MDU Announces the ArtWeek Grant Recipients

We are excited to announce the recipients of the Music Drives Us ArtWeek Grants! Congratulations to the following organizations:

Airmen of Note Air Force Jazz Band:
Date: Monday, April 30, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (clinic with students); 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (concert)
Venue: Franklin High School Auditorium
Address: 218 Oak Street Franklin, MA 02038
The "Airmen of Note" is the internationally-acclaimed United States Air Force Jazz Band from Washington D.C. Band members will conduct an open workshop with Franklin High School music students and present a concert following the workshop.

Circle of Songs with Hugh Hanley:
Date: Saturday, April 28, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Marion Art Center
Address: 80 Pleasant Street Marion, MA 02738
A singalong/play along concert for young children and their families. Early childhood educator and musician Hugh Hanley will lead us in a program of songs, stories, finger plays and music activities that will keep children (and grownups too!) happily engaged.

Communities of Song Concert:
Date: Sunday, May 6, 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – discussion; 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – concert; reception follows show)
Venue: Wesley United Methodist Church
Address: 114 Main Street Worcester, MA 01608
A 90 year-old Methodist church choir, Metro West’s Shir Joy Jewish Chorus, Wesley Children’s Choir, Barre’s Band of Voices Community Chorus, a Ghanaian church choir and a children’s church choir come together for the second annual Communities of Song Concert. Each group will sing music from its own distinct cultures and traditions and then join together with the other choirs for a grand finale which includes a new, original and audience-interactive piece premiered at this concert! Preceding the performance, join us at 3:00 p.m. for a discussion the about inspiration for this performance and more with concert organizer, director and composer Nan AK Gibbons.

Drumming Around the World
Date: Saturday, May 5, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Venue: Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School
Address: 201 Main Street Franklin, MA 02038
Through this hands-on musical experience, Drumming Around the World will focus on exploring different cultures and their musical styles through the art of drumming. Participants will learn elementary to intermediate rhythms by ear, participate in drum circles, practice improvisation skills, and learn a little of the history of hand drumming.

ELECTRIC YOUTH powered by Bully: The Adjective
Date: Thursday, May 3, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Franklin School for the Performing Arts
Address: 38 Main Street Franklin, MA 02038
The international touring ensemble ELECTRIC YOUTH will debut, host, and facilitate a fun anti-bullying workshop for children. Partnering with Bully: The Adjective, ELECTRIC YOUTH will use music and conversation to create dialogue around positivity, inclusion and the importance of valuing relationships. Each participant will receive a certificate they can customize by adding their name and self-portrait, and a take-home kit to continue with the Friendship Challenge.

A Grand Night for Singing – with the Apollo Club
Date: Tuesday, May 1, 7:30 p.m.to 8:30 p.m.
Venue: Jamaica Pond Band Stand
Address: 507 Jamaicaway Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
This concert encourages you to sing, hum, dance, or sway in celebration of the human voice, with familiar songs from around the world, spirituals, love songs, and a even a medley from "My Fair Lady." Everyone from two to ninety-two is invited to join this concert at the Bandstand at Jamaica Pond to enjoy music – and to join in – as we celebrate the human voice and the pleasure of singing together.

Intermission Cafe Coffee House
Date: Saturday, April 28, 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Intermission Cafe
Address: 36 Main Street rear, Franklin MA 02038
Students from the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA) will present pop, rock, folk and contemporary musical theater songs in a coffee house format for the first time at Intermission Cafe. Don’t miss out on this engaging opportunity to hear from FSPA students as they guide audience members on an interactive journey in celebration of musical composers and works spanning the decades.

Woods Hole Traditional Music Stroll
Date: Sunday, May 6, 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Venue: Woods Hole Community Hall
Address: 68 Water Street Woods Hole, MA 02543
Celebrate spring with live music throughout Woods Hole as ArtsFalmouth presents its fifth annual Woods Hole Trad Stroll with traditional music and dance at a dozen different venues. There will be Renaissance from the distant past and around the world, lively fiddle tunes, contemporary folk music, an open jam session, and a country dance in the evening. Highlights of the day include the Solstice Singers, who will teach the audience catches or rounds from the 16th to 19th centuries, a children’s movement song, and a musical skit, as well as providing information on musical genres and history.

Young or Old, Music Lifts You, Heart and Soul
Date: Friday, May 4th, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Common Street Spiritual Center
Address: 13 Common Street Natick, MA 01760
Golden Tones chorus (goldentones.org) and the Natick High School Advanced Choir will once again join forces to create a dynamic, interactive, inter-generational vocal music event, involving everyone in the room - that means YOU. We firmly subscribe to the African proverb, "If you can walk, you can dance; if you can talk, you can sing," and we're prepared to prove it!

We are looking forward to their awesome events!