MUSIC IS A BIRTHRIGHT.
The mission of Mile of Music’s Music Education Team is to help all people unleash their inner musician in order to build a community of active music explorers, music makers, and music lovers. We are committed to providing dynamic music-making opportunities for people on the Mile to set them on a path of discovering and developing their musical selves.
At Mile of Music, people don’t just hear the music, they are the music!
View the Workshop Schedule Here!
Read more about our Music Education Team HERE!
FEATURED WORKSHOPS:
 Acoustic Guitar Workshop (Ages 10+)Friday 8/2 3:10-4:00 – Heid Music Learn or improve your skills on one of the most versatile musical instruments – acoustic guitar! Beginners to intermediate players welcome. Bring your own guitar or play one of ours! |
| Actor’s Artistry Workshop: Learn the Fundamentals to Become the Next Star of the Stage! (All Ages!) Saturday 8/3 2:30-3:30 – PAC Thrivent Hall Join us on Wisconsin’s premier Broadway stage for the Actor’s Artistry Workshop! This dynamic, hour-long class is designed for aspiring actors and those just curious alike who are eager to explore the essential skills of stage performance. Our fun and fast-paced session will cover everything from developing character to line delivery. Anyone young at heart is invited to join us to learn the fundamentals of getting into stage acting. This workshop offers a supportive environment to unleash your creativity and boost your confidence. Come ready to move, laugh, and learn as you take the first step towards becoming the next star of the stage! |
| All-Abilities Inclusive Music-Making (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 2:00-2:50 – Lawrence Conservatory Green Embracing all abilities, ages, and populations! Expressive Therapies will be leading us in drumming and making music TOGETHER with live music performed by Mile artists! Get up close and personal with these musicians while you create your own interpretation of the music. |
| Balinese Gamelan: Gongs, Drums, and Metallophones (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 11:40-12:30 – Lawrence Conservatory Green; Saturday 8/3 2:00-2:50 – Lawrence Conservatory Green Learn to play music from Bali! Join Balinese Gamelan master teachers and members of the Lawrence Community Music School’s community Gamelan group for this perennial Mile favorite. Patterns played on ornate percussion instruments interlock to create a mesmerizing, shimmering sound that has found a home here in Appleton. (All ages – bring the whole family!) |
| Brazilian Samba Drumming (Ages 10+) Saturday 8/3 12:50-1:40 Lawrence Conservatory Green Come and groove with us in this powerful aural drumming tradition from Brazil. No drumming experience necessary! Learn about and play the different “voices” of the bateria – or samba band – that combine to stir the soul and make you want to move. (Ages 10-adult) |
| Dance Workshop Series: Bachata (All Ages!) Saturday 8/3 10:30-11:30 PAC Thrivent Hall Gather all for Bachata! Join instructors Vang and Izzy for this dynamic Latin partner dance from the Dominican Republic! You will learn simple and more intricate patterns you can learn and take back home to teach your family and friends! Don’t have a partner, no worries! Come anyway! Beginners and veterans alike, all are welcome to move with the music, and, as always, have a ton of fun in the process! |
| Dance Workshop Series: Ghanian Kpanlogo (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 10:30-11:30 – PAC Thrivent Hall; Saturday 8/3 11:40-12:30 – Lawrence Conservatory Green Come and dance with us in an energizing, highly rhythmic style from Ghana. You will learn dances that change in response to calls from the lead drum. The best part is that it is exhilarating and fun for people of all ages and experience levels. (All ages – bring the whole family!) |
| Dance Workshop Series: Guinean (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 11:50-12:50 PAC Thrivent Hall Come explore the rich cultural traditions of Guinea, West Africa, through rhythm, song and dance! Join us in this high-energy movement workshop accompanied by live drumming. We welcome people of all ages and skill levels to join us and share in this cultural art form. |
