Get to know Settlement at Open House, This Saturday from 10 AM to 1 PM

The 2011-12 school year is nearly at an end: all the major performances have taken place, high school seniors are preparing to graduate, and students and teachers alike are headed for summer camps, festivals and well-earned vacations. There's just one final milestone left: the annual Open House, held this Saturday, from 10 AM to 1 PM, at all of Settlement's branches.

Students and faculty will be performing and leading demonstrations, and staff and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions about all of the lessons, classes and ensembles offered both this summer and year-round.

A full schedule of events at each branch is available here, but from all of the events packed into just three hours at each branch, here are a few selected highlights:

-A 10 AM performance by ballet students of Kaye Fernandez, recent winner of the Sol Schoenbach Award for outstanding service to the school, kicks off the day at the Mary Louise Curtis branch.

Kaveh Saidi leads the Germantown branch Junior Orchestra, a newly-established ensemble

- the Germantown Branch Junior Orchestra, started last fall and led by Kaveh Saidi, caps its successful first year with a 12 PM performance at the Germantown branch.


-An instrument repair workshop hosted by experienced technician Larry Frank at the Kardon-Northeast branch will be held from 10 AM to noon. Bring your instruments that are in need of fixing up!

Faculty member Dan Peterson instructs the West Philadelphia saxophone section to shout it out

-Follow the West Philadelphia Branch Jazz Ensemble all afternoon! They perform at 1 PM at the West Philadelphia branch, then move off-site to the West Park Arts Festival, held at the High School of the Future (40th and Parkside), at 3 PM.

-Beyond Ballet: Workshops for jazz and hip-hop dance will be held at the Camden School of Musical Arts branch from 10 to 11:30 AM.

What is this guy doing? Conducting?

- Some non-standard instruments and ensembles will be featured in Willow Grove: an all-cello ensemble, with students and teachers playing cellos of all different sizes, and a demonstration of a theremin (seen above), an early electronic instrument.