Composer Rob Kapilow spent at inspirational three days at Foote this week as the inaugural guest of the Ellie Warburg Class of 1945 Visiting Artist Program.

At assemblies for each grade, Rob and the Haven String Quartet performed Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" and broke it down line-by-line to examine what makes it great. A few lucky students even got the chance to guest conduct!

At an evening concert for the Foote community, the ensemble performed Rob's original composition "And Furthermore They Bite," which incorporates animal-themed poems that students had read in class. In attendance were Ellie Warburg's husband, George, and other family members and classmates.
 

In music classes, Rob engaged students in a collaborative and energetic exercise called "The Music of Art," in which students used a painting as inspiration to create an original piece of vocal music.



Based on the same painting -  John Singleton Copley's "The Rescue" - three sections of third grade came up with different words and sound effects to create three distinct compositions. (Click below to watch). Rob's overarching message to students: "You are all composers."