On Sunday February 9th, 23 recorder students from P.S. 38 and P.S. 155 in Manhattan and P.S. 121 in the Bronx participated in the American Classical Orchestra's Thrills and Chills family concert at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. The concert featured music of Vivaldi, Telemann, and Bach, and for the grand finale studenst were invited onto the stage to perform "La Folia."
In the months leading up to the concert, ETM Teaching Artists Ulises Solano, Racquel Borromeo, Joshua Fleischmann, and Daniel Blankinship worked with the students to prepare. They had coachings and performances by recorder virtuosi Nina Stern and Horacio Franco and a special visit from ACO conductor Thomas Crawford, who was dressed as Antonio Vivaldi.
This concert was a special event for the students, since the opportunity to perform on a real stage with a real orchetra is something most children their age do not get to experience. Indeed, one parent said her daughter couldn't stop talking about the concert in the week preceding the performance, demonstrating how deeply this experience resonated with students from the three schools.
In addition to the teaching artists mentioned above who helped to prepare and organize the students, ETM also thanks Teaching Artist Matthew Minchew for voluntarily coming to the Saturday event to keep everything running smoothly.
