With rock-star charisma the TAKE3 trio brought their energetic and virtuosic “Where ROCK meets BACH” to inspire the students from K to 12 in the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Schools on Monday, December 18 in a day of classroom workshops and assemblies, following their sold-out concert in Lincoln Hall on Sunday for Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts in Foxburg, PA.
The Educational residency following their Sunday concert in Lincoln Hall for Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts – in which they performed selections from their Christmas CD as well as their entertaining classical-popular mashups: “O Holy Night”, “Ave Maria” and “Silent Night” to a “Nutcracker Medley”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” in their Christmas portion of the program PLUS “Unchained Melody”, “Amazing Grace”, “What a Wonderful World”, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Orange Blossom Special.
In the fifteenth year of ARCA’s Educational ArtReach partnership program with the A-C Valley schools, the phenomenal violinist and entertainer Lindsay Deutsch with pianist Ting Li and cellist Izzy Palacpac amazed elementary students in three small workshops in the common areas outside their classrooms.
The trio dazzled them with popular-crossover arrangements from their popular CDs, including a mashup of Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” ending with the theme from the Habanera from the opera Carmen.
The artists enjoyed each other – as did the students – when they shared the stories that led them to become performers.
The students enjoyed their sing-along to Jingle Bells.
Allegheny Clarion Valley elementary school student, Jacob Long, had a special moment after the morning workshop with the brilliant crossover trio TAKE3 when he demonstrated for them his “perfect pitch”, correctly identifying notes by hearing them. It is a special gift which most professional musicians have – often an inspiration to pursue music performance – and for this talented, young boy with a beautiful voice, a treasure.
Following the afternoon assembly where they had played “All I want for Christmas is You” – Jacob came to the trio and sang it for them – and, of course, in the exact key in which they played it. Way to go, Jacob! Here’s to more and more musical accomplishment inspired by these extraordinary professional musicians in your school. This is what ARCA’s Educational ArtReach program is all about!
Trained in the country’s finest conservatories and hailed in the press for being “…hypnotic…amazing…instantly capturing the audience…”, TAKE3 dazzled students in two assembly concerts in the afternoon in the high school auditorium.
The trio performed popular Christmas tunes and their famous mashups of classical and popular music.
Violinist Lindsay Deutsch moved around the auditorium playing for the students and taking questions. A perfect send-off for the students before the holidays!
ARCA is grateful to its Members and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for their financial support of its Educational ArtReach program – and extends great thanks to Karen Hetrick and Jennifer Powell Lowrey for coordinating residency and to A-C Valley administrators Superintendent David McDeavitt and Principals Lori Sherman and Bill Jordan for their commitment to this important musical resource program.
General music teacher and elementary and Jr. Sr. High School band director, Karen Hetrick said, “Thank you to ARCA for bringing TAKE3 to our schools this week. Our students in grades K-12 were amazed and inspired by the performances. The students were so impressed by the ability of these fine musicians. They loved the song choices and had a wonderful time singing with the group! My high school students were amazed by the fact that two of the members had everything memorized! What a wonderful event to lead our students into their holiday break!”
General music and choral conductor, Jennifer Powell Lowrey said, “Take3 Trio were not only amazing performers, but also educators. They managed to captivate students’ attention from kindergarten to senior high the week before Christmas! That is nothing short of a miracle and speaks volumes about the talent, personality and energy of this group.”
Superintendent David McDeavitt shared about the importance of the ARCA-A-C Valley partnership to students: “The relationship that A-C Valley School District has with the ARCA and the Educational ArtReach Services is very valuable for our school district and student learning. These types of learning activities ties nicely into the STEAM centered learning philosophy, and via hands on learning with the arts escapes the traditional model of engagement.”
About TAKE3
With a flair for the wild and unexpected, the genre-defying trio, TAKE3, brings the refinement of a rigorous classical music background and infuses it with rock-star charisma – “Where ROCK meets BACH”. Trained at the world’s top conservatories, TAKE3 has expanded their repertoire from Bach and Beethoven to Bieber, Leonard Cohen, and The Beach Boys. The Nevada Sagebrush says of TAKE3 “…. this group gave us a tremendous night of undisputed talent from some of the most passionate musicians around.”
Known for their infectious and down to earth onstage personalities, TAKE3 performs with virtuosic instrumental cross-genre “chops” at the intersection where pop, rock and classical fusion collide.Described by audience goers asa mini–Trans Siberian Orchestra,TAKE3 is nothing short of exhilarating and has electrified audiences at venues and performing arts centers throughout the U.S. Their unmistakable style and infectious joy in music making brings them to over 60 stops in the U.S. during the 23/24 season.
No strangers to the stage as individuals, they have made an impact on the music scene as soloists, touring the world with Yanni, recording tracks for film and television and as soloists in front of Symphony Orchestras across the country. The original music of TAKE3 can be heard throughout Netflix’s popular series “The Witcher” and on the Sony Witcher soundtrack.
This threesome leaves their indelible mark on captivated crowds all around the country performing their arrangements of top pop hits, Americana, and their signature classical mashups, in recent performances with the North Charleston POPs, Cape Symphony, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphonies of Victoria, Midland and Springfield as well as at Music in the Mountains, Redlands Bowl, OK Mozart Festival, Festival Mozaic, Bear Valley Music Festival, Rockwood Music Hall, Cappella Performing Arts Center, Frostburg University, and Truman University among many others.
In addition to extensive touring, the group has earned accolades for its outreach programs for children of all ages, delivering a message of hope, inspiration, and the importance of following dreams with vigorous tenacity.
