The harmony of purpose

Lena Rivkin

My friends are great parents because they let their son skip school. Thursday, October 26th, 2012 was a regular old work or school day for most of Los Angeles, but for the students, teachers, aides, caregivers and families from LACOE Special Education Programs and LAUSD schools, it was Christmas, Hanukkah and everybody’s birthday all rolled into one huge party. And my friends Randy and Charisse make a point of having their 7-year old son, Tyler, volunteer with me.

Suzy Boyett, Program and Events Manager for the Music Center and her extraordinary staff tirelessly produce the Very Special Arts Festival. And it truly is the most exuberant day of the year – not just for the students, but also and especially for the artists and volunteers. The Music Center Education Division comes up with the Festival’s annual theme and each contributing artist develops a workshop around that theme.

This year’s theme was “Harmony”. Other contributing artists create workshops, which explore the concept of harmony with musical, theatrical, dance and even gardening and recycling activities. As a visual artist my job is to develop an art project for the children to construct.

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