News | Arts For The Schools

Introducing Mark Henasey as Arts For The Schools Music Teaching Artist

4/4/2018

Who: Mark Henasey
What: Music Teaching Artist for Arts For The Schools
Community School Key Responsibilities: Teaching music curriculum and administering music student assessments.
What musical instruments does Mark Play: Bass, Guitar, Piano, Trumpet, Saxophone

Mark graduated with a Music Education degree from University of Massachusetts Amherst. He enjoys performing and teaching students of all ages. His teaching methods are diverse and oriented towards each student’s specific musical personality.
He spent nine years as a Faculty Instructor for the Summer Institute for the Gifted teaching music courses at Princeton University, UCLA, Drew University and Bryn Mawr College. He also worked as a high school music director for a private boarding school for seven years.
His original compositions have been featured on University of Princeton radio (WPRB 103.3) and his projects have opened for many international touring acts including Ween, The Wailers, Bernie Worrell (P-Funk and Talking Heads) and Vernon Reed (Living Color).

Arts For The Schools welcomes Mark and is glad to have him as a part of our wonderful teaching team!

Winter Wonder Grass...1 week away!

3/30/2018

We are counting down the days until Winter Wonder Grass 2018! Thank you to everyone who reached out and asked about volunteering.

Have purchased your tickets yet?
If you haven't and are buying online, select Arts For The Schools when purchasing tickets to give $1 back to Kids!

Please stop by the Kid Zone tent to say hello or bring your Little WonderGrasser for some activities!

#countdown7days

Arts For The Schools is ready for CONTRA-TIEMPO!

3/23/2018

Winter WonderGrass - April 6th,7th,8th

3/8/2018

Are you ready for Winter Wondergrass? We are! Returning again in 2018, Arts For The Schools brings back the Kids Zone, Art Classes and a creative hang out space during the Festival.

Want to volunteer during the show? Email jen@artsfortheschools to sign up. Volunteers receive a 3 day festival pass for helping out!

TTUSD STEAM Fair Rescheduled

2/28/2018

The TTUSD Transportation Department has reschedule the STEAM & CTE Fair due to the predicted storm for tomorrow - Thursday, March 1st. TTUSD and Arts For The Schools is committed to safety of the student attendees.

The new date for the STEAM & CTE Fair is scheduled to take place on June 11th, 2018 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Truckee Donner Recreation Center (same location).

Arts For The Schools and TTUSD looks forward to seeing you there!

Thanks Rahim AlHaj, we had fun!

2/23/2018

Rahim AlHaj born in Baghdad, Iraq began playing the oud (the grandfather of all stringed instruments) at age nine. In 2015 Rahim was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship and was also nominated for two Grammy awards.

He wowed Truckee Elementary, (in the video above) and a large audience at The Community Arts Center for AFTS onStage live public show.

Arts For The Schools owes a big Thank You to Rahim and his trio for coming to "have fun with us"!

Germán López all the way from Spain

1/29/2018

Professional musician and teacher, German López entertained all with his timple, a fully-resonant diminutive 5-stringed instrument from the Canary Islands. Germán was accompanied by guitarist Antonio Toledo at the North Tahoe Event Center in Kings Beach as well as several Arts For The Schools students. The performance harnessed the grit of Spanish flamenco, the structure of west African rhythms, the flourishing spirit of jazz, and an innovative 21st century approach to performing “island music.” Performing several songs from his latest album Canela y Limón for audience members and students alike.

Next onStage Live Event: Rahim AlHaj, Feb 2nd, 7pm
at The Community Arts Center in Truckee

Rahim AlHaj, virtuoso oud musician and composer, was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (the grandfather of all stringed instruments) at age nine. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Mr. AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria. He moved to the US in 2000 as a political refugee and has resided in Albuquerque, NM ever since. In 2015 Rahim was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor for traditional arts in the USA.

Click Here for Tickets

Urban Jazz Dance Company likes it Loud!

