Maria Flurry’s performances as timpanist with Arizona Philharmonic (AZ Phil) and Flagstaff Symphony, and as half of Sticks and Tones with her husband, Henry Flurry, co-founder and Artistic Director of AZ Phil, keep her very involved in the Arizona musical community. In addition to her musical commitments, she’s a teaching artist for AZ Phil and PUSD’s Composition Collaboration Project, preparing to lead a composition program for nine third-grade classes at three Prescott public elementary schools: Lincoln, Taylor Hicks, and Abia Judd.

Teaching Prescott Third Graders to Compose Music
Starting in January 2025, children in these classes will be given a “New Year’s present” of a recorder to keep as their own, provided through contributions from the Acker Trust Grant. Students will be taught the basics of recorder playing, then the Flurrys will introduce the students to elements of music through composing. “Many children aren’t invited to play or create music, and this introduction opens the door to them, especially those who are ‘wired for’ music at a young age,” commented Maria.

Students will be given the task of identifying a feeling and discovering how composers use elements of music as tools to capture that feeling. “I’ll never forget seeing the eager hands shoot up in Lincoln’s classroom last year, sharing ideas on how to recreate a forest scene they’d experienced. Those kids were really engaged!” said Sandy Farrell, AZ Phil volunteer. After the students complete their compositions, the Flurrys will combine them into one orchestral piece to be performed at Arizona Philharmonic’s closing concert on April 27, 2025. The students will take a field trip to hear it and play along live with AZ Phil.

More Hands On
This past summer, Maria traveled to Europe, where she studied castanets and cajón (a box-shaped drum) with Flamenco artists in Sevilla, Spain. She then picked up some tricks for the bodhran (a lap-held, circular frame drum) while visiting musicians (and pubs) in Ireland. These experiences sparked new creativity that she will bring to her manos percussion performance in January.

Manos is Spanish for Hands
On Sunday, January 12, 3:00pm, Maria and the manos percussion group will share these new skills and more at the Ruth Street Theater, located on the Prescott High School grounds. Joining Maria are steel pan virtuoso Bensen Kwan, drum set wizard Joshua Ferrell, special guest Peter Perry, and the NAU Latin percussion group. In addition to the concert, manos percussion will host a fun, interactive presentation on Saturday, January 11, 11:00am as part of Arizona Philharmonic’s Community Lecture Series, followed by a pre-concert talk on Sunday, January 12 at 2:00pm. Tickets and information can be found at AZPhil.org.