Just got some really nice pics back from the University School of Milwauke (USM) residency I did at the beginning of the school year.  This project was in collaboration with the USM Music Department and Miriam Altman, the Middle School Choral Director there and a student of mine on the 2010 ThisWorldMusic/UMass Summer in Ghana.  The residency — which combined student clinics with staff/faculty professional development workshops and assembly presentations — is part of a larger project with USM which includes a service learning trip to Ghana next summer for ten of its teachers.

Here’s a photo recap of the residency:

Rocking out with Ms. Altman’s 5th grade class, teaching them the sogo rhythm for Gahu:

Students learning the rhythm by speaking the drum vocables while they play:

Performing with students at the Middle School assembly:

Demonstrating call and response at the Upper School assembly:

Interesting how the girls, unlike the boys, seem to look at one another:

Wrapping up on a positive note: