Wolf Trap Master Teaching Artist Wincey Terry-Bryant traces her love of music back to a small Pentecostal church in Jersey City, N.J., where she first learned to sing. “We didn’t have musicians,” she says, “so our choir sang a capella.” Their choir director, Carolyn Dale, had perfect pitch and drilled them regularly on harmony. One Sunday morning, Terry-Bryant was asked to fill in for one...
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What are the qualities of an effective teaching artist? Is it a love of the arts, or an interest in working with children? Is it a formal degree or years of experience as a professional artist? This is something the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts team contemplates on a regular basis. Their job is to develop teaching artists into dynamic communicators...
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What does it mean to “meet students where they are”? In 2017, the Aurora Institute released a series of briefs1 that championed this concept, in which it called upon educators to look at students from a more holistic perspective: students could not truly thrive if they were academically competent, but were struggling in other areas, Aurora Institute advised. Teachers needed to gauge where their students...
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It’s hard to be around Latin Grammy-winning duo Andrés and Christina and not smile. The positive energy they exude on stage, as 123 (Uno, Dos, Tres) Andrés, is infectious─and is a testament to their popularity in the children’s music industry. What their fans might not know is that Andrés and Christina are also Teaching Artists for Wolf Trap’s Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts....
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Children’s music artist Pierce Freelon is not slowing down. Fresh from the release of his second album, Black to the Future, Freelon also recently penned his first children’s picture book Daddy Daughter Day, set to be published in 2022. He is a City Council Member in his hometown of Durham, N.C. and has traveled the world teaching Hip Hop and music production to youth as...
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First-generation Korean-American children’s performer Elena Moon Park, who will be performing as part of the 2021 summer season of Children Performances at Wolf Trap, believes that “everyone is a soundmaker,” to borrow a term from musician Mark Stewart. Born in East Tennessee to parents who immigrated to the United States from Korea, Park was surrounded by music early on. After taking a break to study...
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For all of its challenges, 2020 turned out to be a pretty good year professionally for singer/songwriter Joanie Leeds. Not only did she release a GRAMMY-winning album, All the Ladies, but she also found a way to make new music over Zoom in the middle of the pandemic, with a young child at home. Leeds’ creativity and ingenuity has followed her throughout her life and...
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From a young age, award-winning jazz musician Oran Etkin formed a deep love for music of all disciplines. As a professional musician, he has traveled the world, learning the music “language” of different cultures, and is dedicated to passing those rich musical traditions on to the next generation. This season, Oran Etkin will perform on the Filene Center stage as part of its 2021 Children’s...
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July 1, 2021 marked a historic moment with a star-studded evening at the Filene Center celebrating Wolf Trap's 50th anniversary and the legacy of Wolf Trap’s founder Catherine Filene Shouse. Thanks to all who joined us, including JoAnn Falletta, Christine Goerke, Joyce Yang, Cynthia Erivo, and the National Symphony Orchestra....
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Honoring Local Frontline Workers and Educators Wolf Trap and PNC came together to thank educators, healthcare professionals, and other frontline workers with a series of four free concerts last week performed by the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic and “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Community heroes, along with their families and friends, were invited to attend and celebrate their incredible commitment with the sweet...
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