music performances
Young Audiences of Houston offers diverse arts-in-education performance programming for PK-12 participants in an assembly setting. These innovative and culturally diverse programs introduce participants to the arts through a balance of demonstration and participant interaction through the highest quality artistry. Each performance program is aligned with the Texas state curricula and offers curriculum ties, classroom activities and discussion ideas, extension activities, program goals, objectives, vocabulary words, and teacher resources. All performances are 45 minutes.
Below you'll find information about:
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Performances: For an assembly, performances introduce participants to an art form or culture through a balance of demonstration and interaction.
For more information please call 713.520.9264 or email us at scheduling@yahouston.org.
Musical Melting Pot
PERFORMANCE
Apollo Chamber Players
The rich diversity of cultures in Houston offers an instructive look into the musical and folk elements of world cultures while serving as a microcosm for the United States’ unique ethnic melting-pot. Apollo takes participants on an engaging musical world tour, performing music from Mexico, Spain, and the U.S. Appalachia region while illuminating the folk traditions, important historical figures and events, and cultural contexts of each of these regions. Along the journey, participants gain insight into the instruments and workings of a string quartet and learn the similarities between musical language and basic human interactions.
Single Performance
$800
Back to Back Performance
$950
Participant Limit
350
Grade Levels
K-8
A Texas Quilt
PERFORMANCE
Apollo Chamber Players
Apollo brings the rich global history of Texas to life in this musical Texas History program. Folk music from Greece, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Mexico, and others are performed, as participants and Apollo musicians construct a huge quilt with the flags from each of these immigrant communities that settled in the Texas region, alongside historical trivia and thought-provoking discussion.
Single Performance
$800
Back to Back Performance
$950
Participant Limit
120
Grade Levels
4-12
To Life: L'CHAYIM
PERFORMANCE
Best Little Klezmer Band in Texas
DISCOVER KLEZMER! The unique musical style that combines poignant,
lyric melodies of Eastern Europe, boisterous sounds of Russian folk
dances, and swing rhythms of the1920s and 30s American Jazz Era.
Together, they produce an electrifying world music that challenges you to
remain in your seat. Interspersing this music with a fascinating
description of the customs and culture of the creators of Klezmer makes
the program as educational as it is entertaining.
Single Performance
$1,180
Back to Back Performance
$1,350
Participant Limit
250
Grade Levels
K-6
There Once Was a Town
PERFORMANCE
Best Little Klezmer Band in Texas
With the virtual destruction of Eastern European Jewish culture during
the Holocaust comes the inevitable question: "How could such devastation occur and could it happen again in our lifetime?" Civilizations lacking the ability to respect the humanity of "other" cannot help but breed intolerance and allow scapegoating of minority populations to prevail. There Once Was a Town recreates pride for the beauty of European Jewish cultural heritage by revitalizing the 400 year-old musical tradition of a bygone era through dynamic characterizations of Klezmer's electrifying and spirited world-beat. The artists intersperse their high-energy performances with a fascinating multimedia portrayal of the music, language, and customs of the once-vibrant Eastern European Jewish culture. The program is divided into three parts: Part One portrays the vibrancy of Eastern European Jewish culture (traditions and customs) prior to the events leading up to World War II; Part Two introduces content relating to the rise of Nazism and its effect on European Jewish culture; and Part Three relates to the American Jewish immigrant experience. The concept of the program is unified by integrating live klezmer instrumental and vocal music and dialogue with archival video footage.
Single Performance
$1,200
Back to Back Performance
$1,450
Participant Limit
300
Grade Levels
7-12
A Journey Through Jazz
PERFORMANCE
Blue Gnus
Join us in the 1890’s as we explore the American melting pot that brought us jazz. See how this uniquely American form evolved through the 20th century. This history is portrayed through musical examples and the stories of the individuals who helped create this form of music.
Single Performance
$1,100
Back to Back Performance
$1,350
Participant Limit
300
Grade Levels
1-5
Second Line Sensation
PERFORMANCE
Blue Gnus
Let the students be part of a New Orleans celebration with our “Second Line Sensation” Blue Gnus presentation. The students will learn about New Orleans jazz, and they will all receive a traditional white handkerchief to wave to the music. They get to keep the handkerchief! If the school administration gives us the okay, then we can also do a mini second line parade inside the performance space. There will also be at least one call-and-response song that the kids sing along with us. This is a exciting, but also educational show!
This show is for a seven-piece band with two trumpets, one saxophone, one trombone, one tuba and two drummers (the students love the drums!).
Single Performance
$2,050
Back to Back Performance
$2,900
Participant Limit
300
Grade Levels
6-12
Heroes of Harmony – Let’s Get Along!
PERFORMANCE
Blue Gnus
Explore the secrets of civil society buried deep in musical elements. The students will learn some musical terms, but more importantly, they will learn how music serves as a model for cooperation and conflict resolution. The show features two musicians, a trumpet player, and a bass player.
