Hi! First, please go visit the “Partner Events Page” or click the text below to learn about more upcoming amazing family friendly concerts, most notably a series by the Boulder Public Library!
More photos from Clark Hodge of Chase the Music!
And here is some feedback from Saturday!
Hi Julie!
You and BrainSong are amazing! The spirit of inclusion behind the event today was palpable. It is so nice to be able to go out in the community with Teran and not worry about his behavior, knowing that we are in a supportive environment, that people understand. Teran is always very hesitant to participate in community events at all. It was a huge success that he came in the room, walked around, smiled, watched the dancing, enjoyed the music, and looked at the instruments. He even sat down peacefully and enjoyed his ice cream! It was great for Aurora (Teran’s sister) because she could enjoy the music, dancing, time with her brother, and time with other familiar kids from ARTism. It was great for me (mom) because other adults were super welcoming. Staff we know from City of Boulder and the ACL were really helpful, getting my kids ice cream, keeping an eye on them, chatting with me, etc. Thank you so much for all your work and enthusiasm in organizing these events. We love it! Loved the Justin’s almond butter and the Ben and Jerry’s too!
Aurora, age 7, says “It was nice to have a celebration of Autism, especially Autism kids because not a lot of people understand them. It was nice because people learn about Autism, and appreciate Autism kids.”
Donna
I had the best time. Every time I do one of these concerts I am blown away by the joy and creativity of these children. As a musician, nothing is more rewarding than to see people appreciate and respond to music!
Looking forward to July!
Pam (Pam Eldridge, Harpist)
Elena had a blast. Thank you so much, Juli.
If there is a ballet class that will take her, we are interested. The one here won’t take her even though it’s for special needs kids, because she won’t sit for the instruction part.
Every single day, when I come home from work, she has been crying to go to “ballet class”. So, I take her to watch live music bands in town so she can at least dance to live music.
She does take adaptive piano lessons at Foundation Music School in Fort Collins and loves them.
On the way home in the car, she did this “trim original” thing with the ipad videos I took of her, where she reduced them all to 1 second each. I tried so hard to get her to stop. After she goes to sleep and releases the ipad, I’ll see if there are any of the videos left intact that I can save somewhere. Anyway, if you have any videos or photos, and if you get around to sending them out, we would love to see them.
She knew a lot of what the orchestra played from having watched Little Einsteins, so she really liked hearing them. She loved trying out the harp and the cello. This past Christmas, she had cried and cried for a harp, but all we could find that was affordable was one that sat flat on a table, but she was happy with that. We go to music stores where she tries out different instruments, but they never have harps or cellos there.
Just now, we came back from Walmart after looking for a conductor’s stick just like the one she tried at the Brainsong event. We couldn’t find anything she liked, but she saw a flag she liked and she was okay with that. I told her she can just use one of her drumsticks like a conductor’s stick.
Sorry to write a novel. Just wanted to let you know how much we appreciated today’s event. Dancing to live classic music, conducting music, and trying out the instruments were all incredibly wonderful treats for her.
Thank you, Juli. — Mel Persion
Hello thank you for this amazing fun field day. It was such an experience for all my children. They had fun dancing, & want to go back to see beautiful ballet dancers! My daughter said it was really cool. Very fun & entertaining for the whole family. Thank you again. You absolutely can post our feedback for other families. As in this concert their are no rules.
Josette & family
Josette & family
And more!
…The June Brainsong concert likely made my daughter’s summer. Some things are difficult for Piper to understand- music is not one of them. Music and dance are things that she unflinchingly enjoys. Where she can be free. Where she’s willing to risk. It’s where we see fewer reservations, lots of confidence, and lots of joy. It kind of seeps out of her being- so much so, that it’s difficult to take her to “real” venues. SITTING for a concert isn’t exactly in her vocabulary. The opportunity for us to expose her to live, classical music on HER terms could not be passed by. My heartfelt thanks to the musicians and dancers who made this possible- she was in HEAVEN. Thank you, thank you, thank you. –The Guildners