OPAS Education & Outreach

Dave Ellington:
Can You Hear My Hat?

Putnam County Middle School
September 21, 2010

On Tuesday, September 21^st the Oconee Performing Arts

Society (OPAS) presented Dave Ellington: Can You Hear My Hat to the 6^th grade students at
 
Putnam County Middle School. Mr. Ellington is one of the many artists available through Young

Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center.

 

Mr. Ellington is a professional musician of 20 years. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in
 
Boston before he began his touring career with "Wolfman" Washington in 1987. He also studied
 
under Ellis Marsalis at University of New Orleans (UNO) and has won a number of awards, including

UNO's prestigious composer's award. A major presence on the New Orleans' jazz scene, Dave was

the band leader of the auspicious Latin-Jazz group "Chevere".

Dave Ellington cooked up a delicious musical gumbo for which he provided the ingredients,

but students had to supply the recipe. He demonstrated the sweet, spicy and pungent

flavors of different styles of music, each symbolized by a different type of hat. The styles

Dave explored with the students were Classical, Jazz, Latin and Rock. Through his

interactive program he showed the students how each style of music is distinctly unique. 

Once the students mastered the melodic and percussive patterns of each type by

scatting, singing and clapping, they were ready to direct piano and guitar wizard Dave in a composition of

their own design.


Our Education and Outreach programs are an important element in the mission of OPAS. They are provided

free of charge to all students throughout the Lake Oconee region and are possible only through grants, such

as the $6,000 recently awarded to OPAS by the Plum Creek Foundation, and the support of our members.