I did music with young people at Norma Coombs Alternative School in Passadena for two years. This resulted in a couple of performances of really “thinking outside of the box” music. Carol Of The Bells played on tubular bells made primarily out of lawn furniture featured antique clock chimes as an opener. We continued to build giant PVC pipe marimbas which were constantly being improved. Covered outdoor space served as our classroom and a clip of one rehearsals was featured by youtube and became a five star global hit with nearly half a million views.
Most of my programs eventually feature Glass Harmonica, music played on wine glasses. There are huge advantages when teaching music to using sounds which are pure and compelling and using instruments which challenge our pre conceived ideas of what makes an instrument. When people realize that virtually anything can be an instrument it follows that music comes not from the instrument but from ourselves, and from our skill at controlling sound.
