Workshops for Ages 4-12 | Workshops for Ages 13-Adult | Kid Made Music
Family Performances | Teacher Trainings | About Guy Mendilow

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MOVE THE MUSIC!
Ages: 4—12 year old in age-appropriate groups • length: 30-45 minutes
single workshop or multiday residency • Best suited for maximum group size of 15

Move the Music! is a cross-cultural program that gives children music-making tools:
» Through games that get participants singing, galloping, speaking, laughing and playing instruments from drums to recycled junk percussion.
» Through kinesthetic games where children improvise movement responses to the music and learn how musical concepts feel in their own bodies.

MOVE THE MUSIC!:
—Is always fresh because all music is improvised live, in the classroom.

— Gives children the unique experience of having the music follow their movement as well as exploring how they can feel the music in their bodies.

—Nurtures creative problem solving, self-expression, and leadership skills.

—Is based on the widely recognized Dalcroze Eurhythmics approach, in which Guy holds international certification.

— Longer programs often culminate in participant-produced CDs or songwriting for musical plays.

 

Listen to samples of songs written and recorded by children in previous programs here!

Read about a musical written by children at a previous residency here!

Read reviews of Move the Music! here

 

AROUND THE WORLD IN SONG: MUSICAL ADVENTURES WITH THE GUY MENDILOW BAND
Ages: 5-12 years old in age-appropriate groups • length: 30-60 minutes
single workshop • Suitable for groups of any size

Did you know that the berimbau is really a musical bow and arrow, made with wire from the inside of a car tire, and that instruments like it are found in over 120 cultures?

In this performance workshop:
» Children meet some of the most important members of the band: the instruments themselves, such as the berimbau, the munnharpa (jaw harp), the Peruvian cajon (box drum) and overtone singing,
»Fun stories, exciting rhythm games and joyous sing-alongs, in up to six languages, introduce children to music from around the world.

Note: Teachers’ materials detailing cultural background, instrument construction, and playing techniques are available upon request.

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MAKING YOUR GROOVE
Ages: 13 years old —adult • length: 45-90 minutes
single workshop or multiday residency
•Best suited for maximum group size of 30

Making Your Groove Participants learn ways to create their own music, from the ground up. Movement and improv games teach participants how to:
• Work as an ensemble • Listen to and musically complement one another
• Lead a group of musicians • Create meaningful musical improvisations that are as fulfilling as they are unique.

Making Your Groove starts the music making process right where we are, with what we have already, by transforming ordinary objects and experiences into vibrant musical inventions.


Listen to samples of songs written and recorded by children in previous programs here

 

LISTENING THROUGH THE MUSIC:
IMPROV AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION
Ages: 14 years old—adult • length: 45-90 minutes per session
single workshop or multiday residency • Best suited for maximum group size of 15

Our ability to communicate and collaborate across cultural and linguistic differences can determine the success of many of our endevours, from the assembly of a project staff to effective mediation. Musical improvisation can serve as powerful vehicle for such listening and connection.

This introductory workshop explores the three essential ingredients for such collaborations: the abilities to tune in, connect, and respond spontaneously and meaningfully to one another. Exciting, quickly learned music improv and movement games offer ways to cultivate these abilities, setting the stage for effective group improvisation, both in the realm of music and beyond. This workshop requires no previous musical experience.
Participants should come ready to move and play.

»This workshop has been used effectively by such mediation organizations as Seeds of Peace, working with Israelis and Palestinians and Indian and Pakistanis, and by innovative youth leadership projects like The Breakthrough Collaborative.

 

JOURNEY: THE GUY MENDILOW BAND
Ages: 13 year —adult • length: 30-75 minutes
single workshop • Suitable for groups of any size

Explore such unusual instruments as the berimbau, overtone singing, munnharpa (jaw harp) and percussion from around the world in this inspiring performance-based workshop. Participants learn about instrument construction, cultural background and playing techniques through a session packed with songs in six languages, over eighteen instruments and stories to make you laugh and think. There’s plenty of room for question and answers and for interacting with the artists off-the-stage.

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Artist Statement:
“Only our best is just good enough for children.”
— Zoltán Kodály
Children’s early music experiences shape the rest of their musical lives. It is a privilege — and a responsibility — to give children our highest. Drawing upon our training as music education specialists and teacher trainers, we strive to create the most engaging, interactive and educationally sound concerts for young audiences.

Description:

“The glory of what [Mendilow] does is finding a common ground among different cultures. And that’s what makes his music so exciting.”— Jewish Advocate

Through colorful songs, stories and games, the Guy Mendilow Band transports families on an ear-opening interactive adventure to the places Guy has called home — including Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Israel and the United States. Everyone becomes part of the music as families meet such fascinating instruments as overtone singing, the munnharpa (jaw harp) and Peruvian cajon (box drum), along with languages and joyous songs from distant lands.

“Guy has the ability to make an impact… he brings awe and excitement to the children…
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Guy perform and like the children, have been inspired and intrigued by what he has to share both musically and culturally.”
— Mary Schofield, Bright Horizons Family Solutions World Headquarters, Watertown MA

“His expertise with musical innovation, talent and knowledge are definite strengths — but most of all his energy and encouraging style! He should just keep sharing this with everyone — he is fantastic!”
— New Jersey Montessori Administrator’s Council, Parsippany NJ

“There’s nothing that engages kids as much as showing your interest in them: that doesn’t happen as a general rule. It’s a rare person who demonstrates a willingness to learn from very small children. Guy’s commitment grows out of a deep respect for the abilities, potential, and rights of kids”
— Montessori Corner, Plainsboro NJ

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Guy Mendilow's teacher trainings presents a learner-centered approach that puts children in the pilot’s seat of music making. You’ll learn how to cultivate musical spontaneity and creativity through a series of fast-paced games that present basic rhythmic and melodic tools for group improvisation, techniques for collective listening and decision-making, and ways to transform day-to-day mundane objects into exciting instruments. You don’t need any musical training to join us. This is a participatory workshop: come prepared to make music and move!

Read reviews of Guy Mendilow's teacher trainings here

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A citizen of Israel, Great Britain and the United States, Mendilow spent his most formative years playing hopscotch between continents when his musician-turned-professor father was invited to a succession of teaching posts. From early childhood on, most aspects of Mendilow’s life were a cultural, linguistic and musical mix. He grew up participating in late night song circles and living room concerts with local musicians in his different homes, whether in Jerusalem or Johannesburg and whether the songs were Israeli, South African, English or American. At ten, Mendilow joined the renowned American Boychoir and kept traveling, touring internationally and domestically and performing some two hundred concerts a year in venues like Carnegie Hall. Since age fifteen, Mendilow has continued to immerse himself in new cultures, seeking opportunities to learn languages and collaborate with instrument builders and performers. To date, he has lived and performed in South Africa, Israel, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. He sings in six tongues and is fluent in four.

An accomplished educator deeply committed to teaching leadership and communication skills through music,
Mendilow leads workshops, teacher trainings and residencies at schools across the United States and Brazil and presents at such conferences as the New Jersey Montessori Administrators Council Conference, the Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education at Duke University, and the Conference on Social Healing through the Arts in Boston. He also collaborates with international mediation organizations like Seeds of Peace, which works with Israeli and Palestinian youth, teen leadership projects like the Breakthrough Collaborative, and social justice efforts like Jaymes Fund for Social Justice. Mendilow holds a Masters in Music and international Dalcroze Eurhythmics certification from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA.

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