Educational Outreach
The Legendary Music of Star Wars
In April 2021, Aiken Symphony brought the legendary music of Star Wars to Redcliffe Elementary School with a live concert performance in the cafeteria. The students, many of whom had never seen music performed live before, were spellbound. In addition, Board members were on hand (some in costume) to provide “jedi lightsaber training” – there was even a visit from Darth Vader! We received several thank you letters from students following the concert. While all the letters were special, one was so impactful that it spurred one of our sponsors, CCNB, to provide funds for that child to purchase a saxophone (her instrument of choice)! What an amazing morning of music education!
Music in the Classroom
Your Aiken Symphony introduced our first educational outreach program, Concerts in Classrooms, during the pandemic of 2020 when in-person outreach was prohibited. The collaboration with the Aiken County Public School District created a set of 12 videos, all professionally recorded and produced by Meadows Media LLC. These videos were edited into sets of three – one geared toward elementary children, one to middle school, and the last to high school students. Each video set featured our Cover Conductor and Librarian “interviewing” a musician. Their instrument (violin, clarinet, cello, and percussion) was highlighted as well as a brief summary of their experiences as professional musicians, including amusing anecdotes, and discussion about famous composers. The videos were sent to every public school in Aiken County for use in the classroom.
It had long been a goal for your Aiken Symphony to find a way to establish an educational program to introduce students to the wonders of classical music. It was, however, surprising that with the upheaval in the 2020-2021 school year, we would find such a great opportunity to begin these efforts.
