Special guest Harpist Kristina Finch spent a day visiting with and performing for over 1000 students.
April 18th - Harding Elementary School and Westlake Middle School
Ms. Finch presented six individual classes for over 400 students at Harding Elementary School. Our day began around 7:30am, and we finally packed up the vans around noon. Each class featured detailed 
descriptions on the inner workings of the harp as well as musical discussions on how sound is created. A few musical guessing games were played, and each program ended with a few minutes of delightful question and answers as well as a "Petting Zoo" activity.
Later that day, from 2:15 to 3 pm, Ms. Finch presented a school-wide music assembly at Westlake Middle School. Playing music both ancient and contemporary, Kristina captivated an audience of over 625 middle school students while demonstrating both her artistic excellency and youthful nature.
We are honored to be able to present these classes free of charge, and we are equally anxious to get back out there and do it again. Stay tuned!
Guest Artist Adé Williams performs for local middle school students
January 17th - Westlake Middle School
Violinist Adé Williams gave a 45 minute long masterclass for over 30 excited middle school students at Westlake Middle School last month. 
Adé demonstrated her incredible violin technique to the delight of the students, and even welcomed 6 of them up on stage to take part in her class.
Following her performance, Ms. Williams took the time to answer 20-30 questions written by each of the students during the week leading up to her visit.
The ECO is again honored to offer such events as this completely free to the public, and we are extremely thankful to Carrie Borland for helping to arrange this visit.
Click here for a video from the performance as covered by Fox 66 News.
Keep checking back here to our Education Page to see what happens next!
Maestro Kraemer and members of the ECO work with over 150 students from District Orchestra
January 11th - McDowell Intermediate High School
Heartwarming images from our second Petting Zoo
December 15th - Millcreek Branch Library
Our first Petting Zoo was a huge success
Over 50 participants took place in our first ever instrumental petting zoo.
On a cold, rainy Saturday morning, 4 musicians from the Erie Chamber Orchestra and myself sat patiently in the Storytime Theatre at the Blasco Library, waiting for an audience to show up.With the combination of heavy winds and rain, we were nervous that we might have to potentially postpone our petting zoo. But, to our delight, 1 child trepidatiously slowly walked into the theatre. Another followed suit quite quickly, and before we knew it, there were over 40 people packed into the seats in the rather intimate room. With a few opening remarks from our concertmaster, Howard Lyon, we were off and 
running. A short educational concert, featuring individual and ensemble playing, was followed by an incredible 45 minutes of hands-on learning. The concert itself featured fantastic playing by all members of the Erie Chamber Orchestra. Howard Lyon and Lou Nicolia demonstrated the violin, showing its versatility and ability to play both melody and harmony. Our principal viola, Jennifer Jansen, performed a portion of Ashokan 
Farewell to demonstrate the instrument's beautiful, lush sound. Ruth Ann Scanzillo concluded the program with an engaging demonstration on the cello, truly captivating all ages within our audience. The program concluded with 2 pieces featuring the entire quartet.
Following this, the hands-on activities started. Our 4 musicians spread out 
across the room, offering individual stations for everyone to try out a multitude of instruments. Howard set up his area with a music stand and a wine glass. He worked with the students, showing them how bowing anything can create a plethora of sounds. By bowing faster or slower, the children were able to create higher and lower pitches on both the glass and music stand.
From here, the kids could move to either Jen or Lou's station. Here they
had a chance to use the bow technique they learned from Howard and actually apply it to a real instrument. Both Jen and Lou had violins of different sizes to help accommodate the various age 
groups represented. A few of these images are incredibly heart-warming.
The final station featured Ruth Ann and her cello. Students were able to sit in a chair and learn the proper technique involved in holding a cello. She then worked with them on how to use their fingers, hands and arms to create a sound and helped them learn how to hold the bow correctly. Following Ruth's station, the students were free to try any of the instruments again. Being able to witness this in person was truly a magnificent experience!
Following the success of this event, we will be both returning to the Blasco Library for another demonstration as well as going on tour to the various branches of the library across the county. We hope to see you at one of these events soon. Check our website and facebook page for details of all coming events!
Erie Chamber Orchestra donates a piano to Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary School
On Monday, November 5th, Gannon University and the Erie Chamber Orchestra donated a piano to Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary School.
While visiting the elementary school with our piano soloist Eugenio Urrutia-Borlando in September, we noticed that the music classroom was lacking a real piano. The music teacher, Amy Shallenberger, was doing such a fantastic job with her general music students, and she only had access to a smallelectronic keyboard. After we left, I could imagine the work she could be doing if indeed she had a real piano. Well to my absolute delight, I no longer need to wonder "what" would happen if she had such an instrument.
I scoured the internet looking for a piano that was destined to be thrown away. Anyone who has ever the opportunity to move a piano for a friend understands the albatross-like nature of this instrument. Bulky, impossible to move, and forget about stairs. Ironically enough, we managed to find a piano almost in our own backyard. Trinity Lutheran Church in McKean had actually just posted such a piano on craigslist. I was in touch with the church immediately and started this process of moving the piano to Pfeiffer-Burleigh.
Monday morning amidst the flurries of an early winter, our piano mover Doug Jones loaded the ironically branded "Winter" Musette upright piano into his truck and we made our way to Pfeiffer.
A few miles, ramps and one lucky elevator later, the piano was safely delivered into the hands of music teacher Amy Shallenberger. With seconds to spare, we positioned the piano in the center of the room, attached one last wheel, and sat back just in time to watch a wide-eyed class of first graders stream into the room. Singing, playing, dancing and laughter ensued, and will most likely continue for years to come.
We are honored to be a part of something as special as this, and we can only hope that we are lucky enough to emulate this project for more schools across the county.
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