For more than three decades, Carnegie Hall's beloved Link Up program has "linked" orchestras with students in grades 3 through 5 across the nation; the overall goal is for students to learn orchestral repertoire and fundamental music skills -- including creative work and composition -- by way of a hands-on, in-depth music curriculum. The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra became a Link Up partner last year, and this year -- to the delight of many in our community -- the TSO has helped teachers integrate the Link Up program into the curriculum of every elementary school in the Tulsa, Union, Jenks, Broken Arrow, and Sand Springs Public School Districts (thereby reaching out to more than 12,000 students). We learn about the Link Up program on this installment of ST from Hillarie O'Toole, the Manager of Learning and Engagement Programs at Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. She'll also be a keynote speaker at the TSO's upcoming Link Together event, which is a fundraiser that will focus on this special program as well as various teachers, students, and others who have made it so successful in the Greater Tulsa area. The event happens on Thursday, March 30th, and you can learn more about it here. Also on today's show, our commentator Barry Friedman remembers both Jay Cronley, the late Tulsa newspaper columnist and novelist, and his own girlfriend's dog, who, before she died, would consume her food and water every morning -- in a rather Cronley-like touch -- from crystal dishes.
The Tulsa Symphony Marks Its 2nd Year with Carnegie Hall's Popular Link Up Program
