Mystic Learning Center: Teens & Preteens

AROUND HEAR POP-UPS #4 and #5: Mystic Learning Center Teens & Preteens

April 13, 2017

For my fourth and fifth Around Hear visits, I was once more at the Mystic Learning Center, this time with age-specific groups: a group of teens on Wednesday and a group of pre-teens on Thursday.  These visits were the occasion for the premier of my one-woman show, the creation of which has been my major creative, musical focus for the past few months. 

My solo show is a presentation of Telemann’s E-minor Fantasie, Mario Davidovsky’s electroacoustic masterpiece Synchronisms No. 9, and Hindemith’s solo sonata Op. 31, No. 2. I welcomed the listeners to notice and share, in words or in pictures, their responses to this eclectic program using some delectable art materials: I gave each listener a 6-inch square piece of paper (white on one side/black on the other side) clipped to a small clipboard, a multi-colored crayon star that I had made, and a white oil pastel. To help the listeners get their creative juices flowing, I provided listening prompts and some examples of my own artwork and poetry, using a cranky, an old-timey performance contraption that gradually scrolls a long banner of paper across a square display area, the effect being that of a sort of paper TV. I love this low-tech art form and have wanted to bring it into the classical music sphere for along time. I finally did!  

It was a huge thrill for me to employ my passion for visual art and poetry in service of this favorite musical repertoire. Using these extra-musical performance elements helped me bring the musical performance into a theatrical zone, a zone that feels to me a bit more momentous and magical than the typical vibe of concerts. The atmosphere became even more positively charged as the listeners put to use the materials for creative response. I will share examples of their visual/writing responses in the photos below.  

In their verbal responses to the music, the teens were gracious and thoughtful. Many of them said that the listening experience was relaxing. One 20-year-old member of the club said the event made her realize how much she misses playing the violin herself. The preteens were gregarious. At the end, the show evolved into a stump-the-violinist game; I was put on the spot to play such tunes as Old McDonald, Jingle Bells, Brahms’ Lullaby, Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”, Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata. Overall, the youth and staff at these Mystic Learning Center Programs are sweet and kind, and made me feel very welcome. I’ll be going back to the Mystic one more time, next week, to share this solo show with the elementary-aged after school program.