The Shadow
LEWISBURG, W.Va. — Carnegie Hall presented two concerts on Thursday, April 18, featuring fourth and fifth grade students from the region and the West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra.
The concerts were the culminating events of the year-long curriculum called Link Up.
Link Up, a music program developed by the Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall in New York City, pairs orchestras across the country with students in grades three through five at schools in their local communities to explore orchestral repertoire through a hands-on music curriculum.
Students participating in Link Up attend a culminating concert where they sing and play recorder with the orchestra.
The program provides instructional materials for students to learn to sing and play the recorder on a specific number of pieces. The WVU Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Mitchell Arnold, learned the same music.
On the day of the concert, the students and the orchestra “link up” to perform music together. This year the concert, titled “The Orchestra Swings,” also featured members of the West Virginia Jazz Orchestra, and three vocalists (Brandon Cruz, Rosie Ketchum, and Bailey Withrow) from Greenbrier East High School.
For the first time the Link Up concerts featured violins, played by students from Russell Fallstad’s Heartstrings Academy, and harps, played by students from Lewisburg Elementary School. The harps were purchased with funds from the Classics for Kids Foundation, the Carnegie Hall Guild, and the Susan L. Adkins Fund for String Music.
Approximately 600 students from Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties participated in the Link Up program. Students from the following schools played recorder at the April 18 concerts: Alderson, Crichton, Frankford, Lewisburg, Mountain View, Rainelle, Ronceverte, Rupert, Smoot, and White Sulphur Springs.
In addition, the WVU Symphony Orchestra played a concert on Wednesday, April 17. The concert, which was open to the public, was funded by the Thomas Endowed Fund.
Carnegie Hall is already planning for next year’s Link Up concerts. Students from private and home schools are invited to participate.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Link Up music program may contact Leah Trent, education director, at (304) 645-7917.
Carnegie Hall is a nonprofit organization supported by individual contributions, grants, and fundraising efforts such as TOOT and The Carnegie Hall Gala.
The hall is located at 611 Church Street in Lewisburg.
For more information, call (304) 645-7917 or visit www.carnegiehallwv.org.
———————————————————————————————————-
Carnegie Hall presented two concerts on Thursday, April 18, as the culminating events of the year-long Link Up curriculum. The concerts featured fourth and fifth graders from the region. Here students perform with the West Virginia University Symphony Orchestra. (Photo Courtesy Carnegie Hall)
