Clarinet Students to Perform and Teach Abroad
Two clarinet students have been selected to participate in programs overseas this summer.
Anna Graves, a sophomore music performance major, will teach clarinet in Tanzania with the Clarinets for Conservation. Providing an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability through music education, the Daraja Music Initiative (DMI) promotes awareness of conserving Mpingo, commonly referred to as African Blackwood or Grenadilla, by actively engaging students and the community with the power of music. Teaching secondary students in Tanzania to play musical instruments empowers them by improving problem-solving skills, facilitating self-sufficiency and by providing a healthy creative outlet. DMI teachers and students take part in innovative interdisciplinary performances and tree plantings throughout Tanzania to help connect the clarinet and the tree it is made of, Mpingo, with the community, therefore fostering a sincere desire for a sustainable future.
Kendall Johnson, a sophomore music education major, was selected for a staff and clarinet position in the Northern Wind Ensemble with Blue Lake International. She will have the opportunity to go on an all-expense paid, three-and-a-half-week tour of three European countries next summer: the Netherlands, Germany and France. To be offered this position, she had to have previously worked at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp in Twin Lake, Mich., and then apply with a recording and resume. She will travel to Michigan this April and May for training weekends where she will meet the students and rehearse the music that will be performed on tour. While on tour, they will stay with host families to become fully immersed in the culture. The goals of this tour are to perform abroad, sightsee and learn about different cultures. Once the international tour is over, the ensemble will return to the U.S. for a mini-tour concluding with one final performance at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp for all the current summer campers.
Picture from left to right, Anna Graves and Kendall Johnson pose for a picture. The two clarinet students will participate in overseas programs this summer.
Anna Graves, a sophomore music performance major, will teach clarinet in Tanzania with the Clarinets for Conservation. Providing an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability through music education, the Daraja Music Initiative (DMI) promotes awareness of conserving Mpingo, commonly referred to as African Blackwood or Grenadilla, by actively engaging students and the community with the power of music. Teaching secondary students in Tanzania to play musical instruments empowers them by improving problem-solving skills, facilitating self-sufficiency and by providing a healthy creative outlet. DMI teachers and students take part in innovative interdisciplinary performances and tree plantings throughout Tanzania to help connect the clarinet and the tree it is made of, Mpingo, with the community, therefore fostering a sincere desire for a sustainable future.
Kendall Johnson, a sophomore music education major, was selected for a staff and clarinet position in the Northern Wind Ensemble with Blue Lake International. She will have the opportunity to go on an all-expense paid, three-and-a-half-week tour of three European countries next summer: the Netherlands, Germany and France. To be offered this position, she had to have previously worked at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp in Twin Lake, Mich., and then apply with a recording and resume. She will travel to Michigan this April and May for training weekends where she will meet the students and rehearse the music that will be performed on tour. While on tour, they will stay with host families to become fully immersed in the culture. The goals of this tour are to perform abroad, sightsee and learn about different cultures. Once the international tour is over, the ensemble will return to the U.S. for a mini-tour concluding with one final performance at Blue Lake Fine Arts camp for all the current summer campers.
Picture from left to right, Anna Graves and Kendall Johnson pose for a picture. The two clarinet students will participate in overseas programs this summer.
