International Make Music Day draws 1,400 in Neosho – Newstalk KZRG

Recently Neosho Arts Council hosted a series of events to mark international Make Music Day in the community. From workshops to concerts over 1,400 people took part in the events.

“This is our third year marking Make Music Day here in Neosho and we keep expanding our outreach,” said Sarah Serio, president of the Neosho Arts Council.

This year a percussion workshop was held at Benton Elementary School by area music educator Cassie Carnahan. Fourth grade students were given the opportunity to engage in hands on music making thanks in part to instruments the arts council secured through a Make Music Foundation grant. Students spent time exploring basic instrumental techniques and drum circle protocols through ensemble interactions and popular music styles.

“The best part of this event is seeing the joy on students’ faces as they build community and explore the universal language of music by coordinating sound in a supportive, expressive, and interactive environment,” Carnahan said after the workshop.

The arts council also presented a mini-concert tour to the Neosho School District’s summer school programs.  Lacy Hampton of Dandelion Heart and the bluegrass group Buffalo Creek Incident went to different locations to ensure students were given the opportunity to experience live music.

“As a music teacher myself, it was a nice dose of working with kids and getting to share a more specific part of my craft: songwriting,” Hampton said. For many students this was their first interaction with a professional performing musician and concert experience. Hampton is a recent Arkansas Country Music Awards Acoustic Act of the Year winner.

At each concert students were able to listen to music but were also given the opportunity to engage in music making through bluegrass call and response songs and pop music chorus sing-alongs. “My favorite sound in the world is the sound of children singing together, the epitome of joy experienced and heard,” Hampton said.

The community also had opportunities to experience live music. Jim Graham performed a Lunch and Listen concert at the Neosho National Fish Hatchery. Attendees were treated to an acoustic set that spanned genres and decades.

The arts council wrapped up their Spring Concert Series and celebrated Make Music Day with the Americana/indie group Dandelion Heart performing in Big Spring Park. “The Grecian stage is a beautiful spot,” Hampton, who plays guitar for the group, said.

The evening of live music was enjoyed by all ages, from kids enjoying the music while swimming the wading pool to a loyal group of attendees from Neosho’s Medicalodges.

“I am very impressed with the programming of Neosho Arts Council. They are doing good work that brings the community together. I believe that music and art is a public good that fosters joy and deepened relationships. Neosho is a more beautiful place because of the work they are doing,” Hampton said.

The Neosho Arts Council also had a special display at the community concerts showing the history of the fine arts at Camp Crowder. This summer the group has been actively working to raise funds to preserve a mural painted at the camp during World War II just south of Neosho.

“People don’t often associate the fine arts with the Army but they were an integral part of Camp Crowder life,” Serio said. Murals were painted on chapel and dining hall walls, plays were written and performed, and a variety of bands were based at Camp Crowder.

As part of the Signal Corp, Camp Crowder was one of only two band training sections in the nation during World War II. Soldier musicians trained at the camp before being assigned to one of the nearly 500 Army bands around the world at that time. Various musical and theatrical groups from the camp would travel the area performing shows for bond drives, recruitment, and for morale boosting events such as U.S.O. Club dances.

To learn more about the council’s work to save the Lost Camp Crowder Mural, make a donation to support that project, and see their upcoming events visit neoshoarts.net.