Kid Pan Alley: News

Paul has cut back on his teaching schedule a bit this summer to focus on the Kid Pan Alley Charlottesville CD. Here are the ones he's teaching:

July 18-23 • Hollyhock, Cortes Island, BC. This is the most beautiful place on the planet. For info: http://www.hollyhock.ca/cms/index.cfm?Group_ID=3776

Aug 10-14 Rocky Mountain Song School, Lyons, CO For info http://bluegrass.com/songschool/

I’ve got a very special concert coming up in Rappahannock this Sunday with my band, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions. We also have a concert on Thursday in the DC area (see below)

I’ll be joined by harmonica and piano virtuoso Howard Levy (formerly of the Flecktones), Ysaye Barnwell (the leader of Sweet Honey in the Rock) Amy Speace, Paddy Dougherty and percussionist Jagoda.

On Sunday, June 8, at 4:00 pm, we’ll be performing at the Theatre House on Castleton Farms in beautiful Rappahannock County. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

It has been one of my dreams to perform at the Theatre House. It is the most beautiful, intimate and beautiful sounding halls I have ever seen in my 33 years of performing. It is such an inspiration to play in a 125 seat hall that has been graced by the likes of José Carreras, Issac Stern, Emanuel Ax, Sir James Galway, Pepé Romero and of course, Maestro Lorin Maazel and Dietlinde Turban-Maazel who built this amazing home for music in our community on their farm.” This will be the bands first appearance in Rappahannock County.

The suggested contribution for Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions is $35 for adults and $15 for students.

As always, seats in the Theatre House are limited and it is getting close to full, so please make your reservations as soon as possible. To reserve your place or if you require further details, please email reserve@chateauville.org or phone 540-937-8969. The latest updates are always available at www.chateauville.org, which includes additional information about the Foundation's activities and directions to Castleton Farms.

The band will also be at Nottoway Park, 9601 Courthouse Rd in Vienna, VA on Thursday, June 12th at 7:30 pm.

We've been busy recording the Charlottesville CD. This week, we took the rough mixes of the songs back into the schools and added the kids voices, recorded 4 more songs including one with a fabulous band from Charlottesville called Six Chasing Seven. They are being produced by Boyd Tinsley of the Dave Matthews Band.

We really had fun in the schools. The kids were so excited to hear their songs. We also had a blast working with the most amazing trumpet player I've heard, John D'earth.

We'll have another report next week from the co-producers, Paul Reisler and Steve van Dam.

Paul and Donnie wrote songs with the kids at Peabody Charter for the 2nd year. Check out the video of TV Town.

See a slide show: http://picasaweb.google.com/KidPanAlley/PeabodyCharterSchool08

Paul Reisler and Donnie Sosin spent a week at Roosevelt Elementary in Santa Barbara. Here's a video and some photos. Thanks to Kate Yamasaki for all the great pictures, the Santa Barbara Bowl, Principal Donna Ronzone, Eric Shifflet and Jodi Mitchell.

To see the photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/KidPanAlley/RooseveltESSantaBarbara2008

An in-depth hour long interview with Kid Pan Alley founder Paul Reisler and guest Terri Allard. Includes calls from listeners and eight song segments.

http://www.jmu.edu/wmra/pgm/insight/050508.mp3

We've just completed our Kid Pan Alley residency at the birthplace of Kid Pan Alley--Rappahannock Elementary School. That's right, the very first KPA residency was at RCES in 1999.
Click the link to see a video of some of the pictures from the residency along with a great song, Wake Up, performed live by the Kid Pan Alley Band at the concert on May 2nd.
The band includes Paul Reisler, Terri Allard, Nate Brown, Steve van Dam, Smiggy Smith, Ben Mason, Kelsa Settle, Linda Orfila and the children of Rappahannock.

