Norwalk Symphony Orchestra’s (NSO) Not Just for Kids Program, a longtime Carver STEAM programming partner, expanded its contribution to six programs in Carver’s 2018/2019 school year! The new programming is conducted at Norwalk City Hall instead of at the Carver Community Center, though the beneficiaries remain Carver’s K-5 after school CASPER students.

See the 2018/2019 NSO Not Just for Kids Program schedule here! Here is more information about the program.

On Friday, February 8th at Norwalk City Hall, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra presented a concert version of West Side Story for its February Broadway concert. Celebrating the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, the Symphony was chosen to perform this limited release version of the timeless classic musical. Carver kids were invited to attend a rehearsal to hear the two lead singers perform and to engage with the pianist.

See all the photos here in a Facebook album!

Norwalk Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 80th Anniversary Gala on May 9, 2019 at Shorehaven Golf Club.

The Not Just for Kids Program theme and content is always tied to NSO’s concert schedule. The Not Just for Kids Program offers students a fun and interactive opportunity for NSO musicians to personally engage students. These professionals demonstrate their instruments, permit the children to handle the instruments and make sounds/music with them, and they answer questions about the musical instruments, music in general, and music as a career. The NSO presentations are made for all instrument families: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. 

Music education improves academic performance, awakens creativity, heightens self-esteem, and adds to the overall sense of accomplishment for Carver students. Study after study proves that regardless of socioeconomic background, music-making students do better in school than those who have no music involvement. Whether it is improved spatial-temporal reasoning, which is integral to math, or repetition of tunes and melodies, which is integral to verbal memory, learning, playing and creating music.

The Carver community is deeply grateful for all that the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra continues to give to Norwalk’s young people.