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Arts & Entertainment

MUSIC INSTITUTE INVITES FAMILIES FOR DAY OF MUSIC MARCH 19 Concerts, Workshops, Instrument Petting Zoo Celebrate Music In Our Schools Month

The Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) will join in the national celebration of Music In Our Schools month with a day of concerts for all ages, professional development workshops for teachers, and an instrument petting zoo Saturday, March 19 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston. The day’s events, all free except where noted, are as follows:

  • 9 a.m.: Open house including MIC’s instrument petting zoo, refreshments, performances, and goodie bags provided by Chicago Parent.
  • 10 a.m.: Family concert featuring an ensemble of faculty members and guest artists performing Carnival of the Animals, Camille Saint-Saëns’ description of 14 animals, accompanied by imaginative narrative poems. Cost: $10 per family.
  • 2 p.m.: Ma Liang’s Paintbrush, an original adaptation of one of China’s most enduring legends by MIC Musical Theater Program Directors Matt Boresi and Mike O’Mara, performed by MIC’s professional adult musical theater troupe. The peasant boy Liang comes to possess a magic brush, uses his art to help his community, and, in the tradition of classical Chinese painting, explores the rhythms of the world around him. Ma Liang’s Paintbrush carries messages about perseverance, believing in one’s self, the value of community service, and the role art can play in improving everyone’s lives.
  • 7 p.m.: McCracken Middle School Band performs with members of MIC ensembles-in-residence Axiom Brass and Quintet Attacca in a special concert honoring McCracken and its director, Chip De Stefano, with the inaugural MIC award for Excellence in Middle School Instrumental Music, which includes funds for the school’s music program and partial scholarships for students to study at MIC.

In addition to these family-oriented events and performances, MIC will host two free professional development workshops for teachers:

  • 12 noon: MIC’s Institute for Therapy Through the Arts will help teachers discover new methods and strategies for differentiating learning in their classrooms through the arts, with a special focus on adaptation and inclusion techniques for special learners.
  • 3:30 p.m.: MIC special workshop leader Kurt Barker, an acclaimed general music educator for nearly 20 years, will help teachers foster creativity in the classroom by exploring children’s literature and folk tales, visual art, puppetry, and storytelling through the medium of music. Participants in this workshop will receive ready-to-use activities that integrate the arts into the classroom.

Note: Illinois State Board of Education recertification credit is available at no cost for teachers who attend all or part of the days’ events (up to 10 CPDU credits). Graduate credit through the Carthage College Continuing Education program is available for an additional fee (1 credit).

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About Family Concerts

 Each season, MIC offers engaging one-hour programs for families with children who are four to 12 years of age. Programs begin at 10 a.m. and are preceded by a 9 a.m. open house with a variety of activities for children, including an instrument petting zoo, performances, and refreshments. This year, Chicago Parent is a proud media sponsor of MIC’s Family Concerts.

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About Arts Link

The Music Institute of Chicago’s Arts Link program has been partnering with schools, teachers, and community organizations since 1994. The Arts Link program has a well-established reputation for quality and innovation in its professional development activities, in-school programs, after-school programs, and community partnerships. In 2010-11, the Arts Link program will serve more than 7,000 students and teachers.

About the Music Institute of Chicago

The Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) believes that music has the power to sustain and nourish the human spirit; therefore, our mission is to provide the foundation for lifelong engagement with music.

As one of the three largest and most respected community music schools in the nation, MIC’s musical excellence is built on the strength of our distinguished faculty, commitment to quality, and breadth of programs and services. Founded in 1931, MIC is one of the oldest community music schools in Illinois. MIC is a member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts and accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. Each year, our world-class music teachers and arts therapists provide the highest quality arts education to more than 5,000 students of all ability levels, from birth to 100 years of age at campuses in Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, and Winnetka. MIC also offers lessons and programs at Steinway of Chicago stores in Northbrook and Downers Grove and early childhood and community engagement programs throughout the Chicago area and the North Shore. MIC’s Nichols Concert Hall education/performance center, located in downtown Evanston, reaches approximately 14,000 people each year. MIC community engagement and partnership programs reach an additional 6,500 Chicago Public School students annually.

MIC offers lessons, classes, and programs through four distinct areas: Community School, The Academy, Creative Arts Therapy (Institute for Therapy through the Arts), and Nichols Concert Hall.

Tickets for the Carnival of the Animals Concert on Saturday, March 19 at 10 a.m. at MIC’s Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston are $10 per family, available at musicinst.org or 847.905.1500 ext. 108. All other events are free.

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