The Shepherd School of Music welcomed hundreds of families to Rice University March 29 for its 50th Anniversary Community Day, an open-to-all free celebration packed with musical performances, interactive activities and hands-on fun for visitors of all ages. Designed as a way to connect the Shepherd School’s world-class students, faculty and staff with the broader Houston community, the event invited guests to explore nearly every corner of the school, from intimate recital venues in Alice Pratt Brown Hall to backstage of Brockman Hall for Opera.
“We know that for so many of these students and families, this is their first interaction with classical music, and we’ve taken it really seriously,” Shepherd School Dean Matthew Loden said. “We want to make sure that we can give them an experience that’s fun, that they begin to attach themselves to the joy of making music, and hopefully they’ll keep coming back to campus over and over again.”
The day began with a sold-out family concert in Stude Concert Hall featuring Sergei Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf,” narrated in English and Spanish by Michael Sifuentes. Conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the Shepherd School’s distinguished resident director designate of orchestras, the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra performance began with Kevin Day’s “Lightspeed.” Rice’s Sammy the Owl learned how to conduct the orchestra and stayed on stage to enjoy Prokofiev’s iconic tale.
Following the concert, Harth-Bedoya remained on stage to lead an interactive conducting workshop, inviting young audience members to step up to the podium and try their hand at leading the orchestra.
Outside on the Piazza Della Musica, families gathered for face painting, games, giveaways and performances by Shepherd School students on The Concert Truck. Nearly a dozen activity zones across both Shepherd School buildings showcased the range and creativity of the school. In one room, visitors used an iPad to trigger light and sound in a live music lab; in another, they experienced a blend of classical chamber music and traditional Filipino and South Asian dance. Visitors moved freely through the spaces taking in opera arias, woodwind demonstrations, Baroque music, organ and Rice Chorale showcases and even a new composition for violin and contrabassoon.
“We’re really just trying to give everyone a sense of what it’s like to be in this world,” Loden said. “How can you be creative in the musical space, and how can you come to the Shepherd School and just have a good time?”
Among the attendees was Isabel David, co-chair of the school’s upcoming anniversary gala, who brought her 9-year-old daughter Celine. The pair attended music classes at the Shepherd School when Celine was just 2 years old, making Saturday’s concert a full-circle moment.
“This was Celine's first live performance of ‘Peter in the Wolf,’” Isabel said. “So it was really fun for me to watch her experience this live with the talented students on stage.”
Celine described the overall experience of Community Day as “fun, dramatic and very memorable,” while her mom called the Shepherd School and Rice “a gift to the Houston community.”
“(They are) really the center for this intellectual city that we live in, a city that’s so accessible, that welcomes everyone, and we really saw that here on Community Day,” Isabel said.
The event was months in the making and brought together the entire Shepherd School community, Loden said.
“We’re just so proud of this all-Shepherd School initiative,” Loden said. “I’m so grateful that we all get to be at a place like the Shepherd School at Rice University where we can do these kinds of things.”
Learn more about the Shepherd School’s upcoming events here.
