Eastside Elementary third graders to give puppet show Friday afternoon

To the editor:

My name is Jennifer Wilson and I am the elementary music teacher here in Harrison County.  I would like to invite the community to a performance.  This Friday, February 13th, 2009 we will be having a shadow puppet play at Eastside Elementary.  This week, our third graders at Eastside having been working with a guest artist, Gregory Acker.  Funding was providing by VSA arts of Kentucky, a non-profit organization that provides opportunities in the arts for people with disabilities. 

    Mr. Acker lives in Louisville, Ky and I would like to thank the people at the Seldon Renaker Inn for housing him this week.  Mr. Acker is teaching the students about traditional Indonesian Gamelan music and helping them to put together a shadow puppet play.  He has brought his homemade gamelan instruments for the students to play.  Some of these instruments are similar to metalophones (like a xylophone with metal bars).  The bars are made of EMT or conduit.  I would love to create a set of instruments for us to have to keep at the school. This project incorporates all of the art forms: music, drama, dance and visual arts. The students are developing their own story with music to accompany it. They will be dancing behind the shadow screen as well as making their own character puppets.  

    Our final performance to show what the students have been working on will be at 1:30 pm in the multi-purpose room at Eastside.  We would love to see you there.  Thanks for your support of music in our community!!

Jennifer Wilson