Announcing New Afterschool Program and New Classes for Infants and Toddlers

14-month old Elijah grabbed the egg shaker from the basket and started to march around the room, even before Ms. Martha started the hopping game. It was a cool day in early summer, when a small group of parents and toddlers gathered for a sneak peek at one of Settlement’s newest class offerings, Children's Music Playshop.

Early Childhood faculty member Martha Glaze Zook
leading a song during Children's Music Playshop

Ms. Martha, also known as Arthur Judson Distinguished Faculty Chair and Early Childhood faculty member Martha Glaze Zook, played along, declaring Elijah the “leader” of the hopping game, before passing the responsibility to the next child. Activities like this, which encourage both cooperation and creativity in a musical setting, are highly beneficial for very young children. Moving, interacting and exploring rhythm through simple games and instruments encourage mental and physical development before the preschool years. Children become oriented toward music, and often remain interested for life.

Children’s Music Playshop, an introduction to music for infants and toddlers, builds upon the curriculum of Children’s Music Workshop, which has been part of Settlement’s core program for more than 20 years. The new course will be structured as a music class for very young children, along with their parents or caregivers. The class is geared toward developing locomotor skills, word recognition and vocal expression through songs, movement games, and rhythmic and speech exercises.

Music Playshop will be offered weekly, with classes split between 6- to 18-month-olds and 19-month-olds to 3-year-olds, at the Mary Louise Curtis, Germantown, Kardon-Northeast, Willow Grove and Wynnefield Branches. Contact the branch nearest you for more information.

Families seeking quality arts-based aftercare in Queen Village and Germantown have a new option: This fall, Settlement will launch Kaleidoscope Plus, an extension of its award-winning preschool program that will serve students from preschool through third grade and their families.

In Kaleidoscope Plus, children will participate in age-appropriate arts activities, including music, theatre, movement and visual arts, and receive snacks and homework assistance. As an added plus, parents may be able to schedule group or individual instrument lessons or dance classes during the aftercare program, saving valuable time. Settlement faculty may also be able to escort children from nearby schools to Settlement as a convenience to parents. The program will run daily from 2:45 to 5:45 PM at the Mary Louise Curtis and Germantown Branches; other scheduling options are available, including four-, three-day and two-day options.

Call 215.320.2672 to sign up for the program at either branch, or click here to submit an online request for program and enrollment details. For families qualifying for CCIS, contact Tarrell Davis at 215.320.2670 or by email.

Adapted and expanded from Settlement's Fall 2013 newsletter. Read more here.

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.

Rites of swing: Jazz performances abound this spring

It's been a big year for jazz at Settlement, with jazz ensemble programs thriving at the Wynnefield, Kardon-Northeast and Germantown branches. Plus, the Advanced Study jazz ensemble at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch recently won a Student Music Award from DownBeat magazine; read more about that here!

Guitar faculty Mark Forchic coaching several saxophone students

Spring brought a staggering number of performances throughout the community by ensembles from all of these branches. The list includes:

• regular performances at the City Line Landmark Americana
   
• a Jazz Festival on April 7 at the Mary Louise Curtis Band, in collaboration with professor Chris Farr from the University of the Arts and members of the UArts Jazz Band and with ensembles from all branches taking part

• a jazz-centered performance hour at the Wynnefield Branch

• a patio performance at the Free Library of Philadelphia's Wynnefield Branch, with piano faculty Scott Coulter joining several members of the Wynnefield Jazz Ensemble

• the South Street Spring Festival, sponsored by the South Street Headhouse District, with a crowd of thousands passing by

• the City Avenue Spring Fling. Saxophonist Jack Savone, a member of the Kardon-Northeast Jazz Ensemble, was even asked to sit in with Chico's Vibe, a professional group that performs widely throughout the Philadelphia area

 

Outdoor performance at the Free Library of Philadelphia's Wynnefield Branch

These numerous performances are partly a reflection of the dedication of guitar faculty Mark Forchic, who coaches the ensembles at Wynnefield, Kardon-Northeast and Germantown. Along with the directors at those branches, he sought out new students at many local schools, and he's instilled a serious, performance-oriented mindset in all of his groups this year. "I treat it like we're a working, performing jazz group." Weekly practice sessions are "not like in school; we play like we are going out to play a gig -- which we do."

