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This story was corrected on Sept. 23. An explanation follows the story.

Veteran arts educator Karen O. Brown knows how to find a lesson in the smallest of activities. In her more than 15 years of using the arts to teach curriculum, she has turned subject matter into games and has even combined lessons on math and bullying in her “Math Quilts” program.

“We start by designing square designs on a piece of paper and we study symmetry and asymmetry, and then we start studying geometric shapes, and then we put geometric shapes to make a face,” Brown says. “And sometimes if the school would like to add the additional program, I talk to kids about feelings and looking for emotions in people’s faces. It’s a very preliminary anti-bullying technique.”

On Saturday, Brown will be among more than 30 performers participating in an artist showcase and family festival at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown. The Maryland Chapter of Young Audiences/Arts for Learning and Class Acts Arts, local organizations that provide teaching artists and artists in residence to area schools, are the event’s sponsors and the artists performing are members of either organization.

The main purpose of the event is to give school representatives a taste of the programs they can bring to their schools. The organizations act as advocacy groups for the artists, producing catalogues of their programs they send to schools. The diverse acts in the showcase range from Native American storyteller Red Hawk to the Ballet Theatre of Maryland performing excerpts from the new “Alice in Wonderland” show to the theater group Quest’s pieces for the hearing impaired and deaf community. Prices for a program can range from $300 to $1,300.

During the showcase, two stages will be set up, one on BlackRock’s main stage, the other, upstairs. At the end of the day, a Scheduling and Funding Resources workshop will be offered for parent-teacher association (PTA) members and school representatives on how to afford the programs and work with the two organizations.

Brown will not only discuss her programs on Saturday, she also will address the benefits of hiring a teacher who works one-on-one with students.

“It takes a little more funding to bring an artist into each classroom or into select classrooms, and in order to do that, the PTA has to understand the importance of artists working much more closely with their students,” she points out.

As a result of her six years with Class Acts Arts, Brown has been in contact with a wider range of audiences.

“I love the teamwork involved and their level of professionalism,” she says. “They reach out to a lot of area libraries and schools that I wouldn’t normally have access to unless I went knocking on the door. Their brochures go to hundreds of schools.”

Musicians in the showcase include the folk duo Magpie and the a cappella group Snowday. Amanda Aldag started Snowday in 2008, asked by Class Acts founder Busy Graham to create a group and audition in front of children. Snowday’s main program examines the history of vocal music.

“We start with Gregorian chant and then early pieces by Mozart and then go into spirituals and then barber shop and go into do-wop,” Aldag says, adding that the program ends with current trends in vocal techniques. The group is working on producing new shows that focus on an American history of vocal music and world music. On Saturday, Snowday will present an abridged version of the history show and teach the audience some basic voice techniques.

When she performs at schools, Aldag can see the results almost immediately.

“It might be the only exposure to music that the kids get over several weeks. The eyes light up,” she says. “And we have a way for kids to contact us on the website and we get responses from the kids.”

Stacie Sanders Evans, executive director of Young Audiences, says both organizations vet members before adding them to their roster, whether it is assessing how they perform in front of a group, sitting down with school representatives to evaluate shows or attending a teaching program like Young Audience’s Teaching Artist Institute.

“We definitely are seeing the impact, and there’s a lot of academic research that is out there that says kids who actually have more sustained access to high-quality arts education do better in a whole variety of areas,” she says.

Young Audiences began in 1950 under the name the Young Musicians Series.

“[Founder Nina Collier] was concerned about kids having access to — at that time, it was classical musicians — in schools, and back in the 1950s, that was a wild idea,” Evans says. “What happened is over time, there has been increased appreciation for the value that artists can play in developing our youth and educating our youth. We’ve gone from 1950 with 10 concerts, and last year, we had nearly 5,000 programs.”

Currently, Evans says Young Audiences reaches out to 200,000 students across 23 counties in Maryland.

While the two organizations had worked together in previous showcases held by county arts councils, Evans says the showcases were always held on weekdays. By partnering together, the programs could schedule a weekend event that could be attended by those who are typically at work during the week.

As an independent organization, Class Acts Arts provides programs in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Now in its 17th year, Executive Director Joan Burns says Class Acts provides some 2,000 programs. Burns says the collaboration with Young Audiences was a natural fit.

“I’m really looking forward to partnering with Young Audiences because we share so many goals and missions for providing these kind of resources to the community,” Burns says.

Kurtis Donnelly, program director for Young Audiences, handled the organization’s role in the show and says that while many in attendance will be looking for potential talent to bring to their schools, those just looking for a day of showcases need not be discouraged.

“People can plan on who they want to see and if that’s all they want to do, that’s fine,” Donnelly says. “Or they can come and see about 35 ensembles, a day of entertainment.”

tforhecz@gazette.net

The Class Acts Arts and the Maryland Chapter of Young Audiences/ Arts for Learning Artists Showcase and Family Festivals runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Blackrock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown. Registration for the event runs from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Admission is free. For a schedule of performers, visit www.classactsarts.org or www.yamd.org or call 301-528-2260.

Correction: Kurtis Donnelly was identified as the organizer of the event. The event was produced by Class Acts; Donnelly handled Young Audiences’ participation in the show.