P-BVUSD Strolling Strings

Panama-Buena Vista Union School District
Strolling Strings

 

The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District (P-BVUSD) Strolling Strings group meets once each week for 90 minutes after school. The teachers, students and parents all generously volunteer their time. Students range in age from 4th to 8th grade, with varying levels of experience and ability.

 

The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District Strolling Strings group is unique because they require the violinists and violists to stroll out into the audience as they perform. This builds rapport and communication between the audience and the performers.

 

The P-BVUSD Strolling Strings have performed for the California Music Educators Association (CMEA) Conference in Ontario, Sacramento and Pasadena, California and for the Mid-Western States Strolling Strings Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The P-BVUSD Strolling Strings have worked with internationally known artists such as fiddler, Crystal Plohman, from Vanderbilt University and jazz violinist, Doug Cameron; and they have performed numerous times at theme parks and at the Disneyland Hotel for the California Distinguished Schools Awards Ceremony. Our students gain a love of performing and serving our community, as well. They have performed for many service organizations and conferences such as The California Grand Jury Association, West Bakersfield Rotary, the National Art Association, Bakersfield Community Concerts, the Bakersfield Symphony Gala and regular performances at local retirement homes and hospitals.

 

In 1995, the P-BVUSD Strolling Strings was founded by Mrs. Elaine LeCain and Mrs. Marcia Maynard with the guidance and support of Mr. Dennis Herbst, retired Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator for the District. The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District generously supports this project by providing facilities, staff, and resources to help participating students be successful in this endeavor. The success of this group is largely due to the team effort of the teachers, parents, and administrators involved.

 

Our vision for these students is to encourage them to enjoy the thrill of music making, sharing their music talents with our community, and to help them develop the skills necessary to make music an integral part of their lives.  We hope that experience with Strolling Strings will inspire students to seek out a wider variety of musical experiences and to transfer the knowledge they have gained from Strolling Strings to their school orchestral programs, their chamber music ensembles and their daily lives.