Single Performance
$700
Back to Back Performance
$850
Participant Limit
300
Grade Levels
3-8
Holiday Hits
PERFORMANCE
Blue Gnus
Celebrate the holidays with jazzy versions of some of your favorite holiday songs. For this program we perform Go Tell It on the Mountain, Jingle Bells, Christmas Time is Here (from the Peanuts Christmas special), Frosty the Snow Man, The Little Drummer Boy, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Feliz Navidad. It is an educational show where we teach the students about the different instruments, but they also enjoy singing along with the songs the know.
Single Performance
$1,200
Back to Back Performance
$1,650
Participant Limit
300
Grade Levels
PK-12
The World of Percussion
PERFORMANCE
Brian Del Signore
The World of Percussion is a multi-media presentation with live percussion performance, artist interaction, and digital presentation, designed for elementary schools to instill a love for music at an early age. In this program, Houston Symphony Principal Percussionist, Brian Del Signore, introduces participants to percussion instruments and rhythms in a geographical trip around the world. The program starts with an introduction to the symphony orchestra and the four instrument groups (strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion). The word “percussion” is then defined and Mr. Del Signore discusses and shows examples of finding percussion instruments in the world around us, providing demonstrations and inviting student to take part in a world music “jam session”.
Single Performance
$450
Back to Back Performance
$625
Participant Limit
120
Grade Levels
K-5
Cypress Falls Choir
PERFORMANCE
Cypress Falls Choir
Cypress Falls Choir is the performing and touring Chamber Choir of Cypress Falls High School. The Directors are Deidre Douglas and Matthew Perez. The Cypress Falls High School Choral Program awards include: 2015 National ACDA Invitational - Varsity Women's Choir, 2018 TMEA Invitational - A cappella Choir, 2015 TMEA Invitational - Varsity Women's Choir, 2012 TMEA Invitational - Varsity Men's Choir. 1993 TMEA Invitational - A cappella Choir, and 2007 American Classics, 1st runner up - Chamber Choir. Choral performances are tailored to fit your audience and range from Acapella spirituals to Classic Holiday tunes.
Single Performance
$975
Participant Limit
Grade Levels
350
2-12
World Rhythm Synergy
PERFORMANCE
Dan Egger-Belandria
World Rhythm Synergy is a high-energy multicultural presentation that infuses explosive drumming with a meaningful lecture and group participation for up to 300 English or Spanish speaking participants. Using percussion instruments from throughout the world, musician Dan Egger-Belandria demonstrates how people of different cultural backgrounds connect through drumming and dance. Throughout this ethnomusical journey, your participants will have an opportunity to explore various African, Afro-Cuban, and Caribbean rhythms and folklore that help explain the connection between African-American history and Hispanic heritage. *Available in English and Spanish.
Available Fall 2024
Single Performance
$550
Back to Back Performance
$650
Participant Limit
300
Grade Levels
PK-12
From the Forest to the Stage:
Tracing an Instrument's Creation Around the World
PERFORMANCE
Hope Cowan
Learn how different businesses and suppliers help to create musical instruments. Participants will learn about the production, supply chains, trades, manufacturing, and skilled labor required to build a harp. This is a fun way to inspire participants to think critically and creatively about economic ecosystems and how products are brought to market. They will also get to hear the beautiful music created by the harp, and about how instrumental music can entertain and bring people together in different ways. They will also have the opportunity to learn and practice the “role” of the audience. (slideshow presentation and live performance)
Single Performance
$330
Back to Back Performance
$400
Participant Limit
150
Grade Levels
3-12
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Storytelling through Sound
PERFORMANCE
Hope Cowan
Music tells stories just like your favorite books. Experience both a performance element and an interactive project element. Explore the techniques composers use to tell their stories, and relate the musical ideas back to literary techniques. Participants can then invent their own sound story, and hear it come to life on the harp in the second portion of this visit. Please allow for a 90m session.
Single Performance
$330
Back to Back Performance
$400
Participant Limit
50
Grade Levels
K-12
Earth, Moon, and Sun
PERFORMANCE
Hope Cowan
Explore the characteristics of the Earth, Moon, and Sun through music, story, and art! Harpist Hope Cowan brings our solar system to life in this interactive lesson that compares both scientific knowledge about the Earth, Moon, and Sun and the way they are described in the arts.
Single Performance
$330
Back to Back Performance
$400
Participant Limit
50
Grade Levels
K-12
A Night at The Opera
PERFORMANCE
Houston Brass Quintet
From clapping the Anvil chorus to watching a skit where Rossini himself conducts his work, this interactive performance will have your participants laughing, engaged, and learning about opera! Participants will learn about composers, plots to famous operas, brass instruments, conducting, and a whole lot more!
