Sean and Shane have thoroughly been enjoying their music classes since I began taking them (Shane since he was in the womb!). So for their joint birthday party we did a music theme. I came across this great Argentinean-born percussionist, Norbert Goldberg that comes to your party location and does a whole music performance to engage and educate your children (and your kids don’t even know they’re learning! That’s the BEST!).
Norbert arrived at our house an unloaded his diverse range of musical instruments, puppets, and toys. It was easy to tell the kids were going to enjoy it. He “called” the children over by starting to play a South American bamboo flute, which intrigued the parents as well as the children. Then over the hour he engaged the children with all the goodies he brought, had a music conga line, made the birthday boys feels extra special, and (my favorite) played the African hand drum (Djembe) whose sound rang throughout our yard.
Some of the more specialized instruments my children and their guests learned about included
- Flexatone- A pitch bending instrument often used for sound effects in movies and cartoons
- Vibraslap- Originally made from the jawbone of a donkey, this instrument makes a long rattling sound when struck
- Nature sounds- Shakers from tropical trees, African pod rattles, Bolivian mountain goat toenails
If my glowing review doesn’t engage you enough, think of his incredible background which includes “performing with Broadway legends such as Chita Rivera, Sandy Duncan, and Tommy tune and has played in numerous Broadway shows including Dancin’, A Chorus Line, Grease and Once On This Island. He has accompanies jazz artists including Cleo Laine, Dewey Redman, Slide Hampton, and composers Lalo Shifrin and Michel Legrand.” All I just listed was pulled from his website www.norbertgoldberg.com where you can check out even MORE information on jingles, film scores, and more that populate his resume. Information on his classes, party options and more can also be found on comendrum.com
This Week’s Giveaway is $50 Towards Any Party (Birthday or Other).
We obviously highly recommend his for children’s birthday parties, but you would do well to have him and his versatile musical ensembles for any engagement.
To Enter: Click here to enter. Enter by this Saturday 10PM EST.
Contest Rules: Must be a Macaroni Kid subscriber and 18 years of age or older to win. Past winners that were no-shows for events are no longer eligible to win. Winners will be selected at random via www.random.org or by Punchtab and notified via email by noon this Sunday. Winner must respond via email to claim the prize within 24 hours of email notification; otherwise an alternate winner will be drawn. Alternate winners will first be drawn from "Extra Entries" submissions (i.e. submit an event for extra entries). Note: Macaroni Kid is not responsible for the delivery delays or failures of the USPS, mailing addresses submitted incorrectly, or other non-Macaroni Kid errors.
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