The topic of the song is “Bear.” There is no sheet music; no lyrics to memorize. In a game-based learning environment, each child is encouraged to add something – anything they can think of that has to do with a bear – into the mix of voices and sounds emanating from the dozen or so kids standing in a circle around the piano at the Boys & Girls Club.
One of the island’s newest nonprofits, Kids in Concert, combines music training with improv in a holistic approach.
“When I’m singing, I’m just letting it flow,” said a sprite, Alexandria, when the music stopped.
If you were hoping to nurture the seed of an idea for an innovative creative-performance program, you couldn’t hope to find more fertile ground than Bainbridge Island. And that is exactly what the folks at Kids in Concert hope to do.
The volunteer effort is the first in the Northwest inspired by the Venezuelan program, El Sistema, which offers music as a portal to thousands of peasant children as a way to reach beyond their circumstances and embody their highest potential.
“When we don’t feel as if we can play, judgments get imposed instead, culture imposes judgments,” said Kids in Concert founder and Director Michelle Naden, a family therapist on Bainbridge.
We carry those judgments into adulthood.
Even Pat Murray, Executive Director of the Girls & Boys Club on Bainbridge, which is partnering with Kids in Concert, carries them, too.
“I’m the world’s worst singer, and even I wanted to join in,” he said.
Somewhere between birth and adulthood, singing becomes more about talent and an American Idol kind of competition than a shared human delight of self-expression.
Doe-Ray-We
Kids in Concert doesn’t foster a self-indulgent ego-centric experience, however. It’s all about the we.
“This thing happens when we hear and respond with each other, in relation to the whole, and we feel part of something larger than ourself,” Naden said. “It’s pretty awesome, working together and bringing your best self for the group.”
During a recent session in preparation for a public performance Aug. 5 at the Island School, a game called “Half Time” gave kids 30 seconds to act out a phrase. When the 30 seconds were up, they had 15 seconds to convey the same idea, then seven and a half seconds. Then three. Each challenge forced them to distill the meaning to its core essentials.
“It’s pretty magical,” said Murray who has been pleased with the effect the program has had on his own five-year-old daughter.
“We have some kids who have discipline problems or are shy, not expressing themselves or not expressing themselves in a positive way,” he said. “These kids are truly learning how to express themselves. The word I use is empowering and any opportunity you have to empower kids, you jump at it.”
The key of C
Confidence, collaboration, cooperation, contribution – Kids in Concert focuses as much on character development as music theory or applied skill.
Even with her impressive music education credentials, Artistic Director Laura Milleson considers herself, first and foremost, a collaborator, helping kids find their own voices in music.
“OK. Friends, you’re listening with your whole body,” she said as she began playing the piano.
“Performances are built in as mileposts, but a lot of it is just the pleasure of playing,” she said.
Two of the team’s staff have been teaching improv together for eight years. New to Bainbridge, Will Frei and Tina Guldhammer Frei have seen the effect that collaborative improv can have on people, young and old.
“Everybody’s part of a team. Everybody’s there to support each other,” Tina said, which is a different message than many kids get in our culture. For some kids, it is the first experience of working in a peer group where they can risk being vulnerable without others making fun of them.
“It really is life changing,” she said.
Conceivably world changing – one kid at a time.
To learn more, visit www.kidsinconcert.org.
