While the musicians on stage at Easton Elementary played old-time music, emcee Derrick Parker took to the floor and danced, one at a time, with some of the students and teachers.
Seeing a chance for some fun, fourth-grader Romel Sastido ran up front and danced with Parker.
Asked afterward whether he had enjoyed himself, Romel, 9, said, "Yes, a lot."
He did it, he said, "so I can show the kids how to dance to old-school music."
Easton's 620 students got a generous taste of old-time music last week, when Carolina Music Ways: Music Heritage Resource Group put on a show that featured music with a local connection. The idea was to give young people a sense of how rich the musical heritage of this area is, said Joe Daniels, a member of the nonprofit organization's board.
Easton was the final stop on a three-stop tour that had also taken the musicians to Old Richmond and Clemmons elementary schools.
"The kids have loved it," said Elizabeth Carlson, the group's communications director. "We're going to be seeking funding to bring it to more schools next year."
Put on as if it were a radio show, the "Carolina Music Ways Old Timey Radio Show" was done in the auditorium/gym, which opened up on the school's cafeteria. The students sat on the floor while teachers and other adults sat in chairs set up along the sides or at cafeteria tables at the back. Built in 1957, Easton still has windows that open. So, when things heated up, teachers opened windows to let in fresh air.
The show's musical director was local musician Matt Kendrick, who led an old-time string band made up of such local musicians as Joe Robinson, Abdullah Rahman, Wiley Porter, Cle Thompson, Diana Tuffin and Debbie Gitlin.
The show also included performances by the Moravian Brass Quartet, made up of Jim Oates, Steve Anthony, Wayne Fulp and Raymond Weir.
Along with traditional Moravian music, the show included music connected to the Five Royales, Doc Watson, Shirley Caesar, John Coltrane, Blind Boy Fuller and Tommy Jarrell. Songs included "(Hang Down Your Head) Tom Dooley," "Sail Away Ladies" and "Dedicated to the One I Love."
In between numbers, Parker would fill the audience in on some of the history of bluegrass and other music. One of the Moravian songs dates to the time of George Washington, Parker told the students, so a Moravian band could have played it for him when Washington came to Salem in 1791.
It was an attentive audience. Earlier, assistant principal Cyndy Philyaw had said something about how appreciative the students at the school are, and, after they returned to their classrooms, she said, "Did I not tell you how nice our children are?"
Anthony said he hoped the show had inspired the students.
"They have learned that music is not just on a CD -- they can actually make it," he said.
"I think it has been wonderful," Fulp said, "and I have learned a lot as well as the kids."
kunderwood@wsjournal.com
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