| Dance Workshop Series: Kathak (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 1:10-2:10 PAC Thrivent Hall Ignite your inner dancer! Our Kathak workshop series, led by renowned instructor Anindita Anaam, will transport you to the vibrant world of Indian classical dance. Explore the art of Kathak’s mesmerizing spins, rhythmic footwork (bols) that create melodies with every step, and expressive storytelling (Abhinaya) through hand gestures and facial expressions. This captivating art form, born in India and influenced by both Hindu and Islamic cultures, continues to evolve. All levels welcome – join Anindita and discover the beauty and expressiveness of Kathak! |
| Dance Workshop Series: Mariachi (All Ages!) Saturday 8/3 1:10-2:10 – PAC Thrivent Hall “A bailar las Cumbias! Come learn how Cumbia rhythms, used in Mariachi, make dancing irresistable! Cumbia is a style of Latin American music that originated in Colombia and became popular throughout South America, Central America, and the United States. Let’s dance! |
| Dance Workshop Series: Merengue (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 2:30-3:30 – PAC Thrivent Hall Come and join our dynamic workshop to explore the vibrant rhythms of Merengue! Experience the energetic drumming techniques and spirited dance moves that define this lively tradition from the Dominican Republic. Perfect for all skill levels, this immersive session promises fun, cultural enrichment, and an unforgettable taste of Caribbean musical heritage. (Ages – drumming: 10-adult; dancing: all welcome) |
| Didjeridu (All Ages!) Sunday 12:10-1:00 – Lawrence Conservatory Green Learn to play the Australian Aboriginal didjeridu! A universe of sounds, all from a log hollowed out by termites. All welcome, no experience needed, didjeridus provided. (All ages – bring the whole family!) |
| First Steps in Music (Ages 0-5 & caregivers) Friday 8/2 9:30-10:00 Harper Hall Lobby @ Lawrence Conservatory; Saturday 8/3 9:30-10:00 Harper Hall Lobby @ Lawrence Conservatory Join Ms. Nell (teacher of Early Childhood Music classes at the Lawrence Community Music School) with your littles 5 and under for singing, playing, and moving to great music! Let’s get tuneful, beatful, and artful together! (Ages 0-5 and caregivers) |
| Guinean Drumming (All Ages – Recommended for 8+!) Friday 8/2 3:10-4:00 Lawrence Conservatory Green Come explore the irresistible rhythms of Guinea, West Africa, in this hands-on drum workshop! Learn accompaniments and techniques on the powerful djembe, the drum of West Africa. We welcome people of all ages and skill levels to join us and share in this rich cultural art form. |
| Los Ritmos de Mariachi (All Ages!) Saturday 8/3 11:50-12:50 – PAC Thrivent Hall Ya llego el Mariachi! Mariachi has arrived in the Valley! Now’s your chance to dance, sing and experience the driving rhythms and soaring melodies of Mariachi music! Come dance to the music and fill your hearts and voices with joy as we explore Mexico’s most iconic music. (All ages – bring the whole family!) Saturday 8/3 11:50-12:50 – PAC Thrivent Hall |
| Mindfulness & Community Voice Series: Americana Sing and Step Together (All Ages!) Saturday 8/3 2:30-3:20 – Heid Music Calling all folkies! – Come learn some basic step-dancing, as well as choruses to traditional and original songs to make and share music together in a welcoming community, led by Maire Clement and Davey Harrison (of The Boston Imposters Duo). |
| Mindfulness & Community Voice Series: Intersections of Nature, Music and Movement (All-Ages!) Saturday 8/3 12:10-1:00 – Heid Music Bring the whole family on a musical journey through the natural world as we explore animal sounds and movements with our voices and bodies. We will combine yoga poses, imagination games, vocalizations, and live music of different genres to create different wild habitats. All ages welcome. |
| Mindfulness & Community Voice Series: Mindful Music-Making: Sing, Explore and Contemplate (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 1:40-2:30 Heid Music; Saturday 8/3 1:20-2:10 – Heid Music How do you engage in mindfulness so that you can be open to the messages that music shares with you? How do you create space for contemplation? Join Mile Artists and siblings Sarah Olson & Erik Larson as they lead us into a mindful musical space where we will experience the power and joy of connecting together through song. |
| Mindfulness & Community Voice Series: Poetry & Songwriting (All Ages!) Friday 8/2 11:30-12:20 – Heid Music Join international violinist and poet Sarah Wagner as she leads you through finding your voice in classical music (yes, classical!), demystifying a world which can seem exclusive and inaccessible. Beginning with a live performance, Sarah will then lead you in several free writing sessions where you will write individually and as a group, before ultimately hearing the same music transformed by your creations! Come create with your community as we explore the magical relationship between music and text! |
