We'll try to keep you informed about where we are performing and also share some thoughts, from time to time, about the many great things we observe during our interactions with elementary schools in NC, VA, TN and SC.

September has been a busy month, as we have been putting the finishing touches on our latest science songs. Our next school performances are September 28th at Millis Road Elementary School in Greensboro, NC. The shows will be our "Sounds of Science" program. We're really looking forward to seeing the folks there!

There's a lot going on in October, but one highlight is our trip to Roanoke Rapids, NC, for performances at Manning Elementary -- our third visit in three consecutive school years. Last year we performed our "Read for your Life!" program, and the year before it was the "String Show" (that's the one where we show and demonstrate some fourteen different instruments, with lessons on the histories and characteristics of each). This time, we'll be presenting our "Carolina Culture" program, with lessons on the history, noteworthy people and other items of interest from each region of our home state. (Did you know NC was the home of the first "gold rush" in North America?)

One advantage of having several programs to offer is that we can return to your school or library year after year, with new programs and lessons each time. You can choose from our various programs, and be assured of consistent, quality, educational, curriculum-based entertainment for your students. (see http://www.stringcelebration.com/) It's so rewarding and important to have a positive relationship with a school - its students, parents and staff! We welcome your input and look forward to seeing many of you soon!

Ken and Beth