Paul Reisler and Dan Johnson visited Alexandria Country Day School for a day and wrote 3 songs with the children. It was big fun. Check out the short video of a song we wrote with the kindergarten http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt_PvjwTY7k

Kid Pan Alley Comes to Whole Foods Market in Charlottesville
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Concerts at Noon & 5pm

Kid Pan Alley founder Paul Reisler, local singer-songwriter Terri Allard and children from the Charlottesville community will be giving two performances at Whole Foods Market, 1416 Seminole Trail, Charlottesville, Virginia on Wednesday, February 27. The performances – one at noon and the other at 5pm -- are part of Whole Foods Market 5% Days (or CommUnity Giving Days). Five percent of the day's net sales will go to the Charlottesville-Albemarle Kid Pan Alley project. Representatives from Kid Pan Alley will be in Whole Foods Market from 8am to 10pm. For more information call Whole Foods Market (434) 973-4900 or go to www.kidpanalley.org
Kid Pan Alley has written 80 songs with over 1600 children in eight elementary schools in our community this past year including: Johnson Elementary, Jackson-Via Elementary, Red Hill Elementary, Cale Elementary, Broadus Wood Elementary, Brownsville Elementary, Greer Elementary, and the Peabody School. While the focus of the 2007-2008 residencies was on the songwriting in the classroom, Kid Pan Alley is currently producing a CD of a selection of songs from each of these schools, recorded by professional musicians in the community. The CD project is modeled after the Kid Pan Alley Nashville CD, which features the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, Amy Grant, Delbert McClinton, Kix Brooks (of Brooks and Dunn), the Nashville Bluegrass band and many more. Kid Pan Alley Nashville received a Grammy nomination and won a number of other awards including a Parents’ Choice Gold Award.
The Charlottesville-Albemarle Kid Pan Alley project has already enlisted the talents of John McCutcheon, Corey Harris, Shannon Worrell, Terri Allard, Paul Reisler, Schuyler Fisk, John D’earth, Robert Jospe, Ellis Paul, Devon Sproule, Paul Curreri, Ann Marie Calhoun, Trees on Fire and many more professional musicians in our community
A CD release and community concert has been set for October 4, 2008 at the Paramount Theater.

Come shop and support the Charlottesville-Albemarle Kid Pan Alley project all at the same time. For more information call Whole Foods Market (434) 973-4900.

We've had 2 great weeks at Taylor. This is our 2nd year there. Kid Pan Alley songwriters Kathy Hussey and Paddy Dougherty led the 1st week and Paul Reisler and Kathy Hussey led the 2nd. Thanks to the Virginia Commission for the Arts and Debra and Grey Persons for supporting this residency. Here are some photos.

Kid Pan Alley's Paul Reisler and Terri Allard just completed a residency at Peabody School in Charlottesville. There were some wonderful songs. See a slide show with photos by Fleming Lunsford

Here are some photos from Greer Elementary in Charlottesville
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Paul and Terri at Brownsville Elementary in Crozet, VA

As you can see from these photos, we had a great time at Cale in Charlottesville. Here are the photos:

KPA's Paul Reisler, Terri Allard and Donnie Sosin wrote 10 songs with the kids at Broadus Woods including 3 songs for the 1924 silent film of Peter Pan which they performed with the kids at the Paramount Theatre in Charlottesville.

Kid Pan Alley's Terri Allard and Jeff Romano at Jackson-Via Elementary.

Kid Pan Alley's Terri Allard and Jeff Romano at Jackson-Via Elementary.

We'll be in Shreveport, LA for a TV taping in HDTV for a new TV series called Secrets of the Heart April 3-7.

Then we go to Charlottesville, VA for a residency at Johnson Elementary School April 9-13. Concerts on Friday.

Next is beautiful Santa Barbara, CA, April 16-20th in a residency sponsored by the Santa Barbara Bowl.

That's it for a little while as Paul goes off to the Artist Colony to work on the Kid Pan Alley musical and to finish up his full-length piece for orchestra and narrator based on Aesop's Fables.

To find out about Paul's summer songwriting camps and workshops for adults, please visit http://www.songcamps.com

Kid Pan Alley founder was featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition this morning. KPA founder, Paul Reisler, was interviewed by host, Renee Montagne and they played segments from 6 songs. The program is heard by over 13 million people. You can still catch it on the NPR website:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9107568

We've just returned from a week at Greene Co Primary and Ruckersville Elementary. Songs and photos are posted in the music and photo sections. Had a wonderful time working with all the 2nd graders in the county and had around 500 people for the concert. go to the music section to hear some of what the did.