Explore your musical creativity at these 3 workshops led by musician and teacher Salina Kuo! Each workshop includes a 60-minute hands-on class and 30 minutes to play with instruments and build on concepts with other participants.

The creativity workshops will take place in the Music Department at Parkway Central Library. Each workshop will begin at 5:30 p.m. and wrap up by 7:00 p.m. Workshops will be curated for participants with little to no musical training. Participants with prior musical training are welcome to share community with us.

Participants are encouraged to join for any and all workshop sessions:

Monday, June 9—Listening: Build confidence and language around identifying and communicating what we hear. This workshop will move through listening examples from contemporary genres (pop, rock, jazz, hip-hop) and world folk traditions. You will be encouraged to listen objectively, as well as to draw personal and cultural connections to music.

Monday, June 16—Theory: Discuss and build vocabulary around rhythm, harmony, and melody. This introduction to music theory will incorporate hands-on learning with ukuleles, keyboards, and auxiliary percussion.

Monday, June 23—Improvisation: Learn a brief history of world aural/oral traditions and jazz. This introduction to improvisation will incorporate hands-on learning with ukuleles, keyboards, and auxiliary percussion. You are encouraged to bring your own instrument if you already have fluency identifying and playing notes and chords.

Salina Kuo is a singer/songwriter, percussionist, self-taught guzhengist, improviser, and educator, based in Philadelphia (Lenape territory). They have a deep admiration for black American music, world folk, free improvisation, and 60s/70s fem singer/songwriters. They write music that blends genres and utilizes uncommon instrumentation to create a unique yet cohesive and familiar sound. By confronting personal experiences with grief, depression, and love, Kuo’s storytelling invites listeners into their world and share in their healing. They release music under St. John’s Wort (vibraphone indie-pop/rnb/soul) and River Full of Fruit (freak-folk chamber orchestra). Their debut full-length album is forthcoming.

Kuo has experience teaching instrumental music, music theory, and songwriting to all ages (infancy to adulthood) through the Philadelphia School District, School of Rock Philly, and Girls Rock Philly. They have performed in venues and festivals across the U.S. and Canada, ranging from basements to art galleries to concert halls. (Notable performances: Composed + premiered music commissioned by PAFA & World Cafe Live, Public Orchestra (Marshall Allen, Anthony Tidd), performed alongside Tyshawn Sorey, Dan Blacksberg, Thurman Barker)

To RSVP, please visit bit.ly/librarymusic101.

Questions? Please email erefepr@freelibrary.org or call 215-686-5392.

Organized with the Education, Philosophy, Religion Department as part of a collaborative Creativity Workshop series.