SNOW HILL– A pair of world-renowned musicians shared their skills with Snow Hill Elementary School students last week through a visiting artist program.
Violinist Elena Urioste, who is also artistic director for Chamber Music by the Sea, and pianist Tom Poster, who is the artistic director of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, traveled from London to perform for third grade students at Snow Hill Elementary on April 8. The visit was part of the Worcester County Education Foundation’s visiting artist program.
“Thanks to the incredible generosity of Chamber Music by the Sea and the Paul M. Angell Foundation, we are happy to bring masters in the world of classical music, right to our students,” said Olivia Momme, manager of operations and community relations for the Worcester County Education Foundation. “The look of pure amazement on the faces of our students is truly what this is all about. Inspiring them to dream big, because they could be up there one day.”
The visiting artist program, started last year with virtual sessions, was created to give students a chance to interact with musicians from around the world. Students have the chance to hear the artists perform and are also able to participate in a question and answer session with them.
Urioste and Poster performed pieces by several well-known composers, including the female African American composer Florence Price, and talked about their instruments as well as about music and the feelings it could inspire.
Principal Matthew Record said the event illustrated the school’s commitment to fine arts.
Students created works of art inspired by the music.
“Our third-grade students experienced a lively display of classical music from diverse composers,” he said. “Students received an appreciation of the musical arts and interacted with world renowned composers.”
Record said the school was grateful to the Worcester County Education Foundation and Chamber Music by the Sea for providing the unique opportunity to Snow Hill’s students. He added that the question and answer session, as well as the way the musicians encouraged students to draw what the music made them think and feel, showed the children the power of music.
“Students interacted with the music by creating visual imagery, proving music is a universal language,” he said.