| Mindfulness & Community Voice Series: Sound Together: Song Circle for Community & Belonging (All Ages!) Saturday 8/3 3:10-4:00 – Lawrence Conservatory Green Lift voices and hearts together as we sing songs of healing, belonging, compassion and community. This is a welcoming space for harmonizers, improvisors, movers, dancers and those who may be timid about singing in the circle to experience the powerful connectivity of singing together within our community. (All ages – bring the whole family!) |
| pBone Jam! (All Ages) Saturday 8/3 2:00-2:50 – Lawrence Conservatory Green; Sunday 8/4 1:10-2:00 – Lawrence Conservatory Green Ever played a pBone? Now’s your chance! No experience necessary to jam out on these plastic, brightly colored “brass” instruments! We’ll explore styles from funk, jazz, pop, and rock, and end with a community groove anyone can play! |
| Playground Games (ages 6-12 & caregivers) Friday 8/2 10:50-11:20 Lawrence Conservatory Green; Saturday 8/3 10:50-11:20 Lawrence Conservatory Green Everybody get on the Playground! Come out to learn (or remember!) Playground Games of yesterday and today. Join our leaders in hand clapping games, jump roping chants, tinikling challenges and more! Each session will present unique material, so come to both! (Ages 6-12 and caregivers) |
| Shuffle and Funk: Exploring the Blues (All ages!) Friday 8/2 4:10-5:00 – Heid Music Come dive into the world of the blues with the dynamic, multi-instrumentalist, Casey Frensz! Bring your own instrument or use one of ours to learn the grooves of a 12 bar blues! No experience needed. All experience levels welcome! |
| Songwriting Workshop with Steffi Brill Friday 8/2 2:40-3:30 – Heid Music; Saturday 8/3 3:40-4:30 – Heid Music Dive into to the craft of writing music and lyrics with Steffi Brill, singer-songwriter and Martian of Porky’s Groove Machine! Focus on the basics of music theory, demystifying lyrics, and discovering and strengthening creativity through the practice of balancing the Inner Creative and the Inner Critic. |
| STOMP! (Ages 10+) Friday 8/2 12:50-1:40 – Lawrence Conservatory Green We’ve all heard of STOMP!, the dazzling percussion performing group that creates grooves from broom, buckets, cans, and whatever you can find! Join Leila Ramagopal Pertl, our very own MET Curator, and her students from LU and Edison to create your own STOMP! Bring your sense of play, imagination, fun and fearless exploration! We’ll bring the wild instruments, you bring the groove! Don’t have groove? You will after STOMP! No experience necessary. |
| Stories that Sing (Ages 2-10 & caregivers) Friday 8/2 10:10-10:40 – Harper Hall Lobby @ Lawrence Conservatory; Saturday 8/3 10:10-10:40 – Harper Hall Lobby @ Lawrence Conservatory Watch, listen, and interact with our lively musician storytellers as they bring our picture books to life with song, dance and tons of fun! Sessions on Friday and Saturday will feature a different selection of stories. (Ages 2-10 and caregivers) |
| Uke Jam with Forte & Pianissimos (Ages 10+) Friday 8/2 12:30-1:20 Heid Music; Saturday 8/3 11:00-11:50 – Heid Music The sounds of Hawai’i in Appleton! Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned strummer, experience the joy of the ukulele with this heart warming workshop led by Greg Forton of Forté and the Pianissimos. Within 50 minutes you will learn to play the ukulele and enough chords to play over 3000 popular songs. If you have your own instrument, bring it! If you don’t, there will be some ukes available at the workshop. WARNING! Playing the ukulele will lead too many hours of joy, laughter, and camaraderie.(Ages 10-adult) |
| Ukulele Workshop (Ages 10+) Saturday 8/3 4:10-5:00 – Lawrence Conservatory Green; Sunday 8/4 2:10-3:00 – Lawrence Conservatory Green The sounds of Hawai’i in Appleton! Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned strummer, experience the joy of the ukulele with this workshop led by Aaron Roecker, music teacher in the Appleton Area School District. Within 50 minutes you will learn to play the ukulele and enough chords to play over 3000 popular songs. If you have your own instrument, bring it! If you don’t, there will be some ukes available at the workshop. (Ages 10-adult) |
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Thank You to our 2024 Music Education Partners:
Partners:
