Sones de México Ensemble Educational Programs 2016

PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLS

Sones de México Ensemble teaches and performs for children, unfolding a world of experience for students of all backgrounds in the context of Mexican traditional music and dance. They have toured hundreds of schools since 1994 with English, Spanish and bilingual programs designed especially for kids and mindful of the State of Illinois Education Goals for Music and Dance which seek to empower students to:

I- Understand the principal sensory, formal, technical, and expressive qualities of music and dance.
II- Identify processes and tools required to produce music and dance.
III- Demonstrate basic skills necessary to participate in the creation and/or performance of music and/or dance.
IV- Identify significant works in the arts from major historical periods and how they reflect societies, cultures, civilizations, past and present.
V- Describe the unique characteristics of music and dance.

Sones de México Ensemble also combines the expertise of its members to offer a wide menu of units that draw general lessons in Math, Science, Social Studies, Humanities, Physical Education, and the Arts from the wealth of the Mexican folk music and dance experience.

The next section is a menu of sample units that integrate Mexican music and dance with important lessons in other academic subjects. In the coming years, new units may become available and old units may be retired according to the success the have in the classroom. Teachers are encouraged to call Sones de México to get an updated menu of available units.

Units may be available in a variety of formats: performance, workshop, lecture/demonstration, residency, professional development or in-service for parents and teachers, student performance, and student ensemble. These formats and their specific features are discussed further ahead.

Fiesta Mexicana

Fiesta Mexicana is a 45-minute interactive concert for kids and their parents. It involves all the musicians of Sones de Mexico Ensemble. The program includes…

Beyond the Music: A Musical Geography of Mexico

Beyond the Music is a lecture/demo that involves…

La Danza del Sol (The Dance of the Sun)

This hands-on, Aztec dance workshop is led by Ensemble member Lorena Iñiguez. It can be…

Master Music Class: School Bands

This master class is for any ensemble, orchestra, band, choir or group of musicians that is interested in learning both repertoire and style in any of several Mexican music traditions. Sones de México Ensemble has…

Master Dance Class: Mexican Folclórico and Fandango style

This master class is aimed at existing dance groups or dance schools who are looking to develop specialized skills in Mexican dance: developing new choreographies, brushing up on foot tapping techniques, improvisation, or…

Drumming & Percussion Workshop

Drumming and percussion are some of the most accessible forms of engaging in musical expression. This hands-on workshop can be from 30 min to 2 hrs. for groups of 5 to 25 students, children or adults, who are interested in an engaging…

Corridos: Mexican tragic ballads songwriting class

This class meets curricular goals in music, culture and literacy. A corrido is a Mexican epic ballad that tells a tragic story, based on a true event. Corridos emerged…

Mexican Songs and Algebra

This class meets curricular goals in music, culture and math and truly integrates the practical use of algebra as a problem-solving tool. It is a 60-minute lesson appropriate for 9 to 19 year old students, whether or not they have had algebra before. It introduces…

Los Enanos

“Los Enanos” (The Little Ones) is a traditional song from the huasteca region of Mexico. This class is aimed at a small group of young pre- school of kindergarten students. Because the exercise may be completed in just 20 minutes, larger groups of kids can be divided into smaller groups of…

Mask-making and dance with "La Danza de los Viejitos: El Trenecito"

The Mexican state of Michoacán is one of the richest when it comes to folk traditions in music, dance and crafts. Some very popular traditions that have been preserved by the …

Coming Soon!

More to come!

Coming Soon!

More to come!