Exploring Music, Storytelling, and Poetry
Curricula and Virtual Interactive Performances for All Ages
Curricula and Virtual Interactive Performances for All Ages
Scrag Mountain Music is pleased to offer two special musical programs for educators and youth. These curricula and virtual interactive performance offerings are suitable for cross-content educator teams or as a focus within the music education content area. The materials have been carefully crafted to enhance classroom learning.
How Instruments Tell a Story: Thumbelina
Lesson Plans and Materials for students PreK-grade 5
Dive deep into the exciting world of chamber music with Evan Premo's Thumbelina, a work set to Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale and scored for flutes, clarinets, bassoon, double bass, and singer. Through these fun materials, students will learn about various instruments, musical terms and techniques, and how music can be used to enhance storytelling.
Lesson Plans and Materials for students PreK-grade 5
Dive deep into the exciting world of chamber music with Evan Premo's Thumbelina, a work set to Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale and scored for flutes, clarinets, bassoon, double bass, and singer. Through these fun materials, students will learn about various instruments, musical terms and techniques, and how music can be used to enhance storytelling.
Materials include:
- 3 sets of lesson plans / worksheets (for PreK-K, 1-2, and 3-5) - Audio and video of Evan Premo’s Thumbelina - Supplementary explanatory and engagement videos - The opportunity for students to submit questions to the composer. Material Co-Authors: Evan Premo, Scrag Founder and co-Artistic Director Mary Bonhag, Scrag Founder and co-Artistic Director Elizabeth Carlson, Music Teacher Artists: Mary Bonhag, soprano Catherine Gregory, flutes Paul Wonjin Cho, clarinets Brad Balliett, basson Evan Premo, composer/double bass Cost $50 USD, available to Vermont educators for free |
Intersections of Music and Mindfulness: Rumi Songs
Virtual Interactive Performance for Middle and High School students
In this virtual interactive performance, students will explore how music and poetry can inspire mindfulness through Evan Premo's Rumi Songs, a 5-part song cycle for double bass and soprano set to the poetry of 13th-century Sufi Mystic Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī whose words speak to connections between body, mind, Earth, and spirit. This program, which includes both live and pre-recorded content, introduces a range of musical terms and concepts and the practice of Deep Listening.
Virtual Interactive Performance for Middle and High School students
In this virtual interactive performance, students will explore how music and poetry can inspire mindfulness through Evan Premo's Rumi Songs, a 5-part song cycle for double bass and soprano set to the poetry of 13th-century Sufi Mystic Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī whose words speak to connections between body, mind, Earth, and spirit. This program, which includes both live and pre-recorded content, introduces a range of musical terms and concepts and the practice of Deep Listening.
Program includes:
- One virtual interactive performance with the composer/performers to include both live and pre-recorded content. (Please note: Limited availability. We will do our best to schedule as many requests of groups 15 or more as we can.) Artists: Mary Bonhag, soprano Evan Premo, composer/double bass $300 for interactive session, available to Vermont educators for free |
About Scrag Mountain Music:
Scrag Mountain Music is a 501(c)3 based out of Marshfield, Vermont led by co-Artistic Directors Mary Bonhag (soprano) and Evan Premo (double bass / composer) that offers world-class chamber music to communities throughout Vermont through “pay what you can” public performances, school and community engagement programs, pop-up concerts, and other accessible musical offerings. Scrag Mountain Music’s mission is to connect communities in Vermont to classical music in a powerful way by presenting innovative, interactive, and affordable programs of top-tier chamber music. Six to eight times a season, Scrag invites guest artists to participate in carefully curated week-long artistic residencies in Vermont, comprising rehearsals, community engagement programs, and public performances. This season, during the time of COVID-19, Scrag is pleased to offer a series of digital musical offerings. For details visit
Scrag's Artistic Directors:
Double Bassist / Composer Evan Premo creates heart-centered music that inspires audiences and musicians alike. His music has been commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra, River Town Duo, Owen Dalby, the International Society of Bassists, Diana Gannett, Paul Dwyer, The Pine Mountain Music Festival, Capitol City Concerts, and the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra. Evan is a member of Decoda with which he has performed in residencies around the world including four he led in Abu Dhabi, UAE. As a member of Ensemble Connect, Evan has performed in concerts at Carnegie Hall and participated in residencies in Spain and Germany. As a chamber musician, he has performed at summer music festivals throughout the country and has been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. Evan recently took part in the New Music on the Point summer festival in Leicester, Vermont and is actively involved with the Community Engagement Lab, working with local Vermont students to create new music. Evan resides in Vermont where he is active teaching and performing and is Founder co-Artistic Director of Scrag Mountain Music with his wife, soprano Mary Bonhag. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Beethoven and Banjos, a residency that brings together folk and classical musicians for cross-genre concerts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. evanpremo.com
