A Swingin’ Holiday in Toledo, Ohio

artsembassyintl
12 minutes ago
3 min read

AEI artist Keri Chryst is back at Beverly Elementary to help ring in the season with jazz!

Scat Cat Sessions - Part Deux

It’s been less than 2 years since the last Scat Cat Session here at Beverly Elementary in Toledo, Ohio. It’s pretty cool that many of the “upper classmen” (well, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders) still remember some of the names and faces of the jazz greats that they’d learned about when they were “little”. ;-) And just like rereading an old favorite book, there’s always something new to be gleaned from revisiting people, places, and things…

Do you remember some fun facts about jazz music and its famous artists?

“When in doubt, Repeat!”

One of the recurring themes of this Scat Cat Session was how the simple act of repeating can open up the creative flow. Students got to observe how masters like Ella Fitzgerald and Ben Webster use repetition as a gateway to “theme and variation” in their own “improvisation conversations”. Then after a few practice word-games and dance-offs - they got a chance to try some theme and variation in their own scat conversations - with surprisingly eloquent results!

"When in doubt, Repeat!"

Swinging’ Holiday Program

This time it was the 1st and 4th graders who got a little extra time with Keri to work up a short repertoire of jazz favorites to perform for the school (and parents). It’s a good thing that the Holiday canon has such a wide range of swinging tunes to chose from! Talk about learning how to be professional… Choreography, staging, a real live band, and a lot of rehearsal and improvisation went into making this performance possible. We’re so proud that nearly each and every 1st & 4th grader stepped up to try a LIVE “improvisation conversation” in front of a packed house full of their parents and peers!

Nearly EVERY SINGLE fourth grader stepped up to try a scat conversation with live professional musicians!! We're extra proud of the 3rd performer who spent most of the week being doubtful and reticent, but in the end stepped up to the plate voluntarily and scatted away!

The Junior High Blues

A lucky band of 7th & 8th graders had a full 45 minutes each day to practice and observe a variety of music and linguistic related content. Even the most recalcitrant of teenagers were able to connect on some level with the 12-bar blues form and its harmonic structure which they played in groups on the metalophones. They also tried rhyming and self-expression through a basic blues structure (AAB) given random word prompts. And, just like the littles, keeping them active is keeping them engaged - so a little jazz rhythm dance-off, and some West Side Story for inspiration also went a long way.

8th graders wanted to know how to express their frustration, confusion, fatigue and boredom ;-) Hence, the BLUES!

La Culture - C’est la vie!

Having traveled and lived abroad from a very young age, Keri also embodies Arts Embassy International’s maxim to help others “Experience unity across borders through the Arts”. Exposure to foreign cultures therefore sits at the center of this exchange and Beverly students K-8 had vast opportunities to express their curiosity and learn about French language and culture. Oui oui! Très bien!

Just a smattering of the types of words these kiddos wanted to learn to say en Français.

Merci Beaucoup

Extra special thanks to the Ohio Arts Council for their funding support for this project and to Melissa Mason for all the work she put into writing the grant proposal and preparing the kids for an amazing couple of weeks!

Beverly Music Specialist - Melissa Mason - doing. a fabulous job of preparing the kiddos for their performances!

Well deserved Pajama Day!

We couldn't resist including a few pics from the last day before Christmas break... a well deserved day of celebration and relaxation after all their hard work!