Hi, everyone –

I wanted to share with you a really great program we had at our library earlier in the month.  Claudia Baumgaertner Lemmerz from Touch the Music is an early childhood music educator and is committed to giving children of all ages the chance to experiment musically.  She started the program by saying that as parents, we expect our children to experiment with visual arts and sports beginning at a young age, but we think of music education as being very formal and we hold off until we can “trust” children to be serious music students.  She feels it’s important for kids to have the chance to noodle around on the tuba; after all, how will they know if they *want* to play the violin if they haven’t had the chance to hear one and try it out?

After presenting the story Tubby the Tuba, Claudia briefly introduced each instrument to our group, showing the children how to hold and play each one.  Then she gave us free rein to play!  She had brought along (if I remember correctly) 6 violins, 3 French horns, 1 really big tuba, three smaller tubas, two flutes, a piccolo, 3 glockenspiels and 3 xylophones.  (Don’t worry, she had a really efficient method for sanitizing mouthpieces.)  The kids and parents in attendance had a great time and spent about an hour making music after Claudia’s presentation was over!  She has other programs and brings the instruments featured in those stories, so I would like to have her back sometime soon.  Previously I had attended a program of hers at the Morris Museum and she had brought cellos, upright basses, child-sized harps, accordions, and a variety of other instruments.

Check out her little Youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OvYO_3xruA&noredirect=1 or visit her website at http://www.touchthemusic.us/.  If you do end up booking Claudia, please tell her I sent you!  J

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Suzanne

Suzanne M. Klein

Youth Services Librarian

East Brunswick Public Library

2 Jean Walling Civic Center

East Brunswick, NJ 08816

(732) 390-6789

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