News

Music from around the world could be heard at Spring Lake Park Schools the last few weeks as the visiting group “Mestifonía” preformed music from the Iberian Peninsula and South America at Centerview Elementary and German musicians Eddi Hüneke and Tobi Hebbelmann played German songs at Spring Lake Park High School.

 “Mestifonía” visits Centerview

Centerview Elementary second and third grade students had the opportunity to hear from “Mestifonía,” a local Minnesota-based group that blends Colombian, Bolivian and American talent and performs music from the Iberian Peninsula and South America.

During the performance, students experienced Spanish and Portuguese vocal music, instruments and dance. Before starting each song, members of “Mestifonía” showed where the music originated on a large blow-up globe, explained the history and culture behind the song and also introduced the instruments being played. During some songs, they also taught students a beat to clap or stomp their feet to.

To prepare for the performance, students learned about instrument families. Specific instruments, such as the mandola and Cahon, come from Spain and Peru. The students also discussed the geography of Spanish-speaking cultures and what they could learn by being an audience member.

“My hope from having students see “Mestifonía” was to have students experience music from countries outside of the United States and gain understanding about music from other cultures,” said Centerview music educator Bailey Gesit Schlottman. “We all come from different places and cultures, but music is the common language that ties us all together and I hope that students truly grasped that concept from the performance.”

This performance was made possible with support from the Class Notes project. Class Notes, a free program offered through Minnesota Classical Radio (MPR) works to pair different ensembles with various schools throughout Minnesota and provide exposure to different cultures, instrumentation, choral ensembles and more.

German music comes to Spring Lake Park High School

German musicians Eddi Hüneke and Tobi Hebbelmann took the stage in the Spring Lake Park High School (SLPHS) Fine Arts Center (FAC) to perform a special concert for students taking German courses throughout the Twin Cities.

During the performance, these entertaining musicians reviewed the songs with the students to get everyone participating and singing along. Students prepared for the performance by listening to the songs in the classroom beforehand and were tasked to memorize the lyrics of the song “auf Deutsch” [in German] so they could understand the lyrics and sing along.

SLPHS is one of more than 20 tour stops throughout the U.S. the group performed at after receiving an invitation from the American Association of Teachers in Germany and the Goethe Institute USA. Our school was chosen as one of their stops thanks to the efforts of German teacher Daniel Buck.

Students welcomed the visiting musicians by decorating the FAC with hundreds of personalized posters and flags. Westwood Intermediate and Middle School students taking a German 1 class also attended the concert wearing personalized t-shirts and had a great time learning German songs, getting autographs and taking pictures with the band duo.

“It was an amazing experience for all students involved,” says SLPHS German and Spanish teacher Wendy Hatchner. “The students were attentive, respectful and participated more than we could have imagined. It was great for students to experience live music from a different culture and after the concert, they told us that our student-body participation and enthusiasm made our stop the best so far.”

The concert tour is part of the 2019 "Wunderbar Together" Campus Campaign sponsored by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Washington, D.C. and the University of St. Thomas. Additional sponsors are: AATG and the Goethe Institut USA.