Doc Possum Solo-Acoustic and/or Band Ensemble Performances
Grade Levels Pre-School – 8th Grade Audiences Limit: 500
Doc Possum Funshine Concert Series offers Inspiring and Engaging performances in a large audience setting featuring popular original Doc Possum compositions and songs by artists who have served as influences and inspirations (Beatles, Elvis Presley, Scooby Doo, etc)
Main objective is to educate, entertain and inspire audiences through engaging performances which are geared towards the multi-class/large audience setting providing a dynamic and energetic “Rock and Roll” concert experience with robust audience interaction and participation throughout.
See objectives page for specifics!
-Introductory song
-Personal Introductions-Who I am, how and why I became a musician. Who are they?
-Song Selections- 2-3 songs from the chosen series with buildup of audience participation through singing, dancing, physical and verbal cues (clap hands, jump up and down, answering questions, etc) and musical performance (small percussion instruments and such).
-Background/supplemental information on featured music series- Example: Story telling using bio info on members of group, fun and interesting educational facts about the artists and/or style of music, read aloud from selected appropriate level texts.
-Song Selections (2-3) based on performance series
- Materials introduction and objective: appropriate level post-performance activities including color sheets, crosswords,
-Closing Song and acknowledgements
Song Selection and materials are dependent on featured musical series which include the following offerings:
Doc Possum- Original compositions from 2004 “Doc Possum “Pouch Music” Release which include but not limited to If I were a Superhero, Morning Sunshine, Best Friend, In Dreams, I Don’t Have A Dog, ABC, Sun, Sun Sun, Boogie Man along with various songs from influential artists and inspirations (Beatles, Elvis, Scooby Doo, etc)
Pouch Music CD Link with Song Previews:
45 minute set-up and 30 minute strike time, min. 6’ x 4’ performance location for solo acoustic performances and 12’ x 10’ for band ensemble performances. Prefer locations that offer best location to engage and interact with audience. Basic power outlet will suffice. Access to school projectors/screens/ “Smart-Board” type media if available.
Schools will be sent digital copies and/or downloadable links to pre-performance materials which include Doc Possum bio and background information on chosen musical series and post-performance activities along with a classroom survey form for teacher to complete in order to best accommodate the specific class needs.
-Post performance materials and follow-up activities include but not limited to color sheets, brain games, as well as student authored lyrical and musical song composition submission opportunities.
-School/Teacher Assessment form to be used for formative/summative purposes by artist.
607-542-5443
Doc Possum Bio
Doc Possum is the musical outlet of popular singer/songwriter David "Doc" Cavallaro who has entertained audiences of young and old alike since 1994 with a diverse musical output that's ranged from grunge rock to his current success in the family/children's music genre.
By day I am a New York State certified Social Studies teacher however songwriting has always been my major driving force for which I have had a small taste of success along the way to keep me motivated and inspired to carry on. Ironic enough, it wasn't until I became a father myself and started writing some "family friendly" tunes that doors opened more so than ever before with the release of my "Pouch Music' CD featuring "songs for the child inside us all!”
2004 Doc Possum "Pouch Music" Release
Who would of thought that from a batch of 10 songs that were rudiment-ally recorded in a 2 day span on my home computer that I would soon be playing for the biggest audiences ever, cashing BMI royalty checks, hearing my songs on major media outlets and eventually sitting in the Viacom offices to discuss possible song placements for their Noggin and Nick networks. I am very thankful for the success I have had and I feel it is my duty to help "pay it forward" and by helping to inspire others to imagine, create and go after their dreams.
The Future is Now!
Performance Development objectives
Education and Cognitive Development
- Students will use rhythm and rhyme to aid memory and phonological development.
- Students will learn lyrics for increased vocabulary and reading comprehension.
- Students will learn about history by listening to various songs from different time periods.
- Students will receive cognitive development with improved listening skills and learning new words and concepts.
Social and Emotional Development
- Students will learn increased cooperation through interaction in a group participation setting.
- Students will gain awareness of their emotions and healthy ways to express their feelings and creativity.
Physical Development
- Students will gain increased body awareness and gain gross motor coordination through participatory musical activities.
- Students will develop fine motor skills coordination through participatory activities which include instrumental and song activities.
Overall Benefits
- Music is typically a very positive experience, and using music while educating children helps facilitate objectives and goals. Music is motivating and may increase attention in children. Music is also a creative experience and stimulates a child's imagination. Many musical activities assist learning objectives, and what is learned through a song or other activity can be generalized to some educational concept.
Advanced Educational Development:
- Students will become aware of diverse cultures, develop curiosity about societies and their art, and will acquire the ability to place music, including music of various cultures of the world, repertoires beyond the area of specialization, and music of their own time, in historical, cultural, and stylistic contexts.
- Students will acquire an understanding of the common elements and organizational patterns of music and their interaction, and the ability to demonstrate this understanding in aural, verbal, and visual analysis.
- Student will demonstrate a working knowledge of appropriate historical and stylistic performance practices.
- Students will work independently and cooperatively on a variety of musical problems by combining their capabilities in performance; aural, verbal, and visual analysis; composition and improvisation; and history and repertoire.
- Students will demonstrate the understanding of basic interrelationships and interdependencies among the various professions and activities that constitute the musical enterprise.
- Students will acquire knowledge and skills sufficient to work as leaders and in collaboration on matters of musical interpretation, including rehearsal and conducting skills as appropriate to the particular music specialization and degree program.
- Students will develop skills to become lifelong learners in the musical art, both as participants and as audience members.
- Students will acquire and demonstrate sufficient understanding of musical forms, processes, and structures to use this knowledge in compositional, performance, scholarly, pedagogical, and historical contexts.
- Students will form and defend value judgments about music.
- Students will acquire experience in a secondary performance area.
- Students will acquire and demonstrate technical skills requisite for artistic self-expression in at least one primary performance area at a level appropriate for the particular music specialization, including an overview understanding of the repertoire in the primary performance area, an ability to perform from a cross-section of that repertoire, and the ability to perform in a variety of solo and ensemble settings.
- Students will acquire a basic overview understanding of how technology serves in the field of music as a whole and a working knowledge of the technological developments.
- Identify the various uses of music in history and the characteristics that make it suitable for the event.
- Identify and explain the stylistic features of a musical work that serve to define its’ aesthetic tradition and its’ historical or cultural context.
- Evaluate a performance, composition, arrangement, or improvisation by comparing it to similar or exemplary models.
- Evaluate a given musical work in terms of its’ aesthetic qualities and explain the musical means it uses to evoke feelings