Song of America Educator Workshop in Spokane!

By christie@songofamerica

Learn more and register online here!

Spokane-area K-12 and college instructors are invited to attend a free workshop on Friday, March 1st, 2019 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. to learn new approaches to integrating the humanities, and music in particular, into the classroom.

The Song of America Teacher Workshop,co-sponsored by the Spokane Symphony and Grammy Award-winning baritone Thomas Hampson’s Hampsong Foundation, offers an interdisciplinary exploration of American history and culture through classic song.

The workshop is being offered in conjunction with Thomas Hampson’s concert in Spokane on March 1 — the west coast premiere of “Song of America: Beyond Liberty.” An ensemble of Spokane Symphony musicians will join Spokane’s own internationally-renowned baritone as he explores the influential people, poetry and events that helped create and define our nation. Using song, personal anecdotes and historical monologues, Hampson will take the audience on a journey through American history as seen through the eyes of poets and the ears of composers. Concert details here.

This workshop is designed for K-12 Language Arts, English, Social Studies, and Performing Arts educators, as well as college instructors, teaching artists and college students preparing to teach K-12. Educators can earn clock hours with this workshop.

The free workshop takes place on Friday, March 1st from 3:00-7:00 p.m. at the Eric A. Johnson Auditorium at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane’s Browne’s Addition, 2316 W. First Avenue. Snacks will be provided during the afternoon workshop, with a light dinner at 5:45 p.m. Free parking is available in the museum’s parking garage, or on the street.

The workshop includes two tickets for each participant for Thomas Hampson’s concert, “Song of America: Beyond Liberty,” on Friday, March 1st at 8:00 p.m. at Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox in Spokane.

To register for the workshop by phone, instructors must contact the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox box office at (509) 624-1200.

During the Song of America Teacher Workshop, educators will engage in hands-on activities, participate in interactive presentations, and experience live performances of music. Topics will include Native American culture, early American history, the Civil War, and African American history (especially during the 20th century). The workshop draws on the Song of America educational resources that were developed by the Hampsong Foundation in collaboration with the Library of Congress and a network of educators nationwide.

Master teachers will conduct the workshop: Dr. Caroline Heaton, Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan; Dr. Susan Key, musicologist, former high school teacher, and executive director of the Star Spangled Music Foundation; and Dr. Emery Stephens, Visiting Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and former middle school teacher.

For more information, please contact: Janet Napoles, Education Programs Manager, Spokane Symphony, (509) 464-7062, [email protected], or Alison Highberger, Spokane Symphony Public Relations Manager, (509) 842-2943, [email protected].

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