It's Showtime at Your Library this summer and the Bowman Library is excited to welcome some very special guests: Songwriters with a deep love for music and a tremendous amount of creative energy.
That's right, we're welcoming children!
“Children make the best songwriters!” according to Paul Reisler, Kid Pan Alley Founder and Artistic Director, who will be bringing a songwriting workshop to the Bowman Library. The workshop is for children, ages 8-12, and will be held on Monday evening, June 24 at 6:00 pm, followed by a rehearsal at 10:00 am the next morning, just in time to introduce an original, brand new song to the community, co-written by Kid Pan Alley and the Songwriting participants. The children will perform their song at the 11:00 am performance at the Bowman Library on Tuesday, June 25 during Kid Pan Alley's concert.
Kid Pan Alley’s mission is to inspire and empower children to work together to become creators of their own music. To date, they've written over 2,700 songs with over 65,000 children across the country from Virginia to Hawaii. The songs are a sophisticated and powerful world-view as seen through the eyes of the children.
Their songs have been recorded by artists including Amy Grant, Sissy Spacek, Delbert McClinton, Cracker, Kix Brooks, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Corey Harris, Suzy Bogguss and many others. They’ve won numerous awards including Parents’ Choice Gold Awards, American Library Association awards, a WAMMIE, and even a Grammy nomination.
Participants of the the songwriting workshop must be able to commit to both the June 24th songwriting workshop, as well as the June 25th morning rehearsal and performance and will be required to have a release form filled out and returned prior to the workshop.
Registration is limited and opens June 1st through the library calendar entry for the Kid Pan Alley Songwriting Workshop.
You don't need to participate in the workshop to join in the magic! Kid Pan Alley will have three shows for the Handley Regional Library System showcasing what Kid Pan Alley has experienced in songwriting and performance over the years. In addition to the Bowman performance, you can bring the family to hear some of the music they've created with children around the country at the Clarke County Library on June 24th at 10:30 and Handley Library at 2:00 that same afternoon. Come and be surprised and delighted by the creativity of the children across the country and in our own library district.
Excited to learn more? Visit the Kid Pan Alley website and watch the video below.