Kerri Collins, CSO Director of Development and Mitsuko Flynn, interim Director of Education and Community Engagement were guest speakers at the Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange meeting on Wednesday evening, April 19, at The Seabrook Island Club.
The CSO’s mission is to inspire, challenge and educate students in our local communities with unique musical experiences. $400,000 of the orchestra’s annual budget is dedicated to providing students at all grade levels with engaging opportunities with CSO musicians at their home schools, the Gaillard Auditorium and beyond.
From “Saltwater Sounds” at the South Carolina Aquarium to “Story Time” at our county libraries and the “Instrumental Petting Zoo”, young children are able to touch and play instruments, many for the very first time. The CSO orchestra offers in-school performances to over 90 schools in the three county area and often makes repeat visits when time permits.
Haut Gap Middle School and Mt. Zion students participated in “Composition and Critique” this past school year. Musicians collaborated with students on a story they were reading in class and composed musical compositions based upon the story’s characters, setting and plot. The grand finale took place at the Gaillard when these students watched and listened to their compositions being performed on stage at a Young People’s Concert. In 2016, over 253 students from Haut Gap Middle, Mt. Zion and Frierson participated in Young People’s Concerts, along with their teachers, parents, and members of their communities.
The CSO also partners with various school youth orchestras inviting students to attend a concert and visit with musicians back stage for advice and tutoring. Yuriy Bekker, Concert Master, offers professional development workshops for teachers, too.
The Kiawah-Seabrook Exchange Club members were pleased to learn about these unique and impactful opportunities the Charleston Symphony Orchestra has created for our youth in the Lowcountry-another positive example of their annual charitable grant monies being put to good use.
-Submitted by Lori Leary