PROGRAMS AVAILABLE IN AND AROUND MICHIGAN
School/Library/Family Programs
Lower Elementary, Preschool and Mixed Family Ages:
"THE CAT, THE RATS, AND THE PIPER'S BRITCHES"
2008/2009 PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Anne and Rob have created entertaining educational programs about the music and culture of the Renaissance, from the years approximately 1550 to 1650. The programs are targeted to specific age groups. Each program features performances of music from the time of William Shakespeare on appropriate instruments including recorders, Renaissance guitar, dulcimer, flutes, and a variety of percussion instruments. Assembly programs are approximately 45-minutes in length. Curriculum areas: History, Music, English and Social Studies.
Anne and Rob Burns each received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Early Music from Oakland University. They specialize in the music of the Renaissance and the Colonial era as the duo A Reasonable Facsimile. They have received wide acclaim for their unique school programs and have released an album and song booklet for young people, The Merry Pranks of Robin Goodfellow.
For Lower Elementary, Preschool and Mixed Family Ages
“THE CAT, THE RATS AND THE PIPER’S BRITCHES”
A Musical For Lower Elementary, Preschool and Mixed Family Ages
They came for the cheese but they stayed for the music!
Be a part of the action in “THE CAT, THE RATS AND THE PIPER’S BRITCHES.” Anne & Rob Burns as A Reasonable Facsimile use the fun medium of a play to introduce family audiences to old music and instruments. Anne and Rob provide their own entertaining take on a 1562 poem by John Heywood, using recorders, gittern, dulcimer, percussion and more to round out the story. The couple have often been called “pied pipers:” you and your rug-rats will readily follow them in this merry tale!
"The Cat, the Rats and the Piper's Britches" Study Guide .pdf
"The Cat, the Rats and the Piper's Britches" Poster .pdf (5.5 MB)
"The Cat, the Rats and the Piper's Britches" Poster .pdf (96 KB)
A Concert of Fun Old Music and Instruments For Children and Families
All ages will be tickled and amazed by the unique instruments and songs played and sung by town musicians, “Nan and Robin Piper” (Anne and Rob Burns) in “Strike It Up, Pipers!.” These costumed performers bring history alive with instruments from the Renaissance: shawms, drums, crumhorns, bagpipes, recorders, lutes and more.
For Upper Elementary Ages - Teens
“RENAISSANCE REVELS”
For Upper Elementary through High School Ages
Celebrate the Renaissance! Rob and Anne present musical selections representing special events that would have taken place in 16th century England and Europe—harvest festivals, trade fairs, coronations, weddings, royal processions, etc. Anne and Rob play lively tunes on their extensive collection of replicas of Renaissance instruments, and relate the music to the culture of the people who lived in Shakespeare’s time. “Renaissance Revels” brings history alive for all students (especially those studying the Middle Ages and Renaissance) and provides background to Shakespeare’s plays.
For Upper Elementary Ages - Teens
"MUSIC OF COLONIAL TIMES" brings to life the early settlements in the Great Lakes and Canada through music and stories.Music animates the historical record, bringing social life and history into the realm of student experience in a way the written word cannot. The music, from the late 16th century to the early 18th century, is of the sort known to the inhabitants of the New World. The selections feature lively music for the common man—dance music, song tunes, marches. Each program features performances of music on appropriate instruments including period style recorder, flute, viola da gamba, guitar, fife and drum. With these programs, first developed for the Detroit's 300th anniversary in 2001, A Reasonable Facsimile hopes to enhance and encourage the study of local history by young audiences.