Tricia Sebastian: News/Press

Teaching a language all kids understand

Music has been called the universal language. Kids will get a chance to experience that when children's entertainer and recording artist Tricia Sebastian presents bilingual concerts at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 25, at the Kohl Children's Museum of Greater Chicago, 2100 Patriot Blvd., Glenview.

Sebastian said her songs will be "heavy on the Spanish, but really easy to understand. I'll teach [the children] some short phrases that they can sing with me." The kids will also have a chance to dance during this interactive performance.
» Click to enlarge image
Children's entertainer and recording artist Tricia Sebastian will present bilingual concerts at the Kohl Children's Museum of Greater Chicago.

"I know a whole repertoire of traditional tunes but also I write a lot of my own music," reported Sebastian, who is currently recording a CD of original music for children.

Sebastian was groomed for her career at an early age. "I grew up in South Texas," she related. "English and Spanish are mixed as a culture. We liked to have parties where there was someone in the background playing guitar. This is my way of bringing that to the kids here in Chicago. It helps them appreciate diverse cultures."

The concert is free with museum admission.

For details, call (847) 832-6600.

Tricia Sebastian

The lowdown: Hailing from Corpus Christi, Texas, Sebastian directs the Coro de Las Americas children's choir at the Old Town. She also teaches music at Chicago's Cleveland Elementary School to children in grades K-3, as part of Ravinia's "Music Discovery," a community outreach program.

Not kidding: Sebastian honed her chops in folk styles -- including huapango, bolero, ranchera and polka -- traveling and playing in Mexico and Spain.

Why we like her: Sebastian's playful, robust soprano could spark a Tex-Mex campfire; her CD "Canta Comingo" crackles with classical guitar and hand percussion. Plus her longest song is about 2 1/2 minutes -- perfect for tot attention spans. (Expect a new CD this fall.)

Next gig: 10:30 a.m. April 26, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. $5; 773-728-6000. Sebastian also plays 6:30 p.m. April 30 at the Mount Prospect Public Library, 10 S. Emerson St., Mount Prospect. Free; 847-253-5675.

Info: www.triciasebastian.com

Grade: B+. So good you might indulge in Sebastian's sunny cancions while your kids nap.

"Singing is not about yelling"
Having been an artsy-fartsy kid myself, I'm a big one for arts education in the schools. So I get invited sometimes to check out programs, like the Franklin Fine Arts magnet school and the Ravinia-sponsored Music Discovery Program.

Yesterday, I went to Cleveland Elementary, on the North Side, to visit Virginia Oviedo's 2nd grade class, where musician Tricia Sebastian has been teaching the kids all kinds of cool stuff using songs and instruments from around the world.

It's the sort of thing that sounds ridiculously PC and silly when described on paper -- yes, they learned a song in the Miriam Mir language from the Torres Strait Islands and a dance that celebrates Australian Harmony Day -- but is actually totally inspiring and cool in practice.

The kids, almost all of whom are Latino, were dressed in their quasi-uniforms of white shirts and navy blue pants. When I arrived, the kids were sort of squirmy and whiny in the way of seven year olds around the world. (News flash: little girls still make those foldy paper fortune teller things.) But when Ms. Tricia arrived and began to tune her guitar, they got impressively quiet.

And, when they started singing, it was amazing to see how the kids had total command of lyrics and hand movements that they'd learned months ago. Kids who might, in the context of a math class or a reading lesson, be convinced that they're not smart or can't learn, were busting out with total confidence and joy.

I'm a total sucker for this sort of thing, I know, but, as the kids were busy choreographing dance steps to a Brazilian song, I was thinking that maybe this is precisely the sort of stuff we shouldn't be eliminating.

If you haven't already seen it, check out this scary New York Times story about how schools are killing everything other than reading and math in order to keep up with No Child Left Behind requirements.

Where's the special interest teach-them-Miriam-Mir lobby when you really need it?

Independent Women Make Great Kids' Music

Chicago, with its vast array of talent and diversity, is becoming known in the music industry as a hot spot for outstanding children's music artists and producers. Some names are familiar--Ella Jenkins ("the first lady of children's folk song"), Jim Gill, Ralph Covert and Dave Rudolph, to name just a few. I'm sure you notice that, except for Ella, the majority of the children's music artists are male. The good news is that Chicago is home to quite a few very talented female performing and recording artists who are making great music for children and families to enjoy together. This month, I share some of my favorite independent female children's music artists in the hope that you will support them so they can continue to produce music for our children to enjoy. In that vein, I want to remind you that every time we burn a CD instead of buying one, we are taking money out of the pockets of these artists who not only rely on this for income but also need it to cover their costs so they can produce more great music for us.

Canta Conmigo, by Tricia Sebastian, self-produced, ages 2-6; www.cdbaby.com/cd/tricia. In addition to releasing her very fine first bilingual children's recording, Tricia Sebastian is busy working with children in various musical outreach programs including Ravinia and the West Side Boys and Girls Club. Sebastian, originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, currently teaches Bilingual Wiggleworms at the Old Town School of Folk Music, conducts two bilingual children's choirs called Coro de las Americas and performs locally with her band Gropo Botanica. Her children's CD, "Canta Conmigo," features a bunch of great bilingual songs, Spanish-only songs and one of my favorite (English only) preschool songs "Hurry Hurry (Drive the Fire Truck)." It is obvious that Sebastian spends a great deal of time with children--her songs are child-centered and full of fun. Other classics include "El Chocolate," "De Colores" and "Venga a Ver Mi Granja." Tricia's CD is available locally at Old Town School of Folk Music www.cdbaby.com.