Press Release:
The first-ever Super Springs Saturday for South West Seattle Students will take place May 14 at Chief Sealth International High School at 2600 Thistle Street in the Auditorium. Students learning string instruments at elementary schools in South West Seattle, in addition to Denny Middle School, will perform and learn alongside the student musicians of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (SYSO).

The event is free and open to the students and families of Roxhill, Arbor Heights, Gatewood, Sanislo, West Seattle, Concord and Highland Park Elementary Schools as well as Denny International Middle School and any other community members wanting to support the young musicians of these south West Seattle Schools.

Activities for the day involve the whole family. Students will have opportunities to perform and observe musical demonstrations. Parents will join other parents to discuss how to best support their students music education from the providing practice space to instrument maintenance and repair to how to help the transition from playing in an elementary to middle and/or high school-level orchestra. Everyone is invited to attend a mini-concert by the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra of Holst’s The Planets at 12:30 p.m. in the Chief Sealth International High School Auditorium.

This event is a celebration of the partnership between Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Public Schools aimed to increase equitable access to music education in the District. Initiating the program in eight South West Seattle schools, SYSO has brought professional coaches specializing in string instruments to co-teach with the SPS instrumental music instructors, which has enabled further individualized instruction not otherwise possible without this collaboration. SYSO has also provided free additional hours of instruction either before or after school at each elementary school.

This program is supported by The Wallace Foundation Excellence Award. The Wallace Foundation Excellence Awards were created to support exemplary arts organizations to pioneer effective practices to engage more people in high-value arts activities.

For more information about Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra please visit www.syso.org and will take place Saturday, May 14, 2011 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For event information contact Kathleen Allen at (206) 362-2300.