On May 15, fourth and fifth graders at Patagonia Elementary School participated in ‘The Intergalactic Ensemble,’ the final project for the The Universe Within STEAM world-building curriculum called Making Music.
Making Music was inspired by Santa Cruz Foundation for the Performing Arts Executive Director Christina Wilhelm. The 40-hour curriculum was developed by Mat Bevel Company and University of Arizona School of Mathematical Sciences and taught by Patagonia Elementary School fifth grade teacher David Clovesko-Wharton. K-12 Music Teacher Scott Connick prepared students for ensemble performances.
The grand finale started with a ‘street music show’ of homemade instruments along the walkway of Benderly–Kendall Opera House, as an audience of K-3 students and community members poured into the concert hall. Once inside, students shared their knowledge about music to a full house, demonstrating sound vibrations, rhythm and beat, sound energy transfer in musical instruments, and the relationship between pitch and frequency waves as well as volume and amplitude waves. Student ensembles performed “Skip to My Lou” and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” on ukuleles. Another ensemble performed “Amazing Grace” on Native American flutes. The event concluded with a group chorale ensemble singing “Rainbow Connection.”
Clovesko-Wharton said, “Making Music provided a novel experience that transformed the minds and hearts of our fourth and fifth grade students. They invented and constructed original musical instruments, and created narratives on how music can help society. Our incredible Patagonia students always surprise and impress me with their united effort, collaborative creativity, and bravado on stage. They crushed it, and I’m so proud of them.”
“The Opera House was transformed during The Universe Within final event with the sounds of students excited to be displaying their remarkable demonstrations in the science of Making Music,” Wilhelm said. “A stellar performance!”
The Universe Within dispels a common myth that creative genius is a talent only a few possess. To recognize the participants’ exemplary imaginative work over the last five months, students received a Certificate of Genius.
Making Music was supported by the Burton Family Foundation, Nogales U.S. Customs Brokers Association, Patagonia Regional Community Fund, South32, Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, Santa Cruz Foundation for the Performing Arts and Sonora Investment Management.
For more information about The Universe Within, contact Paula Schaper at pschaper@matbevelcompany.org or visit the-universe-within.org