All these gigs wouldn't have come about with a talented bunch of students. One of Forchic's ensembles at Wynnefield started this year ahead of the rest -- the members are all students at Lower Merion High School and have been playing together for years -- and played the majority of the concerts. Forchic says those students -- Tom Hagen, Dean Hughart, Ellis Kelsey, Jeremy Katz, and John Della Franco -- are a special group. "It's unique from the other groups I have," he says. "I've had them for two or three years now, and they spend so much time playing and just hanging out together."

The ensembles at Kardon-Northeast and Germantown, plus the other two ensembles at Wynnefield, have all worked on catching up with the older, more experienced ensemble, and all have been featured during this busy season of shows. All of Forchic's groups dig deep into classic tunes, drawing from the professional jazz player's standby The Real Book, and work on making up arrangements on the spot -- no writing anything down.

The busy season is coming to a close with a performance at the Seger Park Playground Spring Festival on June 2 and numerous performances school-wide during the Open House on June 8. After a little downtime for students and faculty, jazz at Settlement will pick back up once again with the Summer Jazz Camp from July 29 to August 2. For more information on the jazz ensemble program at Settlement, contact the Branch nearest you or stop by the Open House at any of our branches on June 8 from 10 AM to 1 PM.

Piano faculty member shares keys to success

As the school year draws to a close, two upcoming events—the Open House at all branches on June 8, and the Annual Concert on June 9—really show the best of Settlement: our programs for all ages, our classes and ensembles that help produce both talented musicians and well-rounded individuals, and our remarkable faculty. Over the next several weeks, we'll feature some of our faculty members who will be part of Open House or whose students will be performing at the Annual Concert, starting with piano faculty Dolly Krasnopolsky. She's a fixture at Settlement and an important part of the Russian-speaking community in Philadelphia, especially near the Kardon-Northeast branch, and her students all sing her praises—even ones, like Pulitzer Prize-winning alumna Quiara Hudes, that haven't played for many years.

Dolly Krasnopolsky, longtime piano faculty at Settlement

Piano instruction has been at the center of Settlement since its founding, and for over two decades, Dolly Krasnopolsky has had a profound impact on many young pianists. Now serving as the Ann Stookey and Joseph W. Waz, Jr. Distinguished Faculty Chair, Dolly has taught at four Settlement branches over the course of 24 years since emigrating from the Soviet Union. She now teaches at three branches—Mary Louise Curtis, Kardon-Northeast, and Willow Grove —and spends long days, packed with students, at each. Through recommendations and requests over the years, students of all ages have sought her out; her youngest is 6, the oldest well past retirement age.

Whatever their ages, her students receive a thorough grounding in what Dolly calls the “musical apparatus”: the alignment and coordination of wrists, hands and fingers that control the fundamentals of playing piano. It’s a process from A-to-Z influenced by her education in conservatories in Moldova, though instruction there “was a little more military,” she admits. Her pupils clearly benefit from this approach; they frequently play in performances at Settlement, competitions, and major events throughout the wider community.

Q: Over the years, what have you noticed that your students all have in common?

Dolly Krasnopolsky: At the beginning, everyone starts with music because it is fun, but they don’t realize that it is hard work. In every case, interest, aptitude and musicality all lead toward progress and development. Regardless of talent, I always have students who enjoy doing music as something for their soul. There’s
always variety among students, but as long as they have discipline and can find focus in music, there is always progress.

Q: How can parents best support their children in playing music, regardless of their ability?

DK: Early exposure to music—playing recordings, taking them to concerts—can help steer a child toward music, but it is not important that parents have musical knowledge themselves. What matters is to set aside the time for music and to stick to a schedule. Parents always ask me, “What age is good to start music?” They should know it is possible to jump into music too soon.

Q: What does it mean to you to see your students succeed in their musical careers?

DK: I love to see my students learn to play well enough to represent themselves and to develop skills in stage presentation. They can go from performance hours here to recitals to performances outside the school. This progression is very important, because it reflects well on them as well as on Settlement and our focused structure of teaching. Once you have the technical skills and the presentation skills, you can play anything, and I feel there’s a little more satisfaction in playing a very difficult classical program.

Q: What can you accomplish teaching at a place like Settlement that you couldn’t by visiting students’ homes?

DK: With the environment of the school, everything is possible; that’s what makes it a school of music. Students have so many opportunities to perform at different levels and on different stages. If they show an interest in composing, I can send them across the hall to study with one of my colleagues. They can study theory or composition. They can try out a choir or an orchestra. They can play in small groups and chamber ensembles. Out of those roots, they can branch out.

A version of this interview appeared in the spring 2013 issue of our NOTES newsletter.