Third through fifth grade students from every school in the district traveled to Portland today to participate in a massive concert with the Oregon Symphony. The project was made possible by William Rutherford, an alumnus of McMinnville Schools, and Joan Lamb, in honor of John C. McManus, former McMinnville School District music director.
The project includes the gift of enough recorders for all students, who learned the play the instruments as part of the concert.
The concert, called “Link Up,” is a program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. The concert gives students a chance to team up with the Oregon Symphony orchestra for an interactive performance.
Students have been working for months, learning to play an instrument and sing the songs. Then, they all joined together at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to perform with the orchestra for a lasting, hands-on educational experience.
“This is an incredible opportunity to build musicality in our students,” said Stephanie Legard, director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for the McMinnville School District. “We’re so grateful for the opportunity to expose all of our third through fifth grade students to a performance experience of this caliber.
“Learning how to play an instrument and performing with a professional symphony is an incomparable hands-on learning opportunity,” said Legard. “Our goal for this experience is for students across the district to be inspired by and find the joy in music.”
The project is part of several music opportunities funded by William Rutherford, as part of the Rutherford family gifts to the district in support of the music program. Click here to read more about the gift.