Bridge Sessions
The performers were wonderful. I loved everything about the program! This was an awesome opportunity to learn about percussion from around the world.
Alea, 6th grader
Greenfield School
Philadelphia, PA
The rhythms of Brazil, Cuba and Africa… The interplay of hip-hop and the blues…Electric fiddle crossing strings with classical double bass.
Bridge Sessions bring together musicians from different disciplines and backgrounds with students, seniors and special needs populations for interactive explorations of music and cultures.
These experiential programs take place weekday mornings.
Upcoming Session:
- Tuesday, April 13
World of Percussion (Percussionists Doc Gibbs, Alex Shaw and Francois Zayas):
Where does percussion come from? Where do we hear it in our everyday lives? How does the rain make a beat? How does a drum talk? And how can one set of drums take you on a trip from Philadelphia to Cuba to Nigeria to Brazil? An interactive session on the ways percussion crosses culture, with an emphasis on listening, music-making and cultural understanding. Appropriate for Grades 2-Adult
Recent Highlights:
- Bridge Sessions with the Philadelphia Orchestra School Partnership Program
These sessions featured teaching artists from LiveConnections and the Orchestra's School Partnership Program in explorations of the links between classical music and more contemporary genres, like Latin and Jazz. Each session featured performances by the artists, as well as an opportunities for students to make music. Artists from the Philadelphia Orchestra School Partnership Program, such as violinist Lugi Mazzocchi and trumpeter Tom Madeja, teamed up with LiveConnections teaching artists , like percussionist Alex Shaw and vocalist/dancer Germaine Ingram, to deliver these special Bridge Sessions. During its inaugural season, nine sessions were offered, successfully reaching hundreds of elementary school students with innovative programming.
Want to bring your school or community group to a Bridge Session? Contact School and Community Partnerships Coordinator Tamar Lelkes at tamar.lelkes@gmail.com.
Interested in checking out a Bridge Session? Click here.
If you're an artist who'd like to join our Bridge Session roster, please contact LCO arts education consultant David Bradley at bradleydt@gmail.com.
You opened my mind to new things when you showed me the connections between cultures. Thank you for an experience I will never forget.
Simone, 6th grader
St. Francis De Sales School
Philadelphia, PA
It's exciting to see our students so engaged, so enthusiastic about participating, filled with such authentic curiosity... You did such a wonderful job connecting, and bridging your musical passions with what's relevant and important to our students. I felt like we could have stayed there all day.
–Brett Shiel
Director of Community Relations
Freire Charter School
Philadelphia, PA
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Spotlight Profile:
Doc Gibbs
Philadelphia percussion mainstay Doc Gibbs has played with the likes of Grover Washington, Wyclef Jean, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker and Erykah Badu and for years was musical director for the Emeril Live! show. A committed educator, Doc has been an important part of LCO's programming.
"Music is gone out of most of the public schools of Philadelphia. When I was going to school there were bands and orchestras in every high school. For kids not to have music, they're missing a lot. That's why what LiveConnections is doing matters so much—it's getting kids to experience the power and change that music can bring."
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