School of Music initiative engages Seattle’s young listeners

A community engagement initiative established at the School of Music last year has brought hundreds of elementary school children to the University of Washington over the past several quarters to observe rehearsals and performances in a guided listening format. 

Through a partnership with Seattle educator and arts activist Emilia Kister and her company Common Thread Arts, LLC, the School of Music has engaged young listeners and their families and teachers in live music experiences intended to supplement students’ existing exposure to the arts in school.

Along with bringing elementary school-aged children to the UW School of Music for daytime rehearsals, Kister includes with each visit a custom preparatory lesson that she shares in the students’ classrooms prior to the event and an offer of free concert tickets for students and their parents to attend the related School of Music concert.  The preparatory lesson in the classroom is a key component of her approach. "Young children are very capable of listening to live music of many different genres, even for long periods of time," she says, a conclusion she has reached after almost two decades in the elementary music classroom. "However, it is a skill that needs to be taught. It is remarkable how quickly children respond to these strategies, even with just a 30 minute prep lesson."

The project got under way in 2023-24, with 285 school children from six different schools attending rehearsals and performances. Participating schools included Jewish Day School, University Child Development School, Our Lady for the Lake School, BF Day School, Villa Academy, and the Giddens School, with students aged from first through sixth grades.  

Students from Jewish Day School at a Modern Band rehearsal (Photo: Emilia Kister).

In Autumn Quarter 2024, more than 150 young listeners visited School of Music student ensemble rehearsals. In November, a group of 55 third graders from BF Day Elementary School attended a Chamber Singers rehearsal in Brechemin Auditorium, with a number of students and their parents opting to also attend the group’s subsequent concert at Meany Hall. Two groups from University Child Development School—a group of 52 first graders and their teachers and a group of 50 second graders and teachers—attended a rehearsal by the Studio Jazz Ensemble, with some families opting to attend the related performance.   

"I don’t know who gets more excited, the children or our students,” says Geoffrey Boers, Chamber Singers director and head of choral activities at the UW. "The interaction with the young people is the best part! The questions, their insightful and sometimes hilarious comments—and most of all when they sit with us on stage while we sing. The connection is palpable!"

Students from Giddens School attend a Chamber Singers rehearsal (Photo: Emilia Kister).

Kister reports similar enthusiasm from the children and adults involved in the project. “The kids, teachers and parents were thrilled,” she says. “One parent chaperone even told me that it was the best field trip she'd ever been on. We don't know how many trips she's attended, but it was still nice to hear.”

Stef Price, head of Organ Studies at the UW, welcomed a group last year for a demonstration of the UW's Littlefield Organ. "The students were engaged, eager, and prepared to ask questions about the pipe organ in Walker Ames room, keeping me on my toes," he says. 

Skúli Gestsson, music specialist at University Child Development School (and UW doctoral candidate in Music Education) brought groups from UCDS to rehearsals by the Percussion Ensemble in Spring 2023 and the Studio Jazz Ensemble in Fall 2024. "Both ensembles did such a good job welcoming our students into their space,” he says. "Emilia Kister is an expert teacher, and it was such a pleasure to work with her on these visits. She visited our music classes to prepare us for our field trips, to teach us about what we would experience, and how to be a great audience member. We can't wait to visit again."

Students from University Child Development School attend a Percussion Ensemble rehearsal (Photo: Emilia Kister). 

Cuong Vu, head of the  Jazz Studies program and director of the Modern Band, welcomed students from Villa Academy and Jewish Day School to a rehearsal and performance last spring. "It was such an endearingly positive experience for us (professor and students) to play for and interact with these bright-eyed, curious, open-minded little people," he says. "Whatever Emilia has been doing in prepping the children for the rehearsal sit-ins opened their minds to our aspirations and intentions while facilitating meaningful connections between the kids and our students in their exchanges. The beginnings of understanding ideas of why we strive to be artists seemed to have been received. And they (and their parents) came to our concerts! The long-term benefits of Emilia’s program is what we all urgently need, as she plants the seeds for future open-minded, curious audiences who are interested in artistry and the arts in general."

The project continues throughout the 2024-25 academic year, with Kister scheduling visits for winter and spring quarters in the coming months.

“A big thank you to School of Music director Joel-François Durand for seeing the vision and supporting this project,” Kister says. “I believe we are really making a difference for the future of live music.”

Learn more about the collaboration