Back to News 
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (March 18, 2015) — The East Tennessee Regional Symphony (ETRS), in partnership with the Milligan College Orchestra, will present “The Orchestra Rocks,” an educational concert for Washington County, Tennessee, schoolchildren in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI).
The concert will be held on Wednesday, March 25, at 10 a.m. in Milligan’s Mary B. Martin Auditorium located in Seeger Chapel. Participating schools will perform “Composition in C” in sections based on the age of the school. The concert is free and open to the public.
These schools will perform: Boones Creek Elementary, Boones Creek Middle School, Fall Branch Elementary, Grandview Elementary, Gray Elementary School, Jonesborough Elementary, Jonesborough Middle School, Lamar School, Ridgeview Elementary School, South Central Elementary, Sulphur Springs Elementary and West View Elementary.
“Part of our mission is to provide creative and compelling ways for the orchestra to become actively involved in our community,” said ETRS Conductor Lewis Dalvit. “The children we have met in the schools are excited about the opportunity this season to play music and express their creativity.”
WMI’s Link Up program pairs orchestras across the country with schools in their local communities, inviting them to learn about orchestral repertoire through a year-long, hands-on music curriculum.
The ETRS is one of only 40 organizations from across the United States chosen for WMI’s Link Up program. Funding support is provided by the Harris Fund for Washington County, a fund of East Tennessee Foundation.
Students in the yearlong Link Up program utilize curriculum materials provided free-of-charge by WMI and teachers guide students in exploring music through a composer’s lens. Participating in active music creation in the classroom, students perform their repertoire on recorder, violin, voice or body percussion, and they take part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.
This upcoming concert is the culmination of the work in which students have the opportunity to sing, play the recorder or violin along with ETRS and the Milligan Orchestra. This performance often serves as students’ first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied.
Link Up’s national partnerships grew out of the program’s ongoing work with New York City schools, through which Carnegie Hall has engaged hundreds of thousands of students in musical learning since its inception in 1985.
ETRS has a long history of bringing important and meaningful arts experience into the lives of local children. Since being chartered in November 2004, ETRS has provided events for the young people of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina. In past years, the symphony has collaborated with City Youth Ballet. This is the sixth year it has collaborated with the Milligan Orchestra.
Established in 1999, the Milligan Orchestra performs throughout the region and frequently collaborates with professional ensembles and arts organizations. It is conducted by Dr. Kellie Brown, chair of Milligan’s music area.
“We share the symphony’s passion for inspiring young people to appreciate, patronize and participate in the arts,” said Brown. “Few things are as rewarding as helping young people discover their gift and then helping them to nurture that and make it part of their lives.”
To learn more about Link Up National, visit www.carnegiehall.org/LinkUp. To find out more about Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu.