Sylvan Winds group

Education

The Sylvan Winds is committed to educating children and brings exciting, interactive programs to young audiences of all ages. Each performance is designed to actively engage children, develop entertaining strategies for listening, and to help young people understand, appreciate, and enjoy wind instruments and classical music.

"The Sylvan Winds experience was unbeatable - better than going to a concert, because it's so personal and intimate.  They're within touching distance and that's a very thrilling thing for these kids."

- Barbara Ames
Hunter College Elementary School

45 minute program offerings include:
  • "Peter & the Wolf and other tales"
    with mime artist Scottie Davis
  • "The Nutcracker"
    with mime artist Scottie Davis
  • "Babar the Elephant"
    (courtesy of Andrejs Jansons)
  • "Introduction to the Instruments"
    (Pre-K to 5) with a special version of Peter and the Wolf
  • "Contrasts in Music"
    (Grades 1-5) exploring opposites in music
  • "Marching Through History"
    (Grades 3-8)
  • "Whirlwind Worldwide Tour"
    (Grades 3-8)
  • "Conversations in Music"
    (Grades 5-8) about teamwork & interaction
  • "Composers & Creativity"
    (High School – College)
  • "Putting It Together"
    Analysis of a music masterpiece. (High School or College Lecture/Demonstration or open rehearsal)
  • "Why Transcriptions? -- an Exploration"
    (College to Adult)
See our other education programs or
Let us help you design your own unique program!

Residencies - In addition, the Sylvan Winds has developed 5 to 10 week school residencies of sequential programs for children of all ages. For over two decades, the ensemble has refined this program at Hunter College Elementary School, further exploring work with pre-school children at the West Side Montessori School, the elementary school students at P.S. 199 in Manhattan, and P.S. 230 in Brooklyn, and high school students at Stuyvesant and Hunter High Schools in New York City.

The Sylvan Winds develops its educational projects to cultivate understanding and appreciation of instrumental music through direct contact with musicians.  Children are introduced to the spectrum of colors, richness of sound, and expressive qualities that wind instruments bring to the world of music. Educating children today will ensure the practice and appreciation of the arts tomorrow.

Having performed throughout the New York City metropolitan area under the sponsorship of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Parks & Recreation, as well as the Carnegie Hall Corporation, the ensemble has also been heard at the Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, the Caramoor International Music Festival, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, and the Parrish, Bruce, and Staten Island Children’s Museums. All of these experiences have informed the educational programs that the Sylvan Winds have performed throughout the country from California and Idaho, to Florida.

These Arts-in-Ed programs are important to the continued success of performing arts initiatives, and have been supported with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Josephine Bay Paul and the C. Michael Paul Foundation, the BETA Fund, the Music Performance Trust Fund, and school parents’ associations.