Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage

The goals of the Festival are: 1. To feature Pope County as a viable venue for plein air artists because of its variety of landscape including prairie, lakes, agricultural lands, and interesting historical buildings, 2. To offer children an opportunity to learn and paint plein air in their community, 3. To provide the community with a high quality art show and opportunity to purchase art with Pope County sites as subjects, 4. To build an appreciation of plein air painting by exposing community residents to a high quality arts experience that is personally relevant to them.I, and The Copper Street Brass Quintet, will provide an evaluation of the residency in three ways: 1) in-class responses from the students, 2) exit surveys after the evening performance for the audience in attendance, and 3) online surveys for school faculty/staff, parents, students, and community members upon the residency’s culmination. I have worked with The Copper Street Brass Quintet to develop and utilize a feedback survey that we will print (and post online) to measure overall reaction to the project and to solicit ideas for improvement. The Copper Street Brass Quintet stays in the classroom and on stage after each performance and invites conversation from students and/or audience members. This informal audience feedback is an immediate reflection of their effectiveness on stage. This is also an opportunity to hear from parents and receive their perspective on The Copper Street Brass Quintet’s impact on their child. In the context of a short-term, two-day residency, there are several indicators that The Copper Street Brass Quintet will monitor and stay attuned to evaluate the success of the residency. They include: 1. Students who are engaged - asking questions, participating in activities, and volunteering to play. This is a strong indicator that kids are interacting with the material and processing the information in ways that will be retained. 2. Improved instrumental playing - band members will be more in tune, play together better, and use proper warm-ups prior to ensemble playing. 3. Concert attendance and crowd interaction with The Copper Street Brass Quintet at their evening performance.