Louisville, KY – Louisville-based Dataseam worked with the Louisville Orchestra to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to attend performances of the 2024 Grammy Award-winning orchestra at locations across the state.
As part of the Louisville Orchestra’s “In Harmony” Tour, Dataseam connected roughly 400 elementary, middle, and high school students from performance band, chorus, and Gifted and Talented programs with the Orchestra’s statewide outreach initiative.
Twelve K-12 districts: Barbourville Independent, Breathitt, Burgin Independent, Corbin Independent, Frankfort Independent, Fulton Independent, Green, Jenkins Independent, Knott, Menifee, Paris Independent, and Williamsburg Independent attended concerts held at Corbin, Frankfort, and Paducah, Kentucky.
The Louisville Orchestra performed education and small ensemble presentations with select schools in each of the locations. Conductor Teddy Abrams was invited by Dataseam to visit their students at Williamsburg Independent Schools. During his time in the district, Abrams said, “I was surprised at the enthusiasm and engagement from the students across all grade levels. Music education in K-12 schools is such an important pipeline for what we do at the Orchestra. Given my own path, whether performing or appreciating music, starting young provides the best opportunity for continued interest and success.”
Superintendent Tim Spencer, Menifee County Schools, related, “Most of our students haven’t seen live music in this manner, much less going somewhere outside our rural county. Even though the Corbin Arena was 2.5 hours away, it was as simple as ‘find a driver, the bus, and get the kids there’ for us. Prior to the performance, the Orchestra mentioned all the attending districts – in that big arena, it made our kids feel important and welcomed by such accomplished musicians. We are thankful to both the Louisville Orchestra and Dataseam for the opportunity.”
Dataseam-participating districts who attended are each earning an “Innovation Cluster” of Apple workstations supporting music education and creative enterprise, valued collectively over $100,000.
“Providing students well-rounded exposure is important as they develop future plans,” explained Brian Gupton, Dataseam. “Anything to positively impact and better prepare them is a win for their communities and Kentucky’s future workforce. We really enjoyed collaborating with the Louisville Orchestra on these performances, sharing with our Dataseam schools what’s available in Kentucky.”
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