SUMMERSTRINGS! ROCKSA group of 46 local kids took part in Matthew Schneider’s second annual SummerStrings! Orchestra Festival. Instructed by Schneider and five other teachers, the student group rehearsed twice a week at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sea Cliff.
The concert was held on August 5 at Tilles Center’s Hillwood Recital Hall, at LIU Post. The program began with a presentation from the Bean Bag Divas, Schneider’s beginner violin group. Performances including Schneider on bass, and teachers Zoe Goodstone, Sarah Weiss, and Christine Ramirez on violins, Kristin Sette on viola, and Josh Epstein on cello, followed. Then the “rockestra” took the stage! Accompanied by professional musicians Frank Ferrara and James Guarnieri, the kids performed ACDC’s “Back in Black,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” and an original by Schneider called “Makin’ the Changes,” which Schneider wrote to help kids learn how to change chords when improvising tunes. “The kids both looked and sounded amazing on that stage," says Schneider. “I’m so proud of them and our awesome teachers who helped the kids achieve something together that I suspect they didn’t know they could do.” Learn more about the program at www.seacliffmusic.com. |