Stories

Third Graders Shine Their Light with the Help of the SLSO

By Eric Dundon

The auditorium at Mullanphy Elementary School in St. Louis’ Shaw neighborhood might have been dim on November 18, but that didn’t stop the sun from shining brightly. That’s because the school’s third grade students presented a light-filled musical program—a world premiere, in fact—about the sun, with help from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL).

“Hello There, Sunshine” celebrated everything about Earth’s nearest star—it’s life-giving light, its warmth, and its innate ability to inspire joy and happiness within each of us. And the students created the entire production.

The performance was the culmination of another year of the SLSO’s Arts Intensive program in collaboration with OTSL. Arts Intensives date to fall 2021 and empower students to explore creativity and storytelling by providing tools to develop an original musical production, complete with dialogue, a set, and at Mullanphy, a video component.

The students worked with Kevin Nicoletti, OTSL’s Teaching Artist, weekly since the start of the school year to develop a story, lyrics, and melodies for the songs. The SLSO then had the melodies arranged for a quartet of musicians, including violinist Andrea Jarrett, flutist Jennifer Nitchman, bassoonist Andrew Gott, and horn player Julie Thayer. The quartet, along with Nicoletti on piano, then played alongside the third grade classes in a dress rehearsal and premiere performance.

Student read Tabitha Brown’s book, Hello There, Sunshine, which served as inspiration for a ten-number performance. Jennifer Doermer, Mullanphy Elementary’s music teacher, led the performance.  

Previous arts intensive collaborations have taken place at Sumner High School (St. Louis Public Schools), Normandy Schools Collaborative, Jennings Jr. High and Jennings High School, Grand Center Arts Academy, and Griffith Intermediate (Ferguson-Florissant School District). The program is by invitation and fits into the SLSO’s educational mission to inspire students to get involved, and stay involved, in music.

Photos by Brendan Batchelor.

SLSO musicians joined the students for the dress rehearsal and performance.
Mullanphy Elementary third graders ready their sun props for the first song, “I Love the Sun.”
Violinist Andrea Jarrett and horn player Julie Thayer accompany the group during “I’m Going to Find the Sun Today.”
Jennifer Doermer led the students through the music and speaking parts of the production. The speaking parts were done in English, Spanish, and Swahili.
The colorful background featured work by students at the school, and was put together by volunteers.
Kevin Nicoletti, Teaching Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, readies his music to accompany the performance.
Ten numbers were part of the musical production.
Parents and other supporters gathered for the world premiere performance of “Hello There, Sunshine” at Mullanphy Elementary School on November 18.
Associate Principal Bassoonist Andrew Gott waves to the audience after being introduced.
Jennifer Doermer, Mullanphy Elementary School music teacher, appears in front of the camera for an interview about the production.
Students in the fourth grade at Mullanphy Elementary School gathered in the school’s auditorium to watch the performance.
The score for Hello There Sunshine sits on a music stand before the world premiere performance on November 18.

Eric Dundon is the SLSO’s Public Relations Director.

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