Old Town School – On The Road

Dispatches from the road from our wayfaring travelers.

Our First Two Days…

GREETINGS FROM NEWCASTLE, ENGLAND! This is the first blog entry for the Old Town School’s overseas mission. I am joined here by Old Town School teaching artists Boogie McClarin (hip-hop), Barbara Silverman (guitar, voice, clogging), Maria McCullough (fiddle), Joe Filisko (harmonica), Steve Levitt (guitar), and our Executive Director, Bau Graves. I’ve had to wait a day and a half to write this since all of us have been pretty busy, although I am happy to report that this was the first evening that all seven of us have had to hang out in a pub and throw back a few. I am hoping that we can repeat this activity, nightly.

We’ve been spending most of our time at The Sage Gateshead, which is an AMAZING concert venue across the river from Newcastle. Our host for this leg of our trip has been Ros Riley, who is in charge of the non-classical programming for the space. Today (Friday) we had the chance to meet with the administrative staff of The Sage Gateshead, which includes a number of folks who are involved in educational programming, both at the facility and elsewhere. We talked about how Old Town School is run, and gave them the opportunity to ask some questions about our programs back in Chicago.

Earlier this morning, we all had a chance to visit a primary school and were given the opportunity of throwing together an hour long concert for the kids. Everyone took turns playing and singing, and a great time was had by everyone. Boogie took the stage and the children were absolutely transfixed for twenty minutes as they performed their first hip-hop steps. Great stuff.

On a personal note, I have to say that it is really great how well all of us are getting along. Well, actually, “getting along” probably isn’t the right term. I think that there are friendships that are being formed here, among some teachers and adminstrators who had never even met before our pre-travel meeting a couple of weeks ago. Joe Filisko didn’t know Maria McCullough at all, and now the two of them are hanging out and having a wonderful time. Boogie McClarin didn’t know any of the other teachers, and yet I know that the other four are better people for having made the connection with her.

We got to spend some time walking around the narrow, winding streets of Newcastle. The architecture is a cross between the (very) old and the new; although, unlike Chicago, the new buildings have been designed and constructed to integrate with the historic.

We’re having a smashing time, so far. Unless we start annoying the hell out of each other pretty soon, I think the rest of the trip is going to be just as rewarding!

Filed under: England 2008, Notes from Robert by Robert | April 4, 2008 | Comments (0)


Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Share your thoughts