[photo credit: The Gamble House]
The August 15 session is the fourth of five free Musical Storytime programs the Pasadena Conservatory of Music and the Gamble House are presenting at the Pasadena landmark this year, held on the third Saturday of each month from May through September. The program is free, and no reservation is required. Families spread blankets under the big oak on the lawn at 4 Westmoreland Place and stay for an hour of family programming that combines a read-aloud with creative movement and a short concert.
The hour runs from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. It is aimed at caregivers and children ages 3 to 9, the Conservatory said. Attendees are invited to bring a blanket and snacks. The program is canceled in rain or when temperatures top 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the Gamble House said.
The featured book is “Together,” written by Mona Damluji and illustrated by Innosanto Nagara. It is a poem about the change that comes when people stop acting alone and start doing things together, according to publisher Seven Stories Press. Damluji is an assistant professor of film and media studies at UC Santa Barbara.
Each month’s title is chosen around seasons, nature and creativity. Earlier sessions this year took up Sandra Boynton’s “Moo, Baa, La La La!” and “Barnyard Dance” in May, Kate Messner’s “Up In the Garden, Down In the Dirt” in June, and Micah Player’s “This Is A Moment” in July.
Rachael Denny, the Conservatory’s Young Musicians Department Chair, leads the series. She has taught classroom music to young children since 1993 and holds Orff Schulwerk certifications from the Orff Institut in Salzburg, Austria, from Cal State Los Angeles and from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.
“Primarily, we’re Orff-based because what you see is this creative movement process,” Denny said of the Young Musicians curriculum.
The setting is the 1908 Gamble House, designed by architects Charles and Henry Greene for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter and Gamble Company. The City of Pasadena owns the house; The Gamble House Conservancy operates it. Musical Storytime is part of a broader expansion of public programming there, and is supported by a grant from the Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts, the Gamble House said.
“We have really increased our public programming to welcome the public in,” Sheryl Scott, director of communications and operations for The Gamble House Conservancy, told the Pasadena Weekly in May.
One session remains after Saturday: September 19, featuring “To See An Owl” by Matthew Cordell.
Free parking is available on Westmoreland Place in labeled spaces directly in front of the house, with additional parking on Orange Grove Boulevard and West Walnut Street. On weekends, visitors may use spaces designated for Westmoreland Academy. Parking is not permitted in the lots north or south of the house or on Arroyo Terrace. Visitors who need accessibility accommodations can reach the Tour and Education Manager at (626) 793-7419. Event details are at gamblehouse.org/mec-events/musicalstorytime, or by phone at (626) 793-3334.
Damluji’s book asks what happens when people stop acting alone. Saturday morning, under the oak, a group of children will try the question out loud.
