Fourth Grade Attends a Symphony Safari

posted on January 9, 2014

The sound of violins and horns filled the air as the orchestra began to play. Shortly after the first string piece concluded, a young student leaned over to her chaperone that day, Fr. Peter Klink, SJ. Without taking her eyes from the stage, she whispered, “this is magnificent!”

Each year the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra hosts the Symphony Safari for fourth grade students from across the Rapid City area. Although Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary and Red Cloud Elementary are over 100 miles away on the Pine Ridge Reservation, the schools have built a strong relationship with the symphony so that students from the reservation can attend.

More than 30 fourth graders hopped off the bus early on the morning of Wednesday, January 8 and eagerly walked right onto another—this one destined to take them to the Fine Arts Theater at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

After hours of travel on the long road from Pine Ridge to Rapid City, they were greeted by a friend of Red Cloud and member of the orchestra. Christine Leichtnam, a bass clarinetist with the symphony, ushered the students into the theater, where they joined over a thousand fourth grade students from across the city to experience the deep and moving sounds of a full symphony orchestra.

“This experience with the orchestra truly allowed the students’ imaginations to be expanded,” says Fr. Peter. “To witness the musicians’ God-given talent invites us all to imagine our own talent and potential for creating beauty in the world. It was a very enriching day.”

All Content, ©Red Cloud Indian School, 2014