Hip-hip duo’s Creating a Joyful Noize program at the heart of instructional materials

We hope you are having a great year so far! The Center for the Performing Arts invites you to consider three unique opportunities for your learners. Multimedia creative and hip-hop duo Soul Science Lab presents a way for you and your students to take a deep dive into its process of creating uplifting, educational, inspirational messages through hip-hop songwriting.

The three-part program consists of a screening of Soul Science Lab’s documentary film Creating Make a Joyful Noize, followed by a question-and-answer session; songwriting and music production curriculum; and an in-person School-Time Matinee event.

Online film screening and Q&A

At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, the center will host a free virtual screening and Q&A of the Soul Science Lab documentary Creating Make a Joyful Noize. The screening is a collaboration between Soul Science Lab and Center for the Performing Arts. The event will be followed by a Q&A with the duo—Chen Lo and Asante Amin— who will answer your questions in real time.

Creating Make a Joyful Noize is a short documentary that blends music, spoken-word interviews, and dance to capture the visceral, contagious, and unapologetic energy of Black joy. The duo travels to Brooklyn; New Orleans; and Accra, Ghana, to present the majesty of Black joy as a healing force for transformation. Lo (a 2002 Penn State grad) and Amin will lead you on a journey of spirit, pain, resistance, and self-discovery as they provide an all-access look into the creation of their visual album Make a Joyful Noize.

This film was commissioned by Carnegie Hall as part of its 125 Commission Project. 

Workbook and video instructional materials

The Center for the Performing Arts has purchased ten licenses for curriculum that takes you deep into Soul Science Lab’s creative process. With the Make a Joyful Noize learning experience, Lo and Amin give students a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of their musical world. The curriculum includes a workbook and ten video tutorials that:

• use songs from Make a Joyful Noize to teach songwriting and music production skills;
• explore themes of identity, culture, joy, empathy, resilience, and collaboration;
• use online audio production tools by Soundtrap.

The Make a Joyful Noize Workbook is a companion to the video curriculum and lessons. It includes worksheets, activities, and templates that align with curriculum that offers educators tools for easy facilitation. Similarly, it provides aspiring artists with step-by-step instructions and guided support to successfully learn the foundational songwriting and music production techniques outlined in video tutorials.

The Make a Joyful Noize music production and songwriting course was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and produced by Soul Science Lab.

The curriculum will be available to you for one year from the time you first access it.

If you are interested in obtaining one of the ten available licenses for this curriculum, please email Len Codispot-Anderson either in video or written format with a message telling us how you’d like to use the program in your learning environment. Please send your message by Tuesday, November 1, to be considered.

Watch a trailer highlighting the Make a Joyful Noize curriculum.

School-Time Matinee in Eisenhower Auditorium

Soul Science Lab will present its multimedia performance of Make a Joyful Noize at an in-person School-Time Matinee at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 23, in Eisenhower Auditorium. Corresponding curricular materials will be provided to groups that attend, including suggestions for pre-and post-visit in-class activities. Visit School-Time Matinee for information about academic standards.

Tickets for the matinee are $8 per learner, with one free ticket for every twenty tickets purchased. Contact Len Codispot-Anderson to make reservations.

The Center for the Performing Arts remains committed to providing our educational community with a range of opportunities to suit your curricular needs. We would love to hear what you’re studying, what you’re having your students think about, and the most relevant topics you’d like to explore through the arts. The Soul Science Lab opportunities are one way we hope to partner with you.

Sending warm wishes for an incredible year of learning, growing, and discovering,

Your Center for the Performing Arts Education Team

Chad and Laura Mitchell sponsor the School-Time Matinee. Meghan R. Mason Program Endowment and McQuaide Blasko Endowment provide support.

Center for the Performing Arts
The Pennsylvania State University
Eisenhower Auditorium
University Park  PA  16802

814-863-0255  |  cfpa@psu.edu

Center for the Performing Arts | artstix@psu.edu

The Pennsylvania State University Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park PA 16802

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