Any Given Child & Carnegie Hall’s Link Up

Any Given Child

The goal of the Any Given Child Initiative, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is to assist communities in developing a plan for expanded arts education in their schools ensuring access and equity for all students in grades K-8. For the past two years, the Tulsa Community Arts Team, comprised of representatives from TPS, local arts organizations, the city of Tulsa, local philanthropic organizations and higher education have worked together under the guidance of The Kennedy Center to develop a plan specific to Tulsa that connects ALL TPS students in grades K-8 with the first rate arts resources our community has to offer.

In 2011, Tulsa was chosen as the 5th city in the US to partner with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Any Given Child Initiative, and in 2013 became a stand alone initiative for which The Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa acts as a fiscal sponsor.

Welcome to Tulsa Symphony’s 2020-2021 Carnegie Hall Link Up program!

Given restrictions on large gatherings related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the safety of our orchestra, audiences, and communities, Tulsa Symphony has decided to present this season’s Carnegie Hall Link Up concert online in a prerecorded format that will be available for teachers and students to use anytime and as many times as they like May 3-May 9, 2021.

In addition to promoting healthy communities, this virtual version will allow young audiences a uniquely immersive experience, giving close-up views of the orchestra members, conductor, concert host, and song leaders, and enhancing the participatory feel of the live concerts with a new perspective that will further draw students into the ensemble.

Students will still sing and play along with the songs they have been learning through their school music programs, all safely at a distance in the familiar surroundings of their school or home environment. This year’s concert will create much to look forward to when we can all safely return to live, in-person performances at the Tulsa PAC and other venues around the city.

Tulsa Symphony is excited to present their 6th season of Carnegie Hall Link Up! This year’s program, entitled “The Orchestra Rocks,” focuses on the powerful moment when the orchestra starts to rock. Tulsa Symphony looks forward to collaborating with the 20,000 students and teachers locally who are a part of this world-renowned, highly-engaging program.

One universal element of music is rhythm. Composers and musicians play with elements of musical time, creating patterns of sound and silence that are expressive and exciting. A consistent groove can unite musicians, singers, and audiences in an experience of listening and performing together. Through the Link Up repertoire, hands-on activities, and a culminating interactive performance with a professional orchestra, we will discover how the orchestra rocks.

Students perform repertoire on recorder, violin, voice, or body percussion and take part in creative work such as composing their own pieces inspired by the orchestral music they have studied.

This performance often serves as students’ first concert experience and provides them with the opportunity to apply the musical concepts they have studied. For Tulsa 4th graders, this concert will serve as their Any Given Child arts activity.

Learn more about Link Up through the Carnegie Hall website.

Participating Districts

Allen Bowden Public Schools

Berryhill Public Schools

Bixby Public Schools

Broken Arrow Public Schools

Chouteau-Mazie Public Schools

Jenks Public Schools

Marquette Catholic School

Muskogee Public Schools

Owasso Public Schools

Pryor Public Schools

Sand Spring Public Schools

Town & Country School

Tulsa Public Schools

Union Public Schools

Verdigris Public Schools

All Saints Catholic School

Cookson Hills School

Holland Hall

Holy Family Cathedral School

Immanuel Lutheran Christian Academy

Marquette Catholic School

Undercroft Montessori

Sperry Public Schools

Eufaula Public Schools

Know a school that would like to join Link Up? Contact david@tulsasymphony.org to learn how.