Bach Invasion Hits NY Public School 321

In a creative show of musical appreciation, Public School 321 was recently hit with what has been dubbed a “Bach Invasion.” 30 cellists were invited to the school to offer the 1360 students a taste of Bach’s music. The cellists lugged their instruments from classroom to classroom, playing for the enthralled students and answering questions.

Musicians Kept On Their Toes

Jody Redhage, one of the cellists, was kept on her toes during the performances. As she said, while comparing the school performance to the five-continent tour she just finished,

“It’s much more challenging (in the school). There’s not a single minute you can lose their attention. If the children are not interested, they’ll let you know.”

Brainchild of a Parent

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, who is a famous pianist and parent of 5th grader Adrian, come up with the idea for the “Invasion.” As Dinnerstein said, “I think about what would have been inspiring to me as a child. It would have been really wonderful to me if I had this when I was in school.”

While students are inundated with pop musical, Dinnerstein said, they rarely get to hear classical tunes. The students, of course, loved the attention as well. Fifth-grader Ellis Shapiro-Barnum said,

“I liked how [Campbell] made different sounds with it. It seems really cool.”

Picture of Cellist Jody Redhage was taken by Debbie Egan-Chin/News for the NewYorkDailyNews.com site.