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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Arts & Entertainment / Concerts

Ruth Eckerd Hall's SchoolTime series brings performing arts to local kids

Posted by Jeff O'kelley on Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 1:45 PM

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  • Black Violin, who play classical music with a hip-hop flavor, take the stage for the SchoolTime series

For a concert photographer accustomed to late nights and loud music, covering two guys playing classical music for a bunch of school kids is not exactly where I expect to find myself at 10:45 on a Tuesday morning. But there I was; standing in my regular spot inside portal one at Ruth Eckerd Hall, watching busloads of kids pour into their seats. As the room reached near capacity, I began to think that maybe there was something more to this than I realized.

According to Sharon Reid-Kane, Assistant Director of Education for The Marcia P. Hoffman Performing Arts Institute at Ruth Eckerd Hall, the SchoolTime Series is an aspect of the hall designed with kids in mind. “What’s so great about the SchoolTime Series is, we’re bringing in kids from all over the county. There are some children who’ve been to shows and it’s not a new experience to them but, for some, it is. It’s the first time they’ve stepped into a theater and it’s not always necessarily the show they come to see, but the whole experience.”

With the establishment of an education department in 1986, Ruth Eckerd Hall has taken an active stance in bringing the arts and music to the children of Pinellas County and the surrounding areas. In an age when music and arts programs are being cut from many school budgets, this type of program serves as an invaluable resource for the children of the Tampa Bay area. The SchoolTime Series offers kids of all ages the opportunity to interact with live theater, music and art, in a way that both entertains and educates them in these subjects. Events on the 2009-2010 calendar include Cirque D’Or from China, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist, the American Ballet Theater and several theater productions designed for younger kids. The Artists on the Road program brings teaching artists and performers into schools which lack the ability to travel to Ruth Eckerd Hall for the performance. According to Reid-Kane, “When we bring an act in for a SchoolTime Show, we try to get as much out of them as we can. They are not here just to perform shows; they are here to reach out to the children in the community."

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On this day, the performance featured a unique ensemble called Black Violin, who fuse funk, hip-hop and classical music to offer something totally new. Consisting of a hip-hop DJ, a violinist and a violist who has named his instument “Tiffany,” Black Violin manages to present classical music in a format that kids actually like. Within a few minutes of the opening chords, most of the audience, teachers and chaperones included, were waving their hands, clapping along or dancing in their seats. It wasn’t what I expected, and I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. The group is performing an evening concert in the smaller Murray Studio Theater on Friday, but don’t reach for the phone just yet. The performance is already sold out, but Public Relations Manager Katie Pedretty assured me that we would be seeing them back at Ruth Eckerd Hall in the near future.

For more information on the SchoolTime Series, or any of the other educational programs offered at Ruth Eckerd Hall, contact Sharon Reid-Kane at 727-712-2771 or check out the website at www.rutheckerdhall.com.

Photos (c) 2009 Jeff O'Kelley, All rights reserved

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