Kalamazoo Kids in Tune Gala Finale Celebrates Five Years of Progress for Young Orchestra

    KALAMAZOO, MI, May 20, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The annual Kalamazoo Kids in Tune Gala Finale performance will take place on Thursday, June 2 at 5:30 pm at Chenery Auditorium. The concert will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the KKIT partnership and is free and open to the public.

The KKIT orchestra is the youngest symphony orchestra in the state of Michigan, made up of 1st-6th grade students from KPS Woods Lake Elementary and Milwood Middle School. The concert will feature themes from orchestral masterworks by composers including Beethoven, Dvorak, Mahler, Strauss, Mussorgsky and more. High school students who are members of the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra will join KKIT to perform in a side-by-side format on several works.

Kalamazoo Kids in Tune is a collaboration of Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Communities In Schools of Kalamazoo, and Kalamazoo Public Schools. It is designed as an "orchestra immersion" program and takes place within the framework of the CIS After School Program at Woods Lake Elementary. KKIT members attend the after-school program Monday-Thursday, 3:50-6:20.

At the core of the KKIT philosophy is to invite even the youngest children to take part in the making of powerful music. After a "Fundamentals" year in which students learn basic music skills, each child is invited to choose a string, wind, brass or percussion instrument to study and begins taking group lessons and participating in orchestra rehearsals and sectionals. They also participate in Mindfulness classes and other "club" activities of their choice, such as Mathletes and culture clubs. Each day begins with a nutritious meal and ends with supported homework time. KKIT orchestras perform regularly at school and community events.

After five years, the program has seen promising outcomes. In addition to significant musical growth, the program stands out among after-school sites for high enrollment, high daily program attendance rates, and high retention from one year to the next. Program participants also show higher school-day attendance than the building at large, an outcome that may impact academic success.

KKIT is poised to expand with students as they enter middle school. Families and students have expressed an interest in continued participation beyond elementary school, and their continued involvement strengthens the ensemble. This year, several 6th grade "graduates" began returning to the elementary building two afternoons per week as KKIT Leaders, where they mentor younger members and continue their music studies. These students also take part in the KPS Band or Orchestra program in their middle school. KSO is currently in the process of developing funding to extend the after-school orchestra offering into a middle school site, where it can better accommodate the students who will emerge from the elementary program over the next three years, and also open access to the experience district-wide for middle school musicians.

Major funders for Kalamazoo Kids in Tune include the Michigan Department of Education/21st Century Community Learning Centers, Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, the Getty Education and Community Investment Grant through the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation and the League of American Orchestras, and Greg Jennings Foundation.

More information about the program is available at www.kalamazoosymphony.com or contact Liz Youker, KSO Vice President of Education at [email protected].

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