KIDS COMPOSE: performances of IU composition majors' arrangements for orchestra and band of local kids' melodies during the annual grade school concerts for capacity audiences in the Musical Arts Center.
History
Started in Bloomington in 2006 by Debbi Ponella and Ruth Boshkoff with assistance from the Jacobs School of Music Composition Department, Kids Compose aims to foster children's natural talent for composing melodies.Kids Compose is sponsored by the Jacobs School of Music, and has received funding from the Bloomington Community Arts Commision and the Community Chamber Music Association.
- Elementary School children from grades two through six are invited to submit original melodies that fit on one page and are less than one minute in length. Students invent a melody and learn the simple tools needed to get it written in musical form.
- IU Jacobs School of Music composition students turn the melodies selected by a panel into orchestra or band compositions.
- The selections will be performed to over 1,600 local 3rd and 5th grade elementary students who visit the Musical Arts Center each school year for youth concerts given by IU Jacobs School of Music ensembles.
- During the concerts each student melody contributor and the IU composition student will be honored. Recordings will be produced to document the project.
- 2009-10 Review
Our unique Bloomington community offers everything needed to work this magic: a world-class music school that has pledged its support for the Children's Composition Project, a collaborative school system with highly-qualified MCCSC music teachers, and a sponsoring community groups in the form of the Community Chamber Music Association and Bloomington Community Arts Commission.
For more info contact Ruth Boshkoff at ruth.boshkoff [@] gmail.com or Debbi Ponella at dponella [@] gmail.com .
You can download the Kid's Compose Registration Form in two formats here:
Word document or PDF
IU Composition Majors
The Composition Department is proud to support Kids Compose, a community outreach program started in 2006. Kids Compose aims to foster children's natural talent for composing melodies. Children (grades 2 - 6) may submit melodies of which four will be selected by IU Jacobs School of Music Composition Faculty as winners. These melodies will then be arranged and orchestrated by IU Jacobs School of Music composition students and performed by the band and orchestra at MCCSC MAC series performances. Composition students and winners will be present at the performances, and may take part in a question and answer session at the completion of the performance, as time allows. IU Jacobs School of Music recording students will record, edit and press CDs, which will be presented to the winners, IU composition students and kept for archival purposes.
The four composition majors selected to participate in this venture will each receive an honorarium of $500 which will cover their honorarium and the expenses of providing performance materials. Two works will be for orchestra and two will be for wind ensemble.
The resulting arrangements will be less than two minutes in duration, and will be relatively straightforward, preserving the identity of the Kid's melodies, and making no elaborate or unusual demands of the ensemble, as there will be very little rehearsal time. Faculty will discuss this more with the selected composers. The arrangements should be effective and interesting, but also clear and concise. The IU composers should communicate and interact with the kids while completing the arrangement,and also plan to write a short program note for the website and speak briefly at the concert.
If you are interested in being considered for this project, please send Prof. Dzubay an email indicating the same and your preference of band or orchestra, and also submit an example (complete work or excerpt) of your orchestrating for either band or orchestra by noon on October 1. You may leave material for Professor Dzubay at the mailroom.
2010-2011 Finalist
*Winners
Alison Albright (Summit); *Abbey Allen (St. Charles); *John Bannec (Clear Creek); Jessica Carmichael (Clear Creek); Tiseok Choi (U. School); Gianna Davy (Grace and Hope Academy); Nick Dolson (St. Charles); Ben Foley (U. School); *Isabel Flynn (St. Charles); *Riley Halloran (St. Charles); Se Min Ko (St. Charles); Finley Krauter (U. School); Lauren Leal (St. Charles); *Jaime Lee (Childs), Tai Min Lee (St. Charles); Kaya McCloud (Marlin); Greta Meya (U. School); Patrick Mooney (St. Charles); *Grace Mullins (St. Charles); *Alan Nguyen (St. Charles); Melina Raglin (U. School); Roxanna Shanla (University School); Connor Starks (U. School); *Sam Stright (U. School); Graham Todd (U. School); Joshua Tseng (U. School); Tanner Waldrip (Marlin), Sophie Young (U. School)
Previous Winners
2006-2007
Kids Compose: Sarah Williams (grade 4, University); Agnes Zhu (grade 5, Summitt); Julia Telthorst (grade 3, St. Charles); Andrew Nguyen (grade 4, St. Charles); Payton Werner (grade 5, Homeschool); Walter Friesel (grade 3, St. Charles); Anna Raphael (grade 2, University School); John Weiss (grade 2, Rogers)
IU Composers: Band: Eric Knechtges, David Farrell; Orchestra: Laura Kramer, Matthew Peterson
2007-2008
Kids Compose: Megan Coghlan (grade 6, St. Charles); Luke Crowe (grade 5, Childs); Nicholas May (grade 3, University); Danielle Davila (grade 4, St. Charles); Korina Flater (grade 5, Fairview); Melody Herzig (grade 2, Marlin); Jacob Huston (grade 6 Homeschool); Alexis Butcher (grade 5, Summit)
IU composers: Elliott Bark, Jonathan Graybill, Jeffrey Stanek, David Werfelmann
2008-2009
Kids Compose: F. Javier Rodriguez (grade 6, Templeton), Mac Vogelsang (grade 6, University), Wesley Oliver (grade 4, Arlington Heights), Lauren Bauman (grade 3, St. Charles), Javier Fuentes-Rohwer (grade 6, Childs), Holly Barnhart (grade 6, University), Allison Neal (grade 5, Childs), Walter Friesel (grade 5, St. Charles).
IU Composers: Joshua Groffman, Lawrence Chappell Kingsland, Elizabeth Ogonek, Jonathan Sokol
2009-2010
Kids Compose: Claire Janda (Childs), Liz McHaley (Clear Creek), Lauren Cox (St. Charles), Hannah Jesseph (St. Charles), Betsy Beggs (Childs), Olivia Evans (University), Ayanna Pardieck (University), Nicole Haseman (University), Max Mesczer (Binford), Jean Lee (Childs)
IU Composers: Adam Haws, Brendan Faegre, Max Grafe, Melody Eotvos
2010-2011
Kids Compose: Abbey Allen (St. Charles), John Bannec (Clear Creek), Isabel Flynn (St. Charles); Riley Halloran (St. Charles), Jaime Lee (Childs), Grace Mullins (St. Charles), Alan Nguyen (St. Charles), Sam Stright (U. School)
IU Composers: Sang Mi Ahn, Carlo Frizzo, Francisco Alvarez, Timothy Miller
Recordings
Blooming Lavender Orchestration: Laura M. Kramer
The Dawn Hour Orchestration: Matthew Peterson
Escape Orchestration: Lawrence Chappell Kingsland
Jogging Girl and Marching Dog Orchestration: Elliott Bark
The Musical Art of Chinese Polka Orchestration: Jeffrey Stanek
NaOH Airplanes Orchestration: David Farrell
Prancing Horse/Song in G Minor Orchestration: Jonathan Sokol
A Snatch of Song, a Flash of Fire Orchestration: Joshua Groffman
Untitled/The Dark Night Orchestration: Jonathan Graybill
Yeah! Orchestration: David Werfelmann