CONTACT US
2666 Riva RoadSuite 150
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-222-7949
About the Artist:
Melissa Foss is an instrument-maker, musician, composer, and educator. She received much of her training over 12 years in Argentina, where she completed her master’s degree in Musical Creation, New Technologies and Traditional Arts at the National University of Argentina. While specializing in the recreation of Pre-Columbian sound artifacts of the Americas and electroacoustic composition, she developed her career as a teaching artist and performer. For seven years she was a soloist, touring in Argentina and around the world, with the Orchestra of Indigenous Instruments and New Technologies.
Now based in Baltimore, she is creating interdisciplinary projects that explore Pre-Columbian musical instruments and their applications in contemporary art, music, and education. She has created and delivered innovative programming with groups of all ages in school settings, museums, universities, and cultural centers in the US and abroad.
Category:
Type of Programs Offered
Description:
Assembly -
This musical storytelling performance takes us to the faraway lands of Halconcito Pichón or Little Hawk, who is a bird who can’t yet fly because she doesn’t know her song. For her wings to take flight, she must go off on a magic quest to find it! She’ll need to call on assistance from different helpers to find the way and it won’t be easy, but Halconcito Pichón is determined to take to the skies.
In this performance students go on a journey through sound, music, and storytelling where they’re introduced to different instruments that have shaped the sonic landscape of the Americas, from rare Pre-Colonial ceramic instruments made thousands of years ago, to folk instruments that continue to shape Latin American music to this day. As they take in the melodies of flutes, rattles, noise generators, hand drum, and charango, they participate in a mythical tale of challenge and persistence that ultimately leads to triumph and celebration.
Assembly can be delivered in English and/or Spanish.
Appropriate Grade Levels:
Curriculum Connections
ELA, Literacy, STEAM, Social Studies, History, Geography, Creative Writing, Math, Character Development, World Culture
Specialties: ELL, Special Education
*Our team is well versed in teaching EVERY age group and will custom design your program to meet your goals. We can weave the power of creative writing, dance, theatre, visual arts, music, and storytelling together with ANY school subject to inspire learning. All of our programs are available In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid.
This program is offered as:
Description:
Residency -
Musical instruments have helped us to communicate and express ourselves since the dawn of humanity. Learning to build and play our own musical instruments slows us down, connects us to our bodies and to our self-expression, and helps us to rediscover a sense of wonder, curiosity, and play.
In these residencies students are introduced to musical instruments that have been made across Central and South America for thousands of years and learn through a step-by-step process with simple pottery techniques to construct their own one-of-a-kind rattles or flutes with clay. Together we navigate between the functional and visual aspects of Pre-Columbian instrument-making, exploring dimensions of sound like timbre, pitch and volume, while developing personal story through design and decoration. Throughout the process experimentation, individual expression, creative decision making, and problem solving are emphasized.
Residency can be delivered in English and/or Spanish
Grades 4th - 8th: Rattle building
Grades 7th - 12th: Flute building
Required:
Minimum of 5 sessions x 45 min each
Additional Costs for Supplies:
$50-200 - Cost of clay (depends on number of students)
$0 – Tools are provided by TA
$100-200 – Cost of firing if there is no kiln onsite (depends on number of instruments)
$TBC – Delivery of fired instruments if firing is managed by TA
Curriculum Connections
ELA, Literacy, STEAM, Social Studies, History, Geography, Creative Writing, Math, Character Development, World Culture
Specialties: ELL, Special Education
*Our team is well versed in teaching EVERY age group and will custom design your program to meet your goals. We can weave the power of creative writing, dance, theatre, visual arts, music, and storytelling together with ANY school subject to inspire learning. All of our programs are available In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid.
This program is offered as:
Description:
In this residency we take a journey back in time through the Ocarina, a type of ceramic flute that has been made across Central and South America for thousands of years. The unique sounds of this instrument awaken the memory of our common ancestry, recalling the songs of the birds and animals that inhabit our most sacred natural landscapes.
Throughout this residency students are introduced to different instruments of the ancient Americas: multiple flutes, whistling bottles and noise generators, and learn about the Ocarina, a popular and widely known instrument with great cultural and historical significance. We delve into the functional and visual aspects of Pre-Columbian instrument-making, exploring dimensions of sound like timbre, pitch and volume, and analyzing the ways that culture and personal story are developed in design and decoration. Through structured group exercises, students experiment with sound and movement, and explore different sources of inspiration and ways of making music with an instrument that is fun and easy to play.
Residency can be delivered in English and/or Spanish
Required:
Minimum of 3 sessions x 45 min each
$0 – Set of teaching ocarinas provided by TA
Curriculum Connections
ELA, Literacy, STEAM, Social Studies, History, Geography, Creative Writing, Math, Character Development, World Culture
Specialties: ELL, Special Education
*Our team is well versed in teaching EVERY age group and will custom design your program to meet your goals. We can weave the power of creative writing, dance, theatre, visual arts, music, and storytelling together with ANY school subject to inspire learning. All of our programs are available In-Person, Virtual, or Hybrid.
This program is offered as:
Program Costs:
$650 - $750 single performance; $850 - $1000 back-to-back performances
$875 author’s visit and performance
$200 - $225 single workshops; $950/ for a day of 5 workshops back to back; $4750 for a full week of workshops
Planning and Evaluation Meetings: For Residencies = $200 per meeting (1 artist plus 1 staff member)
Curricula Planning Hours may be added at a rate of $150 per hour if deemed necessary.
Travel requirements or restrictions:
Federal Mileage rates will be included to and from the location each day of the engagement.
Additional Notes:
For those schools that need 100% financial support to afford a program, there are new financial opportunities that we can avail to serve those needs. NO school, NO child should be denied an artist at their school due to funding constraints
Artist's featured work:
Artist's videos:
Copyright 2023 Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. All Rights Reserved.
English 
Spanish