Cliburn in the Classroom is an interactive concert experience designed specifically for elementary audiences. We bring our own Steinway baby grand piano into every school, along with a virtuoso pianist to perform impressive music. A teaching-artist leads students through activities and bridges connections between the music and theme of the program.
With Cliburn in the Classroom, instructional time is enhanced, not lost. Our interdisciplinary themes explore the intersection of music and multiple subjects, including math, reading, language arts, social studies, history, and art. When combined with our curriculum guides, they address state and national standards for STEAM education for students in the second through fourth grades.
We take a student-centered approach to music education. All Cliburn in the Classroom programs are crafted through a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lens. Our experiences provide multiple, flexible means of engagement to celebrate the variability in all students, and to allow kids the opportunity to participate in ways that are most meaningful and comfortable for them. We cater to multiple learning styles, utilize movement and peer-building activities, and address social-emotional learning competencies. Our performance length and structure is both attention and sensory friendly. We are also able to offer bilingual (Spanish/English) presentations, so that every child can fully participate. Cliburn in the Classroom is provided without cost to schools and districts in North Texas, to remove financial barriers to access.
Cliburn in the Classroom received a 2024 Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Award for Innovation in Education from D CEO Magazine.
For more information about Cliburn in the Classroom, please contact Nicole Paglialonga at [email protected] or call 817.738.6536.
Our experience with Cliburn in the Classroom has been nothing short of inspiring. My students weren't just in school anymore—they were instantly transported to a new space that ignited their imagination and awoke their sense of wonder. They were captivated by the artistry of the performer, immersed in the related storytelling, and they eagerly and actively participated. After the show, they couldn't stop talking about it.
America’s 250th birthday is in 2026, and every celebration needs good music! In this program of early American music, we look back in time at the early cultural life of our nation and discover the composers who created a uniquely American sound.
Featured Composers: Ruth Crawford Seeger, Amy Beach, Charles Ives, Florence Price, Louis Gottschalk, William Grant Still, and Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Listen to the featured pieces on Spotify
This program explores American history through one of the most quintessentially American musical styles—the rag. We trace its timeline all the way from African American communities and the “King of Ragtime,” Scott Joplin, through rags used in dances and copied in classical pieces, all the way to the pop music
of today.
Featured Composers: Scott Joplin, Julia Niebergall, Nathaniel Dett, Zez Confrey, Felix Arndt, Willie “The Lion” Smith, and John Williams
Listen to the featured pieces on Spotify
You’ve heard of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart—but what happens when composers from other parts of the world bring their own traditions and sounds to classical music? Get ready to row like gondoliers, dance the salsa and conga, and even become part of the Cliburn Kids Banda as we play along with our pianist! We’ll explore music inspired by the places, stories, and rhythms these composers grew up with—because when we listen closely, we discover something about others and about ourselves.
Featured Composers: Gabriela Lena Frank, Manuel Ponce, Johanny Navarro, Teresa Carreño, Hector Villa-Lobos, and Miguel del Aguila
Listen to the featured pieces on Spotify
The familiar Cliburn in the Classroom favorite returns! This numbers-based program utilizes movement and body percussion to get kids calculating and help understand the math behind the music. We explore how meter makes us dance, how everyday objects like waves and rocking chairs move in time, and even discover the rhythm of spoken word!
Featured Composers: Johannes Brahms, Sergei Prokofiev, Florence Price, Bela Bartók, Miguel del Aguila, and Ludwig van Beethoven
Listen to the featured piece on Spotify
Get to know the “middle child” of the string family, the viola, and the music it shares with the piano. Along the way, each piece teaches us something about our world and ourselves in this SEL-centered program. This program is especially great for schools with early Suzuki strings programs!
Featured Composers: J.S. Bach, Andrea Cassarubios, Franz Schubert, Dmitri Shostakovich, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jessie Montgomery, and Cecil Forsyth
Listen to the featured piece on Spotify
Everyone that you know was little once, just like you! In this special program for our friends in kindergarten and 1st grade, we explore two pieces: one written by a boy who lived a long time ago, and another written by a girl that lives today. Seeing the similarities and differences among people of other cultures and times helps us better understand ourselves and our place in the world. This show has a limited availability and is by request only.
Featured Composers: Robert Schumann and Lera Auerbach
Listen to the featured pieces on Spotify
