(Published in Oakland North: http://oaklandnorth.net/2011/10/24/oakland-east-bay-symphony-violinist-and-comedian-dawn-harms-performs-for-elementary-school-kids/)
With a wag of her tail feather, Oakland East Bay Symphony violinist and stand-up comedian Dawn Harms wooed the crowd of elementary school students at Oakland Technical High School on October 20 with her act,“The Hot Canary.”
Harms donned a canary bird costume, and cowboy costume, as part of The Musical Time Machine performance by the Oakland East Bay Symphony’s annual Young People’s Concerts series, which is designed to engage children and teach them about music. The symphony offered six free shows at Oakland Tech and Allen Temple Baptist Church from October 20 – October 22. The event combined teaching children about the music of classical composers such as J.S. Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, along with sing-alongs ranging from “Pop Goes the Weasel” to The Simpsons theme.
Harms said she hopes the concerts will influence students to pursue music.
“We’re going to reach everyone so maybe everybody will want to play music – that is my goal,” she said. “Everybody will have an instrument in their hand instead of a gun – that is my goal.”