On Friday, December 2, several members of the OSU Andean Music Ensemble participated in an outreach event with students at Montrose Elementary School. Our interactive sessions with three third grade music classes gave us an opportunity to introduce students to a variety of Andean instruments and to learn a couple of songs in Spanish. We made use of the CLAS Musical Instrument Traveling Trunk, equipped with enough instruments for classes of up to 40 students. Students embraced the concept of participatory music-making, sang in Spanish with great enthusiasm, and asked many questions about Andean music and about Andean countries and cultures! We also used the opportunity to talk about our professional fields, university majors and research, including Ethnomusicology, Anthropology, Latin American Studies, Spanish and Portuguese Literatures and Cultures. The kids were fascinated and they made us feel like rock stars!

Learn more about the OSU Andean Music Ensemble.