3-2-1… Blast Off with Classics 4 Kids!
This month, I was honored to join Classics 4 Kids to present “3-2-1 Blast Off!” to thousands of San Diego County Students.
Classics 4 Kids is an organization committed to ensuring all San Diego County TK – 6th grade students have access to music education. They particularly focus on students from traditionally under-resourced communities. They offer a variety of programs, including on-campus assemblies, as well as concerts in some of San Diego’s best performance halls. It was the latter I was lucky enough to participate in.
Earlier this year, I was contacted Dana Zimbric, the conductor and artistic director of Classics 4 Kids, about an opportunity to collaborate on a concert relating music to astronomy topics. I’m so glad I said yes! She was wonderful to work with. She developed a musical program with a variety of ties to the sky, such as Clair de Lune by Debussy and parts of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony No 41. There were also opportunities for the students to sing, along with “Follow the Drinking Gourd.”
It was my role to tie astronomical information to the music, serving as a narrator to the program. We worked to make sure the astronomy flowed as nicely as the music, and I think it came off well! And the musicians, the Classics Philharmonic Orchestra, were outstanding. It was truly an honor to join them on the stage.
You can do it!
And what stages they were! Four performances at the Joan B. Kroc Theatre and two performances at the historic Balboa Theatre, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Balboa was a particularly amazing experience. I’d never presented in such a large venue before!
I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self that I could do something like this. I was, and still am, an introvert. Although my entire professional life involves public speaking, it doesn’t come naturally to me. I must fight my natural inclination to hide, and being in front of people, even in my college classrooms, is never easy for me. I speak about this with my students to help them understand if I can do it, they can do it!
Same is true for science. When I was in junior high and high school, I played the flute and the oboe. There was a time when I was tempted to pursue a music degree in college before I decided on my other great love, astrophysics. It’s good to be reminded, and to make sure other people understand, that art and science do not need to be separate. That’s what STEAM is all about. You can love both! You can pursue both! And it was nice to share both with thousands of students, thanks to Classics 4 Kids.
If you liked this, check out my Pop Culture Science page: https://lisawillspace.com/category/pop-culture-science/
