Adelaide Guitar Festival recently teamed up with Adelaide Festival Centre’s centrED program to host a series of live performances with Slava Grigoryan and Kelly Menhennett, in preschools and children’s centres across Adelaide.
Following on from our previous regional school programs, Adelaide Guitar Festival in Preschools aims to spark an appreciation of live music, inspire curious young minds to make their own music, and demonstrate the value of engaging children in music learning.
By bringing live performances into their learning spaces, we've opened a world of artistic enrichment for young children, providing them with unforgettable experiences they can't usually access in the classroom.
“The centrED program provides the opportunity for children to share in a common experience in a familiar environment where they feel safe and secure. What a pleasure it was to be part of this program. The looks on the faces of the children was priceless.”
“Looking at the children's faces and observing the high level of engagement from ALL our learners today was just beautiful. Words honestly can't describe how grateful we are to have had the opportunity to listen to Slava and Kelly. We support some very special and vulnerable children here at Bains Road. To give them the experience of live music and see them engage and respond with such joy has made our year.”
It's not just the children and educators that were moved by the experience. Adelaide Guitar Festival Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan also shared his thoughts about the benefits of the program.
Experiencing Adelaide Guitar Festival in Preschools has been truly wonderful.
"I’ve played for little kids in the past, through my own experience of having children in childcare, but engaging with four different groups as part of Adelaide Guitar Festival has been a revelation. Sharing the stage with a contrasting artist like Kelly Menhennett, and seeing kids respond so genuinely to new sounds that they may not have heard before has reinforced, in my mind, the importance of exposure to music at an early age.
Music, as a language, has so many proven benefits for development and wellbeing; this should be a vital activity to prioritise into the future."
-Slava Grigoryan, Adelaide Guitar Festival Artistic Director
Singer songwriter Kelly Menhennett shared the same enthusiasm.
Performing alongside Slava to the children and staff at Adelaide Guitar Festival in Preschools concerts reminded me of my first memorable live music experiences...
And how those early experiences shaped me and my desire to explore and learn music. Inspiring the children’s imaginations, seeing their delight as they experienced different instrument sounds and the shared experience of a “jam” complete with ukuleles and shakers at the end was a memorable moment that they will hopefully carry and will inspire them for time to come.”
-Singer songwriter, Kelly Menhennett
Adelaide Festival Centre’s centrED provides year-round arts learning opportunities for schools at Adelaide Festival Centre and beyond. We invite educators to subscribe to the centrED eNews to hear about future opportunities.
Adelaide Guitar Festival in Preschools was made possible thanks to Department for Education South Australia’s ongoing support of centrED and project funding from Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation.