If you plan to give your child a doll house or a train set, a rocking horse or a trampoline, most likely there’s some assembly required. And it may take more time than you expect—hours rather than minutes. Consequently, if a birthday or special holiday is approaching, it’s best to prepare in advance so you won’t be up until four in the morning trying to put the contraption together.
Now, say you want to put on a concert for over 600 Third Grade schoolchildren, representing 11 schools and 24 classrooms spread around Western Nevada County. Well, there definitely will be “some assembly required. Yet this is something InConcert Sierra pulls off every year. They contract with musicians, rent a venue, arrange with teachers to reserve the concert date, send docents to the schools prior to the concert to talk about the music, hire a fleet of buses to deliver the kids to the venue in two different shifts, and have professional musicians in the wings set to go on stage when the kids arrive.
On Sunday, March 16, WindSync, an internationally noted wind quintet, performed for the regular audience as part of InConcert Sierra’s Third Sunday Series. They returned on Monday morning to play for the schoolchildren. The musicians strolled on stage wearing sneakers and black T-shirts with the WindSync logo, immediately establishing connection with the kids via their coolness.
Wasting no time, they dove into a “Texas Hoedown,” a lively folk dance in double time from Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo” ballet. They played full throttle, then dimmed the music as the five musicians each spoke about their instruments. Kara came forward with her bassoon, the biggest instrument in the quintet with the lowest sound. And while the bassoon often plays the bass line, it also can play melody and even be playful. Next Garrett presented his flute, a small instrument making the highest sound, and the only metal instrument in the group of wooden ones.
Graeme stole the show with his clarinet, reminding the kids that there was a character in the Sponge Bob Square Pants cartoon named Squidward who also played the clarinet— perhaps not very well because the series takes place under the sea. He (Graeme, not Squidward) demonstrated the clarinet’s range by launching into “When the Saints Go Marching In,” inspiring the kids to happily clap along.
After Graeme left center stage, it was Noah’s turn with his oboe. He pulled the double reed off, blew into it, and made a nasal squeak. After reassembling his instrument, he played a bit of the “Hoedown” melody as a solo, which sounded more normal. Anni followed by highlighting the French horn, calling it “the longest brass instrument”—noting that if the horn were uncoiled, it would stretch out to a full 12 feet. She concluded her presentation by playing the rich tones of a hunting song.
Having introduced their instruments, the musicians moved into storytelling. In 2019, in recognition of the 50-year anniversary of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, WindSync debuted a called “Apollo,” written by Marc Mellits. They used this “Apollo” music to illustrate the elements in a story, beginning with establishing a Setting. Kara invited the children to close their eyes, to imagine what it was like to explore the moonscape while they played a movement called Luna Nova—a meditative selection with close harmony and a feeling of mystery.
After the setting was established, Kara asked the kids to consider Character in the story while the musicians played Debbie Walking on the Moon, alluding to a light-hearted, playful, free-spirited young girl. And finally, Kara said the story needed some Action, so they played Moonwalk, hip and bouncy, like astronauts walking on the moon where there’s much less gravity than what we have on Earth.
With the elements of story fresh in everyone’s mind, it was time for the main event of the day: “Peter and the Wolf,” Sergei Prokofiev’s famous Symphonic Tale for Children, where each instrument represents a character in the story. The flute is a chirping bird, the oboe a quacking duck, and the clarinet a sneaky cat. The bassoon sounds like a grumpy grandpa (or for WindSync, a grandma), and the horn, mellow at times, can also sound scary and foreboding—perfect for the wolf.
To begin, the musicians play a bright, cheerful melody as Peter goes out the gate to the big green meadow and the musical action begins. Garrett appears, playing a bird song on his flute, wearing a cape of blue feathers draped over his shoulders. Noah waddles out with a duck hat and a yellow feather boa, playing quacking sounds on his oboe. The cat slinks in and Graeme, wearing a tail and a black beanie with pointed ears, plays a smooth and sneaky melody on his clarinet. He chases the bird around the stage, hoping to snare it, but the bird gets away.
The musical drama changes pace as Garrett slips off his blue feathers and pretends to be Peter, while Kara, the grumpy grandma, enters wearing a light blue smock. She shakes her finger at Peter and plays a low, scolding sound on her bassoon. She tells Peter, “The forest is not a place for boys like you. You never know when a wolf might come out of the forest.”
As soon as Peter and his grandma depart, indeed, the big gray wolf appears. Anni, wearing a metallic gray wolf mask, jumps off the stage and steals up the aisle, playing a dark, menacing passage on her French horn—leaning in close to the children with her threatening notes. Then bounding back up on the stage, she chases the duck and sadly, as the story goes, swallows it whole. Noah the duck slumps to the floor and Kara the wolf pats her tummy.
Heroically, Peter returns. He grabs a rope, runs it up an imaginary tree and ties it to the wolf’s tail, proclaiming he’s going to take the mean creature to the zoo. Anni removes her mask, and the musicians close the story with a few measures of Peter’s cheerful theme.
Following hearty applause and a few questions from the audience, WindSync closed the program with an upbeat number called “Umoja” by Valerie Coleman. Typically played on the first day of Kwanzaa, the piece has a touch of a gospel sound. Once the music began, Garrett led the crowd in a series of rhythmic patterns: basic clapping, moving arms in circles, finger snapping and more clapping, leading to a satisfying conclusion. The kids were tuned in throughout the performance, with credit due to WindSync who, according to ICS Artistic Director Ken Hardin, had just offered “a Master Class in keeping children engaged.”
With live music, the energy of seeing musicians on a stage easily outpaces watching something on a screen. It’s immediate—and the emotions are palpable. In short, the Third Grade Concerts make classical music accessible, opening a gate and possibly creating a path for young people to become future patrons of the arts.
After the buses collected the children and drove them back to their respective schools, Nate Henderson, a teacher at Williams Ranch in Penn Valley, sent a follow-up note to ICS, writing: “Once again, y’all ROCKED that concert! Our kids had an amazing time. First time in a concert hall for many of our students. That’s a game changer for future aspiring musicians! We couldn’t have done it without InConcert Sierra’s benefaction, from the free bus to Tom the Incredible Docent to all the volunteers and their work organizing and facilitating. Truly a heartwarming experience for our youngsters.”
Prior to the buses leaving the venue, a young girl expressed her thoughts more simply. Spotting Robin, the docent for her class, the girl rushed over and hugged her, proclaiming, “I loved this!” No need to say more.
Julie Becker is a member of the ICS Education Committee and loves seeing children actively engaged in music.