With over 60 years of combined teaching experience, the members of Empire Trio have extensive backgrounds in education, teaching privately as well as in world class institutions including The Juilliard School, The Eastman School, St. Thomas Choir School, The Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, NYU, The New School, and Mannes College of Music.   

 

Our mission is to make classical music accessible to children of all ages by using innovative and amusing arrangements of well-known songs from many genres, often combining classical music with pop, musical theater or jazz standards. We include fun historical facts about some of the composers and singers who made the songs famous and also tell humorous personal stories that the students can relate to in their own lives. Our intent is for our young audiences to walk away not only learning a great deal about the music we perform but also for it to be a fun, engaging and interactive experience.

 

The following offerings can be adapted to all ages:

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- Arrangements of music for student choral or orchestral ensembles to be workshopped and performed onstage live with Empire Trio at local concert

 

- Energetic performances customized in length and repertoire according to the needs of the students and institution

 

- Vocal and instrumental demonstrations by the trio

 

- Masterclass or Workshop in singing technique, vocal expression and how to “act” a song in all styles/genres (Classical, Broadway, Jazz, Pop, etc.) including audition techniques and repertoire suggestions

 

- Post-Performance Talk-Back (with possibility of highlighting individuals from local Italian American community)

 

- Masterclass or Workshop in piano and/or violin technique for all styles/genres

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"During a morning tour of our local pre-schools, Empire Trio performed for close to 100 3-5-year-olds in the exact same way they would perform for a packed Carnegie Hall. The kids completely ate it up and many showed up with their parents to the evening show - which is always our goal with community outreach. In addition to the preschools, Empire Trio also performed for our entire elementary school (500+ students). Like the preschool, the kids were wide-eyed and entertained throughout. The trio’s scripted student show, like the evening show, is chalk full of educational tidbits and history lessons from the world of Italian and American Pop. The elementary principal, who is very hard to please, expressed after the student show just how impressed he was from an educational standpoint."

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Tim Ruland, Pinedale Fine Arts Council (Wyoming)