1/18/2018

Urban Jazz Dance Company, lead by Antoine Hunter brought professional deaf & hearing dancers to 628 children in the Truckee Tahoe area . Public audience members and students alike were shown how to use sign language to communicate with Antoine and the dancers during the performance. Urban Jazz Dance Company taught all audience members that no matter who you are, your dreams are possible.

Lightwire Theater taught students about EL wire, storytelling and engineering

11/7/2017

Lightwire Theater (from America's Got Talent) provided a unique educational performance teaching students about El wire, theater, dance and their unique brand of storytelling. Lightwire presented Moon Mouse, a tale about Marvin who gets bullied in school and later overcomes his challenges and becomes friends with his bullies. Students and public audience members were blown away by this amazing group.

1253 students learned from Troker

11/7/2017

Troker, a jazz band from Guadalajara, Mexico came into schools to teach students about Mexican music. In some schools Troker provided the entire workshop in Spanish and in other schools they taught in both Spanish and English. Students loved Troker! We also hosted a great Dia De los Muertos party with Troker on Saturday October 28th. The crowd was blown away by their talent, and a a great time was had by all.

Arts For The Schools partners with Alder Creek Middle School

10/19/2017

Arts For The Schools developed a new partnership with Alder Creek Middle School to co-teach visual art to sixth, seventh and eight grade students. Teaching artists are working with Alder Creek Middle School teachers to provide a six week, daily art class for students. Art classes have been designed to meet the education standards and to allow students to develop their visual art foundations, as well as explore new mediums.

"We are excited about the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with classroom teachers at Alder Creek. I am really enjoying working with these kids," says Teaching Artist Anke Hass. Arts For The Schools provides visual arts integrated classes to 10 schools in Tahoe Truckee Unified School District and Placer County Office of Education. Arts education classes occur once per week in schools for at least 14 weeks and up to 32 weeks, depending on the school. At Alder Creek students are being co-taught by Alder Creek teachers and teaching artists every day for six weeks.

onSTAGE Live season passes on sale

10/19/2017

Support Arts For The Schools and art in our rural community. Six live shows! Check out the amazing line up with artists from all over the world! Buy a season pass today and save up to $75. Passes on sale til October 28th.

All you need to know about Wooden Boat Challenge 2017

7/17/2017

Look no further, the most exciting festival of summer is on its way! The Wooden Boat Challenge will be held on Sunday August 20th, 2017 at West End Beach on Donner Lake from 11am-5pm.

The festival is centered around a boat building competition where teams of up to four people build boats with materials supplied by Truckee Tahoe Lumber. After constructing the vessels, they race them on Donner Lake for a chance to win great prizes, like a 2017-18 Northstar Ski Pass or a Northstar Golf Pass! If you’re interested in forming a team, read this.

While the boats are being constructed, there will be plenty of activities to keep everyone entertained. We’ll have live music on the Pavilion stage all day, activities for kids of all ages, food trucks and a beer garden, as well as local artisans displaying their work.

Festival entrance is $10/person or $25/family, and all proceeds will go towards supporting Arts For The Schools’ programming. AFTS provides visual and performing arts education for students K-12 around North Lake Tahoe. You can buy tickets ahead of time at New Moon Natural Foods, on Eventbrite, or at the gate on the day of the event.

Stay tuned for the music line-up to be announced soon!

Visit the WBC page or email us if you have any questions.

End of Year Stats

7/13/2017

The 2016-17 school year has come to an end, and here are the final numbers of people served through our Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and onSTAGE programs.

We're Hiring!

7/3/2017

Arts For The Schools is expanding to new schools and we need more teaching artists! Please click on each link to download the job description and application instructions. If you have any questions, please email Eve.

Visual Arts Program - Teaching Visual Artist
Job Description and Application Instructions
Deadline: July 14, 2017 at 5pm

Performing Arts Program - Music Teaching Artist
Job Description and Application Instructions
Deadline: July 24, 2017 at 5pm

Thank you to the Nevada Arts Council!

