About A Touch of Classcial

In A Touch of Classical, Juilliard trained pianist Beth Sussman takes students on a journey around the world with classical music. Her program begins with famous classical music compositions that audiences recognize from cartoons, commercials, movies and video games. Students participate throughout the performance as they imagine what the mischievous “Little Troll” is up to in a humorous piece by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, guess how many notes she plays in a brilliantly fast piece by Brazilian composer Hector Villa-Lobos, and marvel as she performs a work by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce which is for the left hand alone. Students also learn the rhythm and dance of the Juba Dance by African-American composer Nathaniel Dett and use Italian musical terms to help her interpret a piece by Hungarian composer Bela Bartok. The performance ends with Beth’s own composition, “The Wizard” which is a dazzling piece inspired by “The Wizard of Oz.” 

Since receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from The Juilliard School when she was 21, pianist Beth Sussman has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Career highlights include performances at Lincoln Center, Royce Hall, The Ravinia Festival (summer home of the Chicago Symphony) and Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts. Several years ago, Kelsey Grammer was the Executive Producer for a Paramount Pictures Television pilot loosely based on her life. A teaching artist with the Kennedy Center, she was recently been named a Fellow by the Hermitage Foundation and was a recipient of a Jubilation Foundation grant. Her new project, “Joppity,” is geared towards emerging readers and is a fun, interactive video with activities that improve steady beat which is neurologically connected to reading fluency.

Age level: Grades K-5

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Prices good until June 30, 2024. Prices are for assemblies in schools during regular school hours.  Performances outside these parameters may incur an additional fee. Grant funding for schools may be available to offset assembly prices. Contact us for further information.