Tulsa Elementary Students Explore Music Through Carnegie Hall's Link Up Program

Some lucky Tulsa third graders got to play along with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra Tuesday.

Steven Clark of the Tulsa Opera sang the Toreador Song from the opera Carmon, and when he got to the chorus several hundred Tulsa third graders sung right along with him.

The program is called The Link Up concert, the culmination of a school year-long program which includes singing.

The people of Carnegie Hall developed the curriculum. I asked Walt Whitman Elementary music teacher Maria Reed about it and she could hardly contain herself.

“It's amazing,” said Reed. “I just can't [say] enough [about] how much I love this program."

The Link Up program pairs orchestras with schools in their area. The Tulsa Symphony is one of 70 national and international organizations chosen for the program. And this is not just a one shot deal.

"The plan is for these children to actually grow up with this program," stated Reed.

As they go along, they learn about orchestral repertoire. They also learn to read music and eventually to compose and improvise music.

“It's so great they're getting this exposure in such a fun way,” said Reed.

There may be future concert musicians in Tuesday's group of students.

"We're creating a new generation of people who love live music," said symphony member Ron Sigelman.