My faithful classical-music-in-schools-zealot correspondent, Robert Bullwinkel, dropped me a note today about cellist Zuill Bailey, the guest soloist for this weekend's Fresno Philharmonic concerts -- I have a story in this morning's 7 section about the program -- and his visit this morning to Kingsburg:
I just saw Zuill Bailey perform for students at Rafer Johnson Junior High in Kingsburg as a part of the Fresno Philharmonic's Concertos for Kids program. Mr. Bailey wowed the students with his performance of Bach's Cello Suites, but really connected with them when he spoke of the misconceptions about classical music. Bailey said that when he walks through the airport wearing shades and a black leather jacket with his black cello case strapped to his back, he is often asked what rock band he plays for. People are disappointed when he says that he is a classical musician, but when he played musical examples from popular movies, the students quickly realized that they did have a strong connection with orchestral music.
The students all came from classes taught by teachers in the Keeping Score Education program, a project of the Fresno County Office of Education and the San Francisco Symphony. This week, they studied Bach and listened to his music performed by today's special guest. I also heard the Phil rehearsing the Tchaikovsky Suite last night. It's going to be a GREAT concert!






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