A musical ensemble made up of children between the second and ninth grade has amazed many people online with their amazing Led Zeppelin cover in their xylophones!
These are the kids who belonged to the Louisville Leopard Percussionists and they are quite incredible mini-musicians!
This non-profit organization headed and founded by Diane Downs, an elementary school teacher, is around to give children a chance to follow their musical passions outside their classrooms. But, this organization is not just any club. Honing the kids and helping them improve their musical talents is something that this non-profit takes seriously.
Everything began back in 1993 when Downs came across old instruments that were left in an old storage closet.
The idea of forming her own ensemble came to mind and with these old sets of instruments, Downs formed her first group of musicians and called them the Fabulous Leopard Percussionists.
A decade after she created her first ensemble, Downs decided to reach out to more children who were passionate about music but are not able to learn and practice due to a lack of opportunities in their schools. She founded the Louisville Leopard Percussionists and widened her search for her next students.
The program was definitely a huge success!
Currently, the organization has various students whose ages range from the second and ninth grade, hailing from 49 different schools in the area. Not all of them have prior experience with instruments because the organization welcomes everyone who is interested in learning musical instruments, with or without any experience playing them.
The program offers lessons to students who are classified into four groups based on their ages. Everyone is required to go through a summer camp before actually attending any lessons.
In the said summer camp, students are introduced to various percussion instruments and are taught by talented and seasoned instructors. The program intends on making future musicians out of their students.
The kids in this large ensemble are so talented that they even go to other states such as Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, and Georgia just to perform. In fact, the students have gotten quite the attention and were once featured on HBO special entitled The Leopards Take Manhattan: The Little Band That Roared.
These students are tremendously passionate and totally deserve to get a shot at reaching for their dreams in music. Thank heavens there are organizations such as the Louisville Leopards Percussionists that allow children to have a genuine platform to enhance their musical talents.
School is not fun if children are only focused on studying and lessons! Sometimes, what makes school life even more exciting are the other things that kids can participate in, just like joining music clubs and having music lessons and practice after class. Unfortunately, not all schools offer clubs and organizations for kids to join in, most likely due to budget issues.
This is why the venue that the non-profit created for these kids to explore their passions is definitely a much-needed response and one that absolutely deserves to be applauded.
Are you excited to see how these little percussionists perform? Watch the video below and prepare to be amazed by this Led Zeppelin inspired number played on the xylophone!
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