Last week, the halls of Country Club, Bluffview, Northeast, McKinley, and Esperanza were alive with the sounds of music, poetry, dance, art, and acting, as the Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation brought their exciting and engaging “Young Audience Concerts” to our elementaries! The 4th and 5th-grade students were thrilled as they were taken on a journey through a world of creativity, imagination, and inspiration.
The concerts featured a talented ensemble of musicians, including Tennille Taylor on violin, Joseph Pope on viola, Hans Freuden on cello, Barbara Moore on flute, Jeff Solon on clarinet, Karen Lyon on French horn, Mick Hesse on trumpet, Connie Schulz on euphonium, and Les Leach on percussion. Each musician introduced themselves and their instruments, captivating the students with an array of music styles, from Star Wars to Harry Potter, Jaws, and even "Baby Shark Dance."
The concert also had amazing performances by dancers/actors Tiana and Takoda Winer. They waltzed to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" while changing costumes a few times, and Takoda even danced like a robot, flipping around in a bright blue shirt! On the right side of the stage, visual artist John Achee wowed the audience with his creative process, transforming a picture of a fox into a fox in stained glass, and pool balls into a single marble. On the left side, poet Geney Stan wrote a special poem about the students, which she read to them at the end of the show.
The FMS Fine Arts Department, led by Coordinator Daniel Fear, conducted the ensemble, showing the students how they can learn how to be conductors in the future. Co-host Cathy Pope not only sang “Beauty and the Beast” for the students but also helped them participate in the sing-alongs. The whole experience left the students buzzing with excitement and it may have inspired some to become performers themselves.
Through these presentations, FMS hopes to promote creativity and encourage our younger students to take an interest in the arts programs we offer, which will help them develop better cognitive skills, memory, and language.
We want to give a huge shoutout to the Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation, the FMS Fine Arts Department, and all the musicians and performers who made this event possible. You were all truly outstanding, and we can't wait for these concerts to come back again!