7/2/2017

Arts For The Schools would like to give a big thank you to the Nevada Arts Council for grants that support our Performing Arts program. Learn more about the NAC and PIE grants.

California Arts Council gives 4 grants to AFTS.The arts change local kids lives!

6/30/2017

Thank you @JerryBrownGov & #CAleg for @CAArtsCouncil #CAbudget #artsboost
Learn More http://ow.ly/VCxq30d3mPE

GuGu Drum Group residency highly entertaining and culturally rich

5/20/2017

Arts For The Schools was so happy to have high-energy and extremely talented GuGu Drum Group as the last artist group of the 2016-17 season. They performed various pieces featuring Chinese proverbs and vignettes to over 2,100 students in 6 schools as a part of our Performing Arts Program, and received a standing ovation from the crowd at the public show as a part of our onSTAGE Series. Here are some of our favorite moments from the 3-day residency:

Stay tuned for news about the upcoming 2017-18 season!

Psst... We're moving!

4/25/2017

Our new office is located at 10833 Donner Pass Road, Suite 201 in Truckee.

We will be in the process of moving and getting settled between April 27th-May 4th, so we will be out of touch via email or phone. Thank you for understanding!

Gaelynn Lea interviewed on local radio

4/7/2017

In case you missed Gaelynn Lea's interview on 101.5 KTKE Truckee Tahoe Radio, here it is again!

Also, here are some pictures from her residency in local schools:

The Second City brings gold to North Lake Tahoe

3/4/2017

Between their two school workshops and public show, laughter was not in short supply when the Second City came to town in early March. Check out these pictures and videos from the raucous AFTS events!

Tahoe Dave’s partners with Arts For The Schools

2/1/2017

Featured in the Sierra Sun | 02/01/2017 | View original

Arts For The Schools recently announced it is continuing its partnership with Tahoe Dave’s Skis & Boards this winter by selling in-kind lift tickets that support in-school programming.

Tahoe Dave’s has been a key supporter for the nonprofit Arts For The Schools, and helps make its Performing Arts Program accessible to over 10,000 children each year.

Students in grades Pre-K-12 participate in interactive performances, workshops, master classes and discussions by acclaimed artists in music, dance, theater, media arts and performance art.

Visit one of four Tahoe Dave’s locations to learn more, or visit http://www.tahoedaves.com

Take action to save the National Endowment for the Arts

1/30/2017

As the new Trump Administration and the 115th Congress begin their work this year, there is news of threats towards the National Endowment for the Arts. In an effort to cut spending the NEA would be entirely cut, even though the NEA and NEH account for less than .002% of our federal spending -- about 46 cents each, for every American, every year.

The NEA has been the life-blood and foundation of the arts community across our nation since 1965. They provide grants for dance, music, drama, literature, outreach education, and so much more. They are a vital supporter of Arts For The Schools, making our Visual Arts, Performing Arts, onSTAGE, and other programs possible.

Arts For The Schools to participate in WinterWonderGrass Tahoe 2017

12/12/2016

Arts For The Schools has again aligned with the annual WinterWonderGrass music festival in Tahoe. It is a community and family-friendly event with a colorful kid's zone, including hula hooping and crafts provided by AFTS. Read more about the March 31 - April 2, 2017 festival here.

When you buy your tickets online, select Arts For The Schools as your chosen nonprofit - $1 will be donated for every ticket purchased!

Fourth graders learn about analogous and complementary colors with pastels

10/25/2016

Teaching artist Anke Haas taught the concept of analogous and complementary colors to Mrs. Paras' fourth grade class at Truckee Elementary this week. Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "The Shadow," students used oil pastels with this new concept to create depth and understand that shadows are "attached" to objects. Look at what some of the students created, just after a few weeks of class!

These works will be a part of our Artist in Bloom fundraiser that happens in the spring. Make sure to attend your child's open house to support Arts For The Schools!

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