Interlude - June 4
June 5, 2020
African-American Music Appreciation Month, ukulele extravaganza, kids' music class and more
Welcome back to Interlude, your twice-a-week dose of digitally accessible arts and entertainment opportunities!
June: celebrating African-American musicians
Initiated in 1979 and renewed every June by presidential proclamation, African-American Music Appreciation Month is a celebration of black music and musicians who have helped the nation “to dance, to express our faith through song, to march against injustice, and to defend our country’s enduring promise of freedom and opportunity for all.”
This month, we join our friends at the Great American Songbook Foundation in honoring these singers, songwriters and other performing artists who revolutionized the jazz and American Songbook genres (not to mention blues, rock, hip-hop and beyond) and helped to define America’s unique soundscape and cultural history.
Let’s start with Ella Fitzgerald, one of the greatest popular singers of the 20th century, who once said, “Music is the universal language … it brings people closer together.” View the Foundation’s Ella Fitzgerald Traveling Exhibit here, and look for more on Ella and other artists throughout the month.
Strum along with the best
At the Center, ukulele classes are among our most popular education programs for adults and teens. Why the uke? Because it’s a simple, inexpensive, highly portable and versatile instrument that can play anything from the simplest folk song to a Bach prelude, which makes it a great starting point for budding musicians. We had hoped to showcase that versatility in March with a performance by George Hinchcliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, now rescheduled for April 30 in our Telamon Passport Series.
To enlighten and entertain us in the meantime, the members of the orchestra have been keeping busy since March with an online video series dubbed Ukulele Lockdown. The growing collection includes performances, interviews, a witty Q&A session with fans, and play-along tutorials complete with chord charts for tunes ranging from Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” to Great American Songbook standards. So dig that uke out of the closet, lock down with these folks and have a good time.
CHECK IT OUT
New tots' music class starts today
Ms. Michelle of ShooBeeLoo Music is launching another online round of the popular Child & Adult Music Class she typically offers weekly at the Center for kids ages 1-5. Fun in the Sun is the theme of the new six-week class, with songs about sunshine, rainbows, hide-and-seek and happy days.
You can catch it live from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. every Thursday from today through July 9 on this Facebook page, or enjoy it later. If you watch in real time, you and your little one can even make requests at the end of class!
JOIN IN
What does 6 feet look like?
Here’s a little dose of reality we hope you won’t mind. Now that many communities are welcoming more public activity, the physical-distancing guidelines can be challenging for those of us with poor depth perception. Experts typically recommend a 6-foot margin of safety, but who carries a tape measure around town?
To that end, we’re working with our partner Ascension St. Vincent to help folks keep this simple but important health recommendation at the top of their minds. We hope you find this graphic helpful.
