Tag Archives: teaching artist

OPERA KIDS – the movie

Posted on April 1, 2021 by dannyashkenasi

“Opera Kids” is a documentary about the Creating Original Opera program that I had taught and also helped develop with my colleagues at the Metropolitan Opera Guild Education Department since 1990. It was directed by Max Sturm, who participated in … Continue reading →

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The Knight Marries the Prince

Posted on May 26, 2019 by dannyashkenasi

  A Kindergarten Original Blesses a Quaker Wedding   Friday morning I heard a wedding song I realized I would have to sing that night at an actual wedding.  Class K-1 at the Brooklyn Children’s School was the third kindergarten … Continue reading →

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FIRST GRADE ALIENS RIDE PEOPLE’S HEADS!

Posted on April 10, 2019 by dannyashkenasi

  Another Year, Another Silly First Grade Opera! Actually, another three first grade operas at the Brooklyn Children’s School, created, written, composed and performed by first graders themselves, under the direction of their teachers and their teaching artist Mister Danny. … Continue reading →

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Another Year, Another Trio of First Grade Operas.

Posted on March 29, 2018 by dannyashkenasi

Three first grade operas have performed in their classrooms in front of an audience of parents, grandparents and loved ones.  In three consecutive days 1-3’s “Diamond Kids”, 1-2’s “The Alicorns” and 1-1’s “Imagine” regaled audiences with stories, dialog, lyrics and … Continue reading →

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K-2 Presents: THE WIZARD’S REVENGE (featuring the Garbage-Throwing Machine)

Posted on June 1, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

The Kindergarten K-2 class of the Brooklyn’s Children’s School just presented their original fairy tale opera, for which the children created the story, the lyrics and the melodies: Once upon a time there was a king, a princess and a … Continue reading →

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PRE-K 2 GOES ITS OWN UNUSUAL WAY – a surprise diversion in the ongoing saga of Mr. Danny’s Most Sung Song

Posted on April 6, 2017 by dannyashkenasi

  Another year and another group of Pre-K students are learning “We’re Singing” AKA Mr. Danny’s Most Sung Song – this would be the third yearly installment in what is evidently and unexpectedly turning into a continuing series (the first … Continue reading →

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NfaC Repost and Update – Mister Danny and His Most Sung Song

Posted on May 5, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

Today I repost one of my first and still most popular “teaching artist” posts, featuring the Pre-K standard “We’re Singing” (well, standard in my Pre-K curriculum).  This year’s Pre-K classes at the Children’s School have taken to the tune with … Continue reading →

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NfaC Repost: The Sound of Music: Embracing the “Sugarcoated Lie”

Posted on January 22, 2016 by dannyashkenasi

This article was one of the first ever published on “Notes from a Composer” and quickly became one of the more popular during the first months of the blog’s existence.  I thought I would repost it so newcomers to the … Continue reading →

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FIRST GRADE OPERAS: New Similarities and Differences

Posted on November 5, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

When all three first grade classes chose “Magic” as the theme for their original operas I worried that the three pieces would all end up being too similar.  However, the three “Theme Sentences” (for 1-1: “Magic can control people’s minds”; … Continue reading →

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FIRST GRADE OPERAS: It’s MAGIC time, times three!

Posted on October 23, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

It’s a whole new season of First Grade Operas at the Brooklyn Children’s School.  The three first grade classes have all begun the process of creating their own original opera, or musical, with performances set for the end of March.  … Continue reading →

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WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY when he makes his Kindergarten debut? – The Fairy Tale Opera 3

Posted on August 19, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I’ve discussed how certain characters are most likely to make the cut when the Kindergartners vote on their three chosen Fairy Tale Opera protagonists/antagonists.  Dragons are extremely popular, being regularly featured, and populating two of the three Fairy Tale Operas … Continue reading →

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THE ENDURING POPULARITY OF DRAGONS IN KINDERGARTEN – The Fairy Tale Opera 2

Posted on July 18, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Every year when I start the Fairy Tale Opera project in Kindergarten (at the Brooklyn Children’s School), I ask the class to make a long list of characters that appear in fairy tales.  Then the kindergartners choose three characters around … Continue reading →

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MERMAIDS AND WIZARDS AND DRAGONS: The Kindergarten Fairy Tale Opera Project

Posted on June 20, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

I have already written about how First Grade Operas are created by the students at the Brooklyn Children’s School, and posted one, two, three examples.  If the First Grade Opera Project is the creating original music theater equivalent of riding … Continue reading →

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FIRST GRADE OPERA #3: Mermaids and Blue Sharks and Red Sharks, Oh My!

Posted on May 19, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

“And when a mermaid bumps Into a blue shark They kiss” Class 1-3’s opera this year opens with a rather prettily moody song* (for first grade) about the Mermaid Castle and the Mermaids and Blue Sharks who cavort merrily within … Continue reading →

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THE SOUND OF MUSIC: Embracing the “Sugarcoated Lie”

Posted on May 6, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

Ed and I were in Berlin* a couple years ago visiting my folks when we stumbled upon a German movie from the 1950s being shown on TV.   We missed the first seconds of the credit sequence and so didn’t catch … Continue reading →

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More fun with FIRST GRADE OPERAS: the King, the Queen and the Wacky Witch

Posted on May 3, 2015 by dannyashkenasi

KING COFFERN (looking through his special magnifying glass): “I want to find a queen who is beautiful and kind.  Let’s see what Queens I can find with my magnifying glass.  All right let’s see … here’s a Queen … hmmm, … Continue reading →

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