Yesterday we performed our Battle of the Trash bands program at Setauket Elementary School for over 500 students. It was a huge hit! We explored instruments made from reused and recycled materials, talked about sustainability and we read our new story The Adventures of Scuba Shu! It’s the story of a young Scuba diver and wannabe Marine Biologist, Shu, who has to fend off the evil trash robot Octotron who wants to fill the ocean with plastic and take over the world! There was a moment in the story – and these are all still still frame drawings – where the students all collectively went “Woah!” like they were watching an action sequence in a movie. Storytelling can be so powerful for students!
Also, there was a student in the sixth grade who was organizing a relief aid project for the koalas in the Australian wildfires. She is so inspiring. I love seeing students take initiative like that. The entire audience cheered for her when the vice principal and I brought it up at the beginning of the show.
One of our goals for the new year is to build an inspiring collection of instruments made from reused and recycled materials. We love the idea of “upcycling”. Beyond its benefits for the health of the planet we love the creative opportunities that making instruments out of found or used materials presents. Our goal is to inspire a tribe of young people to think differently about everyday items and consumer products. And to make and share new, inspiring, innovative ideas at the same time.
Finally, we performed for a Special Needs audience at Nassau BOCES Jerusalem Avenue Elementary School. The teachers, including their music teacher, said it was one of the best assemblies they’ve ever had at their school. The students were singing and dancing the whole time. The coordinator for the event said that she has never seen that entire room of 200 students be so focused for 45-minutes. They said it was also way better than watching a movie. We look forward to working with their school again in the future.
