Building Musical Bridges in Redwood City
At one studio in Redwood City, students are learning more than just how to play the piano. Sujeeva Hapugalle and her 21 students are experiencing the power of music to build bridges in the community, by raising funds and creating lasting partnerships to further musical opportunities for youth. Their Musical Bridges project has met its goal of $10,000, allowing them to purchase a beautiful piano for the new Redwood Shores Elementary School, and make additional contributions to that music program as well as to the Belmont School District. Since RWSE is the rehearsal space for the Peninsula Youth Symphony, the piano will also enrich them and other musical groups in the area for years to come.
Hapugalle’s students are at the top of their game; many are high-ranking award winners at the U.S. Open Music Competition, the San Francisco Chopin Foundation and CMTANC competitions. The project arose from her idea to make musical study a bit more meaningful and powerful through charity work. “Music making and study as part of life and a culture, apart from striving for excellence at formal events, has been a delight,” she says. She and dedicated parents and students devised a successful program to engage local business partners (including Sherman Clay Pianos) in sponsorships; they performed house concerts, and solicited individual gifts and matching grants. Their free concert on Oct. 16 is a celebratory “thank you” gift to their contributors, and reinforces Hapugalle’s ultimate goal to “build and enhance audiences for quality youth concerts.” Musical Bridges is still accepting donations.
You can Join them on Oct. 16 and read more about the event.
Do the Monster Mash With Charity and the JAMband
Who says Halloween can’t have a musical tradition to go along with the costumes and sweets? Charity Kahn and her JAMband close their Family Festival on Oct. 30 with a special Halloween Jam the last in their popular summer/fall concert series, now five years running. The Sunday afternoon event at San Francisco’s Park Chalet is a perfect venue for kids and adults. The indoor/outdoor spot offers great food and a huge selection of beers on tap and is also a perfect place for the little ones to celebrate the holiday, with costumes on, funky dancing encouraged, and free-trade chocolate for all. Alison Faith Levy performs first starting at 3 p.m., followed by the JAMband at 4 p.m.
Kahn and her rockin’ band, Charity and the JAMband, play “music for people, not for kids!” although those who need a reference may consider it in the family music genre. JAM stands for Joy and Music, and that’s just what she and her musicians deliver — their original Indie rock tunes with lyrics tuned to youngsters are enjoyed by parents and kids alike, and they have loyal followers each year at their Park Chalet concerts.
Kahn is the curator of the JAMband Family Festival, has produced five award-winning CDs, and she runs a summer JAMCamp for tots ages 4-8, among other classes. “JAM is about connection,” she says. “Connection with self, connection within families, connection with the rhythms of the universe. Singing and dancing with our kids is one of the simplest, purest, and certainly most feel-good ways of connecting with them, sharing real experience, and feeling alive." To learn more about this enthusiastic educator, her programs, and upcoming gigs, visit jamjamjam.com.
More Halloween concerts:
- Classical at the Freight: Bellavente Wind Quintet’s Spooky Concert
- The Phantom of the Opera: Halloween Concert with Organist Cameron Carpenter
Sundays@Four Chamber Music Series
The Crowden Music Center in Berkeley kicks off a new season of Sundays@Four (event info here), a low-cost, casual concert series designed to make great chamber music accessible to audiences, young and old.
On Oct.30, Crowden presents The Hot Club of San Francisco, a gypsy jazz group modeled after Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli's pioneering Hot Club de France. What makes this series so friendly is having the artists speak about their work from the stage, engaging repertoire, and a post-concert reception to meet the performers up close and personal.
All concerts are free for people 18 and under, making this a highly entertaining and affordable Sunday family outing. Check the Crowden Web site for additional offerings.