More than 12,000 fifth graders throughout the county attended blues concerts at the Music Center at Strathmore from Oct. 25–28. These performances had been an annual treat for students and staff until interrupted by the pandemic. This is the first time the concerts have been held since 2019.
This valuable partnership exposes elementary students to professional musicians and music on a grand scale. Combining the concert with classroom instruction, students learned about instruments and musical styles from rock to Bach.
In class, students have been studying the 12-bar blues chord progression and song form, learning about the instrumentation most often used in blues music, as well as some history of the blues. The concerts give students the opportunity to participate as listeners and audience performers.
