Residency Artist - Music

Vicki McCrone

Email: vickimccrone@me.com
Website: www.TheLittleSongs.com

I help early childhood, elementary, and special needs children learn and perform original songs. Through this process, we incorporate Ohio Fine Arts Academic Standards as well as support learning in other disciplines such as science and language arts. Students learn the fundamentals of good singing and get to strum a guitar. They might also learn to "read" from a simple musical score. Those who don't wish to sing can explore the technical side of making and recording music. Other students enjoy the songwriting process, which connects to academic content standards such as language arts (vocabulary, rhyme), math (rhythm, time signatures), music (song structures, performance practices), and history (cultural events influencing music). Current lesson plans, community-based ideas, and student interests can be incorporated into the writing process. For example, at a recent residency, students learned the history of rap, researched the societal influences of certain time periods, and then wrote their own rap pieces. Rule number one, delivering a positive message, was followed. Students then went to a professional recording studio and recorded the rap on CD. The song is now used in other schools, and the students have performed in the community.

Currently, my professional work is two-fold. Stella Productions, continues to expand the Little Songs catalog. The series includes LS Animals, LS Earth, LS Colors, with more to come. Also, I serve as Director of Neighborhood Players, a non-profit organization providing arts programs to disadvantaged schools. Our motto is "the most difficult kids become the greatest champions."

I have been studying, writing, and performing music since childhood. My mother, a professional singer and voice teacher, was my original inspiration. Other inspiration came from growing up in a musical church and school music program where I sang and played piano in choirs and musicals through college. I am tremendously grateful for these opportunities, particularly at a time when we have fewer and fewer arts programs in our schools. I studied classical piano privately, sang in the Blossom Festival Chorus (Summer Cleveland Orchestra Chorus), and have performed my original songs live, here at home and in Europe. I received a B.S. in Business Administration with minors in Arts Management and International Economics from Miami University of Ohio. After years as an account executive for a Fortune 1000 software company, I transitioned to a full-time career in music. Recent awards include: Unisong International Song Contest, Singer Universe Best Vocalist, Noteborn Music Award Winner, Music for Coffee Beings "Best Independent Artist", West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest, Great American Song Contest Winner, CDBaby.com's "Top Seller", ASCAP Writer Award, Women In Music Compilation CD, Top 40 Trax List Chart, and an Adult Contemporary Music Research Recommendation.