Single Performance
$1,100
Back to Back Performance
$1,900
Participant Limit
350
Grade Levels
3-12
50 Years of Musical Theatre
PERFORMANCE
Houston Brass Quintet
Discover Musical Theatre through the lens of a Brass Quintet. Spanning an incredible 50-year journey, this program boasts a magnificent array of iconic melodies certain to ignite the imagination of your students. Combining elements of song, dance, and storytelling, this unique musical experience celebrates the vital role that theatre arts and music play in our lives. Learn, laugh, and participate in a sing-along with the Houston Brass Quintet as they lead students on a musical timeline starting in 1970 through today’s favorite songs from Musicals. Discover storylines and how they align with Historical events, social trends, music styles, and how they helped shape contemporary Musicals. Students will be singing along, clapping to the beat and having a blast.
Single Performance
$1,100
Back to Back Performance
$1,900
Participant Limit
350
Grade Levels
3-12
Around the World with Houston Brass Quintet
PERFORMANCE
Houston Brass Quintet
Are you ready to embark on a musical journey around the World? Join the Houston Brass Quintet for an educational program featuring music from Latin America, the British Isles, India, Africa, France, and the United States. Come discover the rich cultural traditions and history behind each piece. Students will learn how music differs from Continent to Continent and reflects the diverse contributions of different regions and peoples. Come along as the Houston Brass Quintet leads students through an engaging and interactive performance comparing and contrasting melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical differences around the globe.
Single Performance
$1,100
Back to Back Performance
$1,900
Participant Limit
350
Grade Levels
3-12
Cowboy Hats and Horses: what makes Western themed music sound Western?
PERFORMANCE
Houston Brass Quintet
Step right into the Wild West with the Houston Brass Quintet! This exciting musical experience will transport your students to the frontier, where gunslingers and sheriffs roamed the dusty streets. With a mix of western and cowboy movie themes our concert promises to capture the essence of the Old West, evoking images of galloping horses and lowing cattle. Join us for an unforgettable musical journey that will take you on a historical adventure through the sounds of a brass quintet! Students will learn how using certain instruments, melody, rhythm and tonality can create a musical picture.
Single Performance
$1,100
Back to Back Performance
$1,900
Participant Limit
350
Grade Levels
3-12
Drum & Strum with JAWAD and Joseph
PERFORMANCE
JAWAD & Joseph
Through the use of voice, drum, banjo, and guitar, guitarist JAWAD and African drummer Joseph demonstrate two basic elements of music: rhythm and melody. The history and evolution of the drum and stringed instruments are discussed, as well as their contribution to these basic elements. Participants learn the true meanings of tone, pitch, rhythm, and melody as they become part of a collective, interactive performance piece.
Single Performance
$460
Back to Back Performance
$585
Participant Limit
200
Grade Levels
1-12
Conflict and the Triple Cs with JAWAD and Ken
PERFORMANCE
JAWAD
This performance uses music and humor to address conflict resolution. When two artists are booked for the same day and time, a musical conflict erupts. Dr. Triple C comes to the rescue with a formula for conflict resolution. With audience participation, JAWAD and Ken learn how to solve their problems using consideration, compromise, and cooperation. Participants demonstrate ways to use Dr. Triple C’s formula to resolve conflicts in their own lives.
Single Performance
$460
Back to Back Performance
$585
Participant Limit
200
Grade Levels
1-5
Everybody is Smart!
A Social Emotional Learning Experience
PERFORMANCE
JAWAD
"Everybody is Smart!" is an interactive program based on Howard Gardner's "Theory of Multiple Intelligences" and is designed to boost self-esteem and self-discovery. this is done through activities that allow students to explore 8 different ways intelligence manifest beyond the math and science stereotypes. Students learn in fun and sometimes challenging ways that they are "smart" in at least 1 or more ways.
Single Performance
$395
Back to Back Performance
$495
Participant Limit
200
Grade Levels
1-5
Jojo Gitcho Banjo
PERFORMANCE
JAWAD
Through the use of 4 different banjos (two of them hand-made), original songs, storytelling and visual aids, JAWAD shares knowledge of music, science, history and social studies in a way that assures each audience leaves with more than they entered with. JAWAD operates on the premise that the banjo is nothing but a drum with a stick and strings. You’ll see the evolution of the banjo within both a musical and historical context. Audience participation is encouraged through original call and response songs written to weave history and storytelling together.
Single Performance
$395
Back to Back Performance
$495
Participant Limit
150
Grade Levels
5-12
Kings & Queens of Jazz: Armstrong, Ellington, Fitzgerald, Dizzy, and the Count
PERFORMANCE
Jazz Houston
These concerts for Young People will take you on a musical journey of some of Jazz’s most iconic figures: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. Hear the stories and anecdotes from their colorful lives, their individual impacts on Jazz, and enjoy the timeless sounds that made each of them American Jazz treasures. Each of these concerts can be extended to 90 minutes and feature each artist individually.
Single Performance
$950
Back to Back Performance
$1,250
Participant Limit
350
Grade Levels
2-12