Young Audiences of Indiana Fall 1989 newsletter

              Young
Audiences
of Indiana
VJ /
presenting music, dance and theatre programs for students of all ages
FALL 1989
Artist Focus
A "SilkerTApproach to String Music
Silken Strings is an exciting group to invite to your school!
One of the newest groups to join the Young Audiences of
Indiana roster is Silken Strings, a unique string ensemble.
The group is composed of five players, two on violin and
one each on viola, cello and bass. Three members of the
group come from the same family, including Dale Spurlock
on bass and his two daughters —Cathy Morris on first
violin and Lise DeLong on viola. Liz Efroymson is
featured on cello and Kara Day on second violin.
Their program is called "Let's String a Song," and
according to Morris, it reflects the group's non-traditional
approach to string music. While classical music is a part of
Silken Strings' presentation, the group reaches into the full
range of string instrumentation in today's musical environment.
The objective of the program is to entertain students
while educating them about the string family and its many
uses in various types of musical styles. Each member of the
group has a separate portion of the program to demonstrate
their instrument and how it differs from the other strings.
Selections range all the way from Bach and Mozart to
movie themes, country music, jazz and electronic string
music. Students and teachers will know they're in for
something innovative and new when the program begins
with the theme from the TV Show "Happy Days," and
ends with a string version of theBeach Boys' hit,
"Kokomo". In between there's "Dueling Banjos" for
violins, how strings are used in the recording studio on
movie and television soundtracks, "Eine kleine Nachtmu-
sik," and the new world of electronic acoustic violin.
It was the electronic music which first got Silken Strings
interested in becoming a part of Young Audiences. Cathy
Morris also plays in "SoundScape," a new musical group
headed by Jack Gilfoy, a long-time performer for Young
Audiences through the Naptown Jazz Quintet and other
groups. The chance to interact with young people was
something which fit in well with the groups "new"
approach to string music. Bass player Spurlock taught
strings in the Columbus school system for many years, often
assisted by his two musician daughters. Lise DeLong owns
her own fine arts pre-school and has a degree in music
therapy. Cathy Morris has taught privately for 12 years,
specializing in young cnildren. Kara Day is a student herself
at Butler University, and Liz Efroymson teaches at the
University of Indianapolis. Getting young people interested
and excited about all kinds of string instrumentation comes
naturally to this group.
Because Silken Strings' approach is innovative, the group
plans to update their material constantly, keeping it fresh
and exciting for students. They also hope to encourage real
communication between themselves and the children, a facet
which matches the "easy going" nature of the group itself.
Said Morris, "We're very excited about the potential for this
program. We plan to have a good time doing it at the same
time we're both educating and entertaining the students."
Young Audiences of Indiana welcomes Silken Strings to
the artist roster.
Call 317-925-4043
For Information About
Other New Artists & New Programs of Interest
May Apple (folk music programs)
Dans Ethnik (ethnic dance programs}
Jimmy McDaniels (jazz workshop)
Indianapolis Wind Quintet (wind instrument program)
Whitewater Opera (follow-up to introductory opera)