Lecture, Seminar, Class, In-Service Titles
Click below to view individual program descriptions:
- A Pirate’s Life — Concert/Lecture
- Concertina Basics — Workshop
- Building Your Maritime Community — Seminar
- Earthways, Waterways — Concert/Lecture
- How to Tell Your Own Great Lakes Story — Workshop
- Instruments and Their Stories — In Service
- Let the Waves Roll High — Concert/Lecture
- Making Scrimshaw — Teacher In-Service, Workshop
- Me for the Inland Lakes — Concert/Lecture
- Rivers — Concert/Lecture
- Tell Your Story In Song — Teacher In-Service, Masters Class
- The Great Lakes Scows of New Zealand — Lecture
- Writing Off the Top of Your Head! — Teacher In-Service, Workshop
A Pirate’s Life — Concert/Lecture
Set sail on a tall ship for a pirate adventure across the seven seas. Go in search of treasure, hear the cannons roar and meet bold buccaneers of days gone by. Find out the real stories of Captain Kidd and Blackbeard. The program is a 45 50 minute concert/lecture that includes songs and stories such as "High Barbaree", "Captain Kidd", "The Pirate" and "15 Men on a Dead Man’s Chest" among many others.
Audience: general, special populations and families; groups of up to 250 students-grades 4-12.
Concertina Basics — Workshop
Join Tom for an intensive 3 1/2 hour Anglo concertina class that will have you playing tunes by the end. Tom teaches concertina at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Topics include scales, tablature, reading notes, playing by ear, melody and chords, simple maintenance, and a look at various styles. You'll even open up a concertina or two to see what's inside and what the difference is between concertina and accordion reeds.
Building Your Maritime Community — Seminar
This program is a 3-hour seminar about identifying, linking, focusing and celebrating your maritime community. Initiate strategies for building maritime awareness and pride through events, seminars, workshops and educational outreach. This seminar was originally developed for the Savannah (Georgia) Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Audience: organizations, municipalities, administrators, planners, undergraduate and graduate student project.
Earthways, Waterways — Concert/Lecture
Learn how to take an active part in the stewardship of the Earth. Visit wetlands and oceans and forests and valleys and mountains and rivers. Meet whales and fish and turtles and bugs and beavers and more. Discover how kids (and adults) can make a difference in their own neighborhoods, the Great Lakes and the world. The program is a 45 50 minute concert/lecture, which includes songs and stories such as "Water", "If You Wanna Build a Boat, You Gotta Plant a Tree", and "Turtle Races Beaver" among many others.
Audience: general, special populations and families; groups of up to 250 students, pre school 12.
Science:
State Goal 12 — Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/space sciences.
State Goal 13 — Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts.
Tell Your Own Great Lakes Story — Teacher In-Service, Masters Class
Learn how to share your Great Lakes stories with others. Communicate your unique adventures and discover common experiences that bring us together in our awareness, enjoyment, and caring of our Lakes. This program was originally developed for the Lifelong Learning Institute at Northern Illinois University.
Audience: general audiences, special populations such as senior citizens; groups of up to 30 students, K-12, Adults.
Science:
State Goal 12 — Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/space sciences.
State Goal 13 — Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts.
Language Arts:
State Goal 1 — Read with understanding and fluency.
State Goal 3 — Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
State Goal 4 – Listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.
State Goal 5 – Use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information.
Fine Arts:
State Goal 26 — Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced.
Instruments from Near and Far — Concert/Lecture
Travel with the Tom and Chris Kastle through song and story, through time and space to experience the "first" rhythm and the possible origins of some the first instruments. Hear and see instruments from near and far covering all of the instrument families. Learn about the principles of sound and about how some instruments are made, a perhaps play an instrument of your very own. The program is a 45‑50 minute concert/ lecture/ demonstration, which includes a large variety of percussion, wind and string instruments.
Audience: general, special populations, families; groups of up to 250 students, grades pre-school – 5.
Science:
State Goal 12 — Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/space sciences.
State Goal 13 — Understand The Relationships Among Science, Technology And Society In Historical And Contemporary Contexts.
Instruments and Their Stories — In-Service
Outcomes:
1) artists will share instrument stories 2) teachers will construct their own individual instrument out of found materials, keeping in mind the choices they made in creating it and how it relates to the story or message they want to give 3) teachers will share the story of their instrument with the rest of the group 4) teachers and artists will play their instruments in ensemble 5) teachers will learn the methodology for doing this workshop with their students.
Audience: teachers or adults in groups of up to 25-30.
Science:
State Goal 12 — Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/space sciences.
State Goal 13 — Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts.
Language Arts:
State Goal 1 — Read with understanding and fluency.
State Goal 3 — Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
State Goal 4 — Listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.
State Goal 5 — Use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information.