The “extraordinary” (Classical Voice N. America) soprano Mary Bonhag captivates audiences around the country with her “marvelous versatility” and “supple, expressive” voice (San Antonio News). As a new music specialist, Mary was featured on Resonant Bodies Festival and has sung with 21st Century Consort and San Francisco Contemporary Players. She has premiered or commissioned works by Lembit Beecher, Susan Botti, Evan Premo, Shawn Jaeger, Eliza Brown, Evan Chambers, and C. Curtis Smith. In demand from Carnegie Hall to rustic barns, Mary connects with audiences, drawing them deeply into the music. She frequently performs with Aizuri Quartet, Aeolus Quartet, Decoda, Spektral Quartet and has been featured across the country at chamber music festivals including Cactus Pear (TX), Five Boroughs Festival, Stanford Live, and Yellow Barn. She is co-Artistic Director of Scrag Mountain Music with her husband, composer/double bassist Evan Premo. Mary has presented thought provoking art song recitals at Dartmouth, Smith, Goucher Colleges, and the University of Vermont. She attended SongFest and Tanglewood, where she received the Grace B. Jackson Prize. Mary has been featured on the NPR show Performance Today and appears on Albany Records. marybonhagsoprano.com
Scrag Mountain Music is a 501(c)3 based out of Marshfield, Vermont led by co-Artistic Directors Mary Bonhag (soprano) and Evan Premo (double bass / composer) that offers world-class chamber music to communities throughout Vermont through “pay what you can” public performances, school and community engagement programs, pop-up concerts, and other accessible musical offerings. Scrag Mountain Music’s mission is to connect communities in Vermont to classical music in a powerful way by presenting innovative, interactive, and affordable programs of top-tier chamber music. Six to eight times a season, Scrag invites guest artists to participate in carefully curated week-long artistic residencies in Vermont, comprising rehearsals, community engagement programs, and public performances. This season, during the time of COVID-19, Scrag is pleased to offer a series of digital musical offerings. For details visit
Scrag's Artistic Directors:
Double Bassist / Composer Evan Premo creates heart-centered music that inspires audiences and musicians alike. His music has been commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra, River Town Duo, Owen Dalby, the International Society of Bassists, Diana Gannett, Paul Dwyer, The Pine Mountain Music Festival, Capitol City Concerts, and the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra. Evan is a member of Decoda with which he has performed in residencies around the world including four he led in Abu Dhabi, UAE. As a member of Ensemble Connect, Evan has performed in concerts at Carnegie Hall and participated in residencies in Spain and Germany. As a chamber musician, he has performed at summer music festivals throughout the country and has been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. Evan recently took part in the New Music on the Point summer festival in Leicester, Vermont and is actively involved with the Community Engagement Lab, working with local Vermont students to create new music. Evan resides in Vermont where he is active teaching and performing and is Founder co-Artistic Director of Scrag Mountain Music with his wife, soprano Mary Bonhag. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Beethoven and Banjos, a residency that brings together folk and classical musicians for cross-genre concerts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. evanpremo.com
The “extraordinary” (Classical Voice N. America) soprano Mary Bonhag captivates audiences around the country with her “marvelous versatility” and “supple, expressive” voice (San Antonio News). As a new music specialist, Mary was featured on Resonant Bodies Festival and has sung with 21st Century Consort and San Francisco Contemporary Players. She has premiered or commissioned works by Lembit Beecher, Susan Botti, Evan Premo, Shawn Jaeger, Eliza Brown, Evan Chambers, and C. Curtis Smith. In demand from Carnegie Hall to rustic barns, Mary connects with audiences, drawing them deeply into the music. She frequently performs with Aizuri Quartet, Aeolus Quartet, Decoda, Spektral Quartet and has been featured across the country at chamber music festivals including Cactus Pear (TX), Five Boroughs Festival, Stanford Live, and Yellow Barn. She is co-Artistic Director of Scrag Mountain Music with her husband, composer/double bassist Evan Premo. Mary has presented thought provoking art song recitals at Dartmouth, Smith, Goucher Colleges, and the University of Vermont. She attended SongFest and Tanglewood, where she received the Grace B. Jackson Prize. Mary has been featured on the NPR show Performance Today and appears on Albany Records. marybonhagsoprano.com
These programs are generously supported by the Cummins-Levenstein Charitable Foundation and the Sinex Education Foundation.
Photo: Mary Bonhag and Evan Premo (c) Ember Photog