StoryMusic is so thrilled to have finally been able to perform in person again! Yesterday we finished a run of 6 school concerts in 4 days, thanks to a donor connected with the Mount Royal University Conservatory, allowing us to reach out to about 1,125 kids at Chinook Park, Woodbine, Louis Riel and Westmount Charter Elementary Schools, in hopes that they are inspired to study music and benefit from the many fine teachers and programs at MRU. We believe that music brings joy, discipline and community, making for a better, happier society, so: the more the merrier. We encourage people to find out more about MRU Conservatory here:

https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/TheConservatory/index.htm

Many thanks to narrator Julie Freedman Smith, violinist Diane Lane, violist Liza Scriggins and cellist Andrea Case for their artistry and collegiality; and thanks also to the teachers and students for their enthusiastic participation!

The kids were amazingly good at discerning the difference between violin, viola and cello in our blind listening game, even with each instrument playing the exact same notes in the same register. They also showed creativity in their story ideas for the piece by Francaix we played (for instance, one student said she pictured chickens, another a wild party!). Great questions at our Q&A session at the end of the concert: What happens next in the story? Why do your instruments sound different? How long did you practice together to make the show?

It was a wonderful week, and we hope to be able to share with more people again before long.