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Children’s entertainer set to perform at UTM on April 1


Take a musical trip around the world with Ella Jenkins, an internationally-known children’s entertainer.

Called “the first lady of children’s music” by her admirers, Jenkins has gained knowledge and inspiration by performing and working with children on seven continents for more than 40 years.

Jenkins will present a concert and lecture at 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 1 in the Watkins Auditorium.

This concert is free and open to the public. Area children are specially invited to attend. Jenkins’ performance is held in conjunction with International Week at UTM and is sponsored by the Association for Childhood Education International, the Student Activities Council and the department of educational studies at UTM.

With her ukulele, usually a harmonica, sometimes a guitar, occasionally a piano, and many small percussion instruments, Jenkins takes her listeners on a multilingual, multicultural journey, teaching the art of communication through music and creating music that transcends language and cultural barriers. She shares with children of one culture what she has learned from children of other cultures and encourages active participation using her widely-imitated “call and response” method.

“Today in our neighborhoods, schools and libraries, we meet many kinds of people from many different places,” said Jenkins. “It is never too early to teach children about different ways of speaking and singing, different rhythms and different games. I have been doing this for audiences around the world for 40 years. I still enjoy singing these songs and I hope you will too.”

For more information, contact Dr. Kathy Deen Evans, assistant professor of early childhood education at UT Martin, at (731) 587-7223 or by e-mail at kevans@utm.edu.