Chamber Music Toledo to present children's concert

To wind up its current season, Chamber Music Toledo announces a concert by the children, of the children, and for the children at 3 p.m. June 5 in First Presbyterian Church of Maumee, 200 East Broadway, Maumee.

The program will encompass performances by young string players in the Toledo Symphony School of Music and a show by Genot Picor, a French-Canadian storyteller who incorporates puppets, interactive tales, Native American sign language, dance, and singalongs.

Chamber Music artistic director Cheryl Trace notes that the Toledo Symphony School of Music, in its second year, has grown to comprise nearly 80 students. Lessons and classes are offered in violin, viola, piano, and recorder.

Picor, a public school teacher and psychologist, has created programs tracing frontier history of the Great Lakes, performing in the upper Midwest. Descended from the Wyandot and Huron tribes of the region, Picor was honored with a Native name, Winter Elk, in 2003 by the Southeast Michigan Indians, Inc.

Of his family-friendly program, Picor says, "Tap your feet, howl, clap your hands; be a part of the story in history."

Tickets in advance are $12 with special rates for seniors and children; at the door, tickets are $15. To purchase in advance call 419-246-8000.

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Masterworks Chorale will present Collage IV, its annual collaborative celebration of the performing arts, at 8 p.m. June 4 in the Valentine Theatre. Joining the choir on stage will be soprano Rebecca Eaddy, pianists Jill Roth Boessel and Alvin Waddles, violinist Cecilia Johnson, and dancers from Ballet Theatre of Toledo.

Tickets start at $20 with special rates for students. Prices are the same in advance at the Valentine, 419-242-2787, or at the door.

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Professional dancer Darrah Carr, who started her career at Toledo Ballet, has inspired the ballet school to offer training in Irish step dance.

Darrah Carr, a professional dancer who started her career at Toledo Ballet, returned to her dance roots for a master class in her own hybrid dance style -- a blend of contemporary and Irish step dance she calls ModERIN. So successful was her first venture that the Toledo Ballet has decided to offer further training in Irish step dance.

Carr, who has performed in Carnegie Hall and on NBC's Today Show, has a master's degree in fine arts from New York University and is pursuing a PhD in dance at Texas Woman's University. She is a professor of dance at Hofstra University, Long Island, and writes for several dance magazines. She was recently inducted into Notre Dame Academy's Hall of Fame and received its Professional Achievement Award.

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Auditions for Masterworks Chorale will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. June 7 and 8 in the Ottawa Hills High School choir room. Singers in all voice parts are invited to try out for a regular membership in the chorale and high school singers also may try out for internships. For more information, call 419-242-0800.

Items for News of Music should be sent to svallongo@theblade.com at least two weeks ahead of the performance date.