Grades: Pre K-12

Program Length: Varies

Audience Size: 30–200

Set up: Varies

Tear Down: Varies

Description:

The Junkman –the original recycled materials percussionist-- and his bag of skateboards, road signs, brake drums, and other unusual items will captivate young minds with a STEAM-driven interactive experience that will entertain while teaching about music, science, the environment, inclusiveness, and kindness. The Junkman offers a variety of programs to schools: Interactive Assembly Concerts, Workshops, Ensembles, StoryJams, Make-and-Takes, Redefining Rhythm Seminars, and Residencies. All programs contain The Junkman’s HOP (Help Our Planet) educational initiative, which has garnered awards from the United Nations, the Federal Republic of Mexico, and the Governor of Vermont. https://junkmusic.online/help-our-planet-hop-initiative/

Program options:

Interactive Assembly Concert — Typically lasting 45 minutes to one hour, the concert features music selections that offer a very diverse array of styles, tempo, and instrumentation.

Workshops — Workshops offer a deeper level of interactivity than concerts and, therefore, are ideally capped at 25 students or less in each class.

StoryJams - The Junkman (Donald Knaack) has collaborated with the critically acclaimed author of thirteen traditionally published mystery novels, Amy Patricia Meade, to bring a unique storytelling/music program to students of all ages. Called Storyjams, the classroom workshop inspires children to create their own stories while simultaneously teaching them about story structure, sound color, and how rhythm and music can enhance a written narrative or tell a story all its own. Amy’s section of the program meets the majority of NYS Anchor Standards for Writing. Donald Knaack’s portion meets the majority of NYS Music Anchor Standards. Workshops are interactive with each student creating a story to either read aloud or share on the classroom story tree. A jam session & a question and answer session will follow each workshop.

Eco-Beat Concert - This exciting new multi-media concert includes the spooky sounds of ‘Dracula’s Dance’, a symphony on a used drum head, an exploration of sound colors, a duet with a junk robot, and the use of vocal percussion As always, all shows feature The Junkman’s award-winning Help Our Planet (HOP) education initiative and teach environmental stewardship and social responsibility as presented by a virtuoso percussionist and world-class musician and environmentalist.

Duration of each classroom presentation is 30 to 45 minutes dependent upon student age and scheduling constraints.

Residencies

·         Music-Based: Each class in the school will be assigned a material (such as wood or metal). The members of each class and parents then comb their houses and garages looking for objects made from their assigned material. These materials are then brought into the respective classrooms. The Junkman™ then works with each class to make instruments or sound-producing objects and then to make a music composition for their instruments. The materials, instruments and the music compositions of each class will be totally unique to that class.

·         Sculpture-Based: The Junkman™ and students construct a sound sculpture made exclusively from recycled materials in which up to 20 students can simultaneously perform upon. The sculpture, known as a Junk Music™ Playstation, is a permanent installation which most schools place on the playground. The Junkman works in advance with a school contact to gather all the recycled materials prior to the beginning of the residency.

Categories: Art, Music — Instrumental, Music — Vocal 

This performance supports the following NYS Learning Standards for the Arts:

Music:

• Creating

• Performing

• Connecting

Cost: 

Concerts

• $1600 — Interactive Concert & Junkjam for up to 300 students 

o   all-inclusive including sound system

• $1,900 — Interactive Concert & Junkjam for two back-to-back in the same school 

o   all-inclusive including sound system

Workshops

• $1100 — Half Day of Workshops (4, 40-minute workshops)

o   all-inclusive (Materials may be additional)

• $1,500 — Full Day of Workshops (8, 40-minute workshops)

o   all-inclusive (Materials may be additional)

StoryJams

• $1900/school — Full day of workshops

o   all-inclusive

Residency

• $6,500 — Five-day Residency

o   all-inclusive (Materials may be additional)