Fine Arts:
State Goal 26 — Through Creating And Performing, Understand How Works Of Art Are Produced.
Let the Waves Roll High — Concert/Lecture
"Come hoist the hook and ride the tides". Set sail to a shanty with working sailors Tom and Chris Kastle. Learn about life on board ship in days gone by and how you can join the crew of a Tall Ship today! The program is a 45‑50 minute concert/lecture, which includes songs and stories such as "Let the Waves Roll High", "Haul Away Joe," "John Kanaka" and "Strike the Bell" among many others.
Audience: general, special populations and families; groups of up to 250 students, pre-school-12.
Making Scrimshaw — Teacher In-Service, Workshop
Scrimshaw is the traditional art form of etching line drawings into animal bone, ivory, teeth and horn. This workshop may be used in conjunction with the study of such topics as maritime history and geography, whales, whaling, the oceans, elephants and Africa. This 90-minute teacher in-service will demonstrate how to work with line drawing and etching in an inexpensive ivory-like medium using a simple tool and washable ink for 4th grade and up.
Audience: teachers; adults; grades 4-12.
Language Arts:
State Goal 1 — Read with understanding and fluency.
State Goal 3 — Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
State Goal 4 — Listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.
Fine Arts:
State Goal 26 — Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced.
Science:
State Goal 12 — Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/ space sciences.
State Goal 13 — Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts.
Me for the Inland Lakes — Concert/Lecture
Come experience the life of a sailor aboard a 19th century Great Lakes schooner. Haul up the sail, hoist the anchor and learn about our continuing maritime heritage here, in the Great Lakes, through song and story. Take a fast passage to deliver your cargo, weather a storm, and sing a shanty with real‑life schooner sailors Tom and Chris Kastle. The program is a 45-50 minute concert/lecture that includes songs and stories such as "Me For the Inland Lakes", "Red Iron Ore" "Shine Out Your Light", "Cold Winds" and “Mr. Smith’s Boat”, among many others.
Audience: general, special populations, families; groups of up to 250 students, pre-school—12.
Science:
State Goal 12 — Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/ space sciences.
State Goal 13 — Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts.
Rivers — Concert/Lecture
Take a trip across the Midwest and around the world discovering that, historically, life on the rivers around the world has common threads. People who live along the rivers have special relationships with the water, the boats and with each other. Families are separated and then reunited through their efforts to earn a living. Goods move along the rivers and eventually to the seas and oceans where people share, not just the goods, but also the music and the stories. The program is a 45-50 minute concert/lecture which includes songs and stories such as "Down by the Embarrass", "Dance Boatman Dance", "Shenandoah", and “Jimmy and the Biscuits” among many others.
Audience: general, special populations and families; groups of up to 250 students, pre-school—12
Science:
State Goal 12 — Understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/ space sciences.
State Goal 13 — Understand the relationships among science, technology and society in historical and contemporary contexts.
Tell Your Story in Song — Teacher In- Service, Masters Class
The Kastles will analyze and discuss examples of their songwriting to demonstrate various approaches they have used to tell personal stories, educate, commemorate special events, and write historical ballads. This workshop is applicable to language arts, history and general humanities as well as the arts. Participants may bring ideas of their own or works in progress to discuss during the 90-minute workshop.
Outcomes:
1) to present various techniques for presenting a topic in song 2) to apply those techniques to an individual writing project or classroom situations
Audience: groups of up to 25-30 teachers, adults
Language Arts:
State Goal 1 — Read with understanding and fluency.
State Goal 3 — Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
State Goal 4 — Listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.
State Goal 5 — Use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information.
Fine Arts:
State Goal 26 — Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are produced.
The Great Lakes Scows of New Zealand — Lecture
Travel across the world to sail aboard a Great Lakes scow, a type of wooden working vessel that disappeared on the Great Lakes but still exists in New Zealand today. Visit the replica scow Ted Ashby at the National Maritime Museum in Auckland and the “Wackiest Ship in the Army” in Picton. The lecture draws on music and archival images as well.
Audience: General.
Writing Off the Top of Your Head! — Teacher In-Service, Workshop
Learn techniques to overcome writer's block, improvise, and how to improve your performance and communication skills. Write, arrange, rehearse and perform a short song in just 90 minutes! Every participant will get to take home an original song modeled on a traditional sea shantey.
Objectives:
1) to increase improvisational skills 2) to write a "rough draft" quickly 3) to brainstorm effectively in a small group structure 4) to review the basics of performance 5) to gain confidence in performing new material for the first time.
Audience: groups of up to 25-30 teachers, adults.
Language Arts:
State Goal 1 — Read with understanding and fluency.
State Goal 3 — Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
State Goal 4 — Listen and speak effectively in a variety of situations.
Fine Arts:
State Goal 26 — Through Creating And Performing, Understand How Works Of Art Are Produced.
