.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Photos: Urban Strings Summer Camp 2012
David E. Robinson, III:
The Urban Strings Youth Orchestra of Columbus, OH is looking for a
new director who would begin in September 2013. This group of talented,
young students was the creation of Mrs. Catherine Willis of F.A.C.E. -
Friends of Art for Community Enrichment where she is founder. She and
her late husband, Edward Willis (longtime Columbus Public Schools
educator and administrator) came to Atlanta for a wedding rehearsal
dinner at Judge Glenda Hatchett's home where David E. Robinson III was
performing background music on cello and violin. Both of them struck up
a conversation with him. When Mr.
Robinson told them that he teaches string orchestra in metropolitan
Atlanta (Dekalb County Schools) and has a youth orchestra, Mrs. Willis
told him that she was interested in getting an urban youth orchestra in
Columbus started. They kept in touch. F.A.C.E. laid the foundation to
start Urban Strings by recruiting talented young string players.
F.A.C.E. and Mrs. Willis invited Mr. Robinson to Columbus to do some
school presentations, work with students (at that same school), and with
the group of students that they put together who would eventually
become Urban String Youth Orchestra of Columbus (OH). Mr. Robinson
provided a number of his arrangements - Negro spirituals, gospel,
reggae, rock, R & B, hip-hop, etc. Urban Strings has performed for
several occasions in the metro area especially at the King Arts Complex
downtown. In 2010, Mr. Robinson brought his Still Waters Youth
Sinfo-Nia of Metropolitan Atlanta to
Columbus for a joint workshop and two performances. This was just the
beginning of a relationship in which they will be pairing up to perform
in the 2013 National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) Convention in
Nashville, TN July 28-August 1 and for Sinfo-Nia's Fall Benefit Concert
in Atlanta October 19, 2013.
Urban Strings has
been growing. Mr. Robinson conducted its first annual Summer Camp in
2012 and is scheduled to do the same the week of June 10-14, 2013. If
you know of students in Columbus or anywhere else who have relatives in
Columbus they can reside with for that week, they are welcomed to attend
by contacting Mrs. Willis (for information on registration, tuition,
etc.). The energy, excitement, and enrichment these students experience
spill into the school-year where they have more rehearsals and
performances.
Here is an article on
F.A.C.E.
Here is a video of Urban Strings performing James Brown's, "We're Gonna Have a Funky Good Time" at last year's Camp.
For
information on the job opening and/or the 2013 Summer Camp, please
contact Mrs. Catherine Willis at (614) 888-9929 or send an e-mail at
cat4face@yahoo.com.
Sincerely,
David E. Robinson, III
Founder and Artistic Director
Still Waters Youth Sinfo-Nia of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment