For more than 25 years, Link Up, a program of Carnegie
Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI), has brought fun
and engaging musical experiences to thousands of
elementary students in classrooms throughout the New
York metropolitan area. More recently, Carnegie Hall
has significantly increased the number of children taking
part in Link Up nationally, providing this innovative
curriculum free-of-charge to more than 30 orchestras
throughout the country to support their existing
educational programs. National participation has
tripled over the last year, with more than 140,000 kids
nationwide taking part this season.
Link Up invites children in grades 3–5 to learn about the orchestra by
encouraging them to take part in it, incorporating hands-on music making with
recorders and other instruments into engaging classroom activities. Teachers
in each orchestra’s community receive free curriculum guides, DVD and audio
resources, and workbooks for students to use throughout the year.
During the 2011–2012 season, a new Link Up curriculum, The Orchestra Moves,
enables students to explore how composers create a sense of musical movement
using motif, melodic direction, steps and leaps, dynamics, and orchestration.
The Orchestra Moves joins other Link Up curricula, The Orchestra Rocks and The
Orchestra Sings, introducing kids to a range of orchestral repertoire and musical
concepts. At the end of the year, participating students attend a culminating
Link Up concert by their local orchestra, at which they sing and play along from
their seats. "I absolutely love the program and feel that it has pushed me to have
my students perform at a much higher level," said Omaha Symphony teacher
Deborah Mosier. "It is a really great opportunity for the kids in this area to learn
recorder skills and to become familiar with our concert hall and symphony."
WMI’s Online Resource Center also allows Link Up members to take advantage
of free high-quality curriculum materials, in-depth online audio and video
resources, and professional development webinars as they produce Link Up
programs in their own communities.
Malcolm White, executive director of the
Mississippi Arts Commission, points out, "This partnership changes the playing
field for us. It allows us to reach more students across our whole state."
Related:
Link Up 2011–2012
Link Up National
Live from Meridian: Students Applaud Link Up National
Weill Music Institute