Crowden Music Center

A very special masterclass at Crowden today 🎶

Our students welcomed acclaimed artists Yacouba Sissoko, master kora player, and Mike Block, cellist, composer, and educator, for an afternoon of music, rhythm, culture, and discovery.

Students were introduced to the kora, a West African string instrument with deep roots in Mali’s musical and storytelling traditions, and explored rhythm, improvisation, and making music beyond the written score. Mike even brought along his 3D-printed cello to demonstrate!

More than a masterclass in technique, the morning opened up a wider conversation about how music carries culture and history, connects us to one another, and shapes the way we experience the world.

An inspiring morning of listening, experimenting, and making music together.

This masterclass is part of a series of special events curated by Crowden’s 2026-27 Artist-in-Residence, Owen Dalby.

How do kindergartners explore music?
With their whole bodies! 🎶

In Music and Movement with teacher Kim Agnew, Crowden kindergartners are discovering a ca****la music-music created with voices, without instrumental accompaniment. Through listening, guided movement, and imaginative play, they connect sound and movement in a joyful, embodied way!

Just a few weeks into the school year, Crowden’s Advanced Orchestra is already finding the pulse of Tegere Tulon by Malian singer and composer Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté.

Arranged for strings by Jacob Garchik, the piece draws on the call-and-response handclapping songs Diabaté remembers from her childhood in Mali-music shaped by language, counting, movement, and dance.

This Friday, our students will continue that exploration in a special masterclass with Malian master kora player Yacouba Sissoko and cellist Mike Block-the first event curated by Crowden’s 2026-27 Artist-in-Residence, Owen Dalby!

Noe Music
Owen Dalby
Mike Block
Kevin Rogers
Yacouba Sissoko

What does it take to become an orchestra?

This week marked a Crowden first: the very first rehearsal of Camerata, our new K-2 orchestra and Crowden’s first large ensemble created especially for our youngest musicians!

Rebecca Reed Lunn led the orchestra alongside cello teacher Soyoon Park, with piano accompaniment by Kevin Rogers. Through an open-string sequence set to a samba rhythm, the students practiced watching, listening, and playing together-finding a shared pulse and experiencing the joy of making music as one ensemble.

Every orchestra begins one note and one beat at a time. 🎻

MUSIC AT CROWDEN | Inside Our Ensembles
Frank Bridge to Miles Davis!

What goes into choosing repertoire for our student ensembles?

Kevin Rogers takes us inside the thinking behind one ensemble’s repertoire and how contrasting musical styles can challenge students in very different ways.

The ensemble, coached by Crowden cello faculty member Ben Davis, begins with Miniatures by English composer Frank Bridge, whose music brings together influences from the English musical tradition and continental composers such as Debussy. Bridge was also the teacher of Benjamin Britten, and Kevin hears a musical thread connecting the two composers.

Originally written for violin, cello, and piano, the work has been arranged for this Crowden ensemble of two cellos and piano.

Then, they’ll shift gears entirely with Miles Davis’s “All Blues,” from his landmark 1959 album Kind of Blue giving each student the opportunity to explore blues, jazz, and improvisation alongside their classical chamber music playing.

Two very different musical traditions with one ensemble to look forward to! 🎻🎹

🎻 Cello Instrument class - with a special guest!

Today, cello faculty member Kendra leads Instrument Class, with Crowden alum Dia (Class of 2025) dropping in to play alongside our students!

It’s one of the things that makes the Crowden community special: our alumni regularly return to visit, support our young musicians, and sometimes even join right back in where they left off! 💛

And so it begins! 🎻

At Crowden, music starts the day! Three mornings a week, 3rd–8th graders begin with a two-hour music block that includes Instrument Class which is a dedicated time to develop technique, musicianship, and confidence on their instruments.

Here, Crowden music faculty member Eugene Chukhlov coaches student violinist, Adam, in his Instrument Class. 🎶