Settlement's Open House, Saturday June 8, 10 AM to 1 PM

Settlement's 2012-13 school year comes to an end next week. After the Annual Concert on Sunday, there's one last week of lessons and classes before students and teachers alike head off for summer camps, festivals and well-earned vacations. Before we send everyone off for the summer, we hope to get to know some new people first at the annual Open House, held tomorrow, 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:

-Suzuki play-in at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch. We've talked about the Suzuki teaching method here before, now come see what has made the Suzuki program at Settlement such a popular choice for very young musicians and their parents.

-Cello-bration at the Willow Grove Branch, including a performance by a cello ensemble, coached by Christine Danoff, of Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras. It's a sneak preview of Sunday's Annual Concert, too.

-Performances by student jazz and rock bands, coached by Mark Forchic, at the Germantown Branch. It's been a year of tremendous growth for jazz ensembles at Settlement, and Mark's ensembles have been performing far and wide.


-Voice recital featuring students of Susan Rheingans at the Kardon-Northeast Branch

-A demonstration of Percussion Construction, a percussion class where children ages 5-7 play alongside their parents, at the Wynnefield Branch.

-Demonstrations and performances by Children's Music Workshop students at the Camden School of Musical Arts. CMW provides an introduction to music theory, notation and musical development -- a great way for young musicians to learn music fundamentals before starting on an instrument.