About Lindsay Deutsch
With her limitless enthusiasm and vast gifts as a performer and entertainer, American violinist, LINDSAY DEUTSCH, is a charismatic and captivating presence on today’s music scene. She has thrilled audiences world-wide with her passion for music and brilliant display of technique and musicianship.
TAKE3 was created by violinist/vocalist, Lindsay Deutsch, Yanni’s featured violin soloist, with whom she has toured throughout most of the 7 continents. Ms. Deutsch can be heard throughout Netflix’s popular show, The Witcher and the Hulu series All About Pam. Her performances on these Sony soundtracks reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and received millions of streams worldwide.
Ms. Deutsch began her career as a classical soloist, performing concerti with symphony orchestras around the country. Her performance of Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Kahane, was selected for NPR’s Symphony Cast Program.
Ms. Deutsch has become an ambassador for the Violins of Hope project, performing on violins saved in the Holocaust in venues around the country, including the Soraya center in Los Angeles and with the Livermore Symphony in San Francisco.
Ms. Deutsch received her education from the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles, where she studied under Robert Lipsett. Lindsay Deutsch plays on an 1845 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin.
TAKE3 Trio’s Educational Program
Violinist Lindsay Deutsch feels strongly that the young people of today need to have opportunities to be exposed to the world of classical music. In 2007, Lindsay and her sister, Lauren, co-founded a non-profit organization, the Classics Alive Foundation, www.classicsalive.org, dedicated to building classical music audiences.
With TAKE3, Lindsay ignites appreciation of classical music with students bringing the refinement of their rigorous classical music backgrounds infused with rock-star charisma.
Having been Yanni’s featured violin soloist and toured most of the 7 continents, Lindsay Deutsch and fellow TAKE3 artists present entertaining mash-ups of cross-over pop music, the genre-smashing, virtuosic-crossover trio.
TAKE3’s educational programming is designed for students of all ages with their goal to light a fire within the students that sparks their creativity. Whether they become active future listeners or even performers themselves, a visceral excitement for creativity is what they are after.
TAKE3 has a broad range of teaching and interactive performances that includes instruction in classical, pop, movie music, conducting and story telling.
Segment 1 – “Name That Tune!”– They will be playing short snippets of famous tunes from pop, Classical, movie soundtracks and video games! The moment of recognition is so exciting and everyone is invited to participate together.
Segment 2 – “Let’s Join Hands”– Students will be invited to join hands in clapping or adding percussion to their performance with handheld instruments such as maracas, tambourine, shakers, mallets, etc… They will be giving a short instruction to students on when and how to include percussive sounds.
Segment 3 – “Once Upon a Time”- Musicians tell stories without words. As performers they create their own stories, but invite their audiences to imagine their own. They encourage their young audience to listen, feel, think let their imaginations go wild and write it all down. They will invite a few volunteers to come up and narrate their stories as they perform.
About ARCA’s Educational ArtReach program
Begun in 2009, ARCA annually brings professional teaching artists and arts education performances and workshops to students from K to 12th grade in the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Schools and showcases artwork of A-C Valley students in exhibits at its Red Brick Gallery on Main Street in Foxburg.
ARCA is grateful for the partnership of the A-C Valley Schools, working closely with A-C Valley administrators, faculty and music specialists in the design and implementation of this program – with special thanks to Superintendent David McDeavitt, Principals Bill Jordan and Lori Marron Sherman, and music teachers Karen Hetrick and Jennifer Lowrey.
Since 2010, the program has been supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, as well as by generous contributions from Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts Members and donors.
ARCA’s arts education program is in fulfillment of its mission as a non-profit organization, demonstrating its commitment to contribute to the future of the Allegheny-Clarion valley community through the arts education of its young people.
Over the years small workshops have been performed for elementary students in the common areas outside their classroom as well as assemblies for all A-C Valley students K to 12. Teaching Artists have included the Renaissance City Winds, Aria412, BEO String Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, C Street Brass, Attack Theatre, Susanne Ortner and John Marcinizyn, Becky Billock and Cello Fury, as well as student art exhibits in the Red Brick Gallery.
In December 2022, the day after his sold out Christmas concert – A Magical Wurlitzer Christmas world renowned theatre organist Dave Wickerham performed four educational programs in Lincoln Hall on the Mighty McKissick Wurlitzer theatre organ for A-C Valley elementary in grades K to 6 as well as Jr. and Sr. High band and chorus students who were bused to Lincoln Hall. .
His program included popular songs ranging from Disney and Star Wars to Harry Potter and Jurassic Park, known to the students, a silent film comedy short featuring Laurel & Hardy in “Battle of the Century– The Pie Fight” – and ending with the soundscape train whistle opening and Chattanooga Choo Choo!
In past years, after workshops and assembly concerts, after-school master classes with C Street Brass and the Akropolis Reed Quintet brought the coaching of master teaching artist performers to A-C Valley Band members.
Undaunted by Pennsylvania COVID restrictions which prohibited in-school performances in 2021, Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts commissioned the acclaimed Teaching Artist, violinist MONIQUE MEAD, to create a 35-minute video resource to be presented in the classroom for all students in grades K to 6 and for Chorus students in grades 7 to 12 in the Allegheny-Clarion Valley Schools.
The entertaining and stimulating video features the “Trio con Brio” as Monique Mead and her children, harpist Isabel Cardenes (17) and Tino Cardenes (16), pianist and video executive producer, explore the larger process of creativity – in any endeavor – with music performance as the metaphor.
See the ARCA blog with the FULL STORY about the video and project!
