School pleased us with the signs of Ukrainian patriotism: the state flag on the flagpole in the yard, an exhibition at the school library dedicated to the famous Ukrainian humorist Ostap Vyshnia. The music lessons room impressed us with a real mini-grand piano in it. Music studies are taken very seriously at this school.
The objective of the visit was to introduce the students to the art of George Gershwin as a musical innovator with Ukrainian roots.
A two groups of senior students (8-9 years) was invited to the lecture. The WOA Head S. Usenko presented to them the “Window on America” Center and its free resources for studying English. Students were informed about the opportunity to study at an American university, if they have a high level of English language.They were also reminded about the hight student exchange program “Summer Work and Travel USA” and referred to respective Facebook page of the US Embassy in Kyiv.
The senior students watched several interactive slide shows about the background and the career of George Gershwin. The students already knew certain things about Gershwin. Today they have learned a lot of interesting facts about Gershwin’s innovations in music and about his impact on American culture.
The presenter T. Gavryliuk added a new aspect to the presentation. There is an opinion among the Ukrainian music scholars about the Ukrainian roots of the world famous lullaby “Summertime” by G. Gershwin. The story is similar to the rooting of the “Carol of the Bells” from a popular Ukrainian folk song. The WOA staff member T. Gavryliuk presented several inter-active slide shows about the background and music of George Gershwin. The students were fascinated by the sounds of blues and musicals by George Gershwin.
To check the comprehension of the complicated material the students were asked to answer the questions of a quiz. They managed to give several correct answers, but they certainly need to learn more about opera in general.
Participants number – 30 persons.
No comments:
Post a Comment