Music at Kohl Mansion
Bringing World-Class Musicians to Peninsula Schools
Burlingame’s stately Kohl Mansion was built for music. The red brick 1914 Tudor revival is home to Mercy High School, an all-girls Catholic school. In the early 1980s, an English teacher decided to make use of the mansion’s musicality and started a concert series. The concerts became so popular that the nonprofit Music at Kohl Mansion (MAKM) was formed to continue bringing world-class chamber music to the Peninsula.
When professional musicians perform at MAKM’s Sunday evening main stage concerts, they often share their talents in local public schools the next day. Some performers are great at engaging with elementary-aged kids, while others coach up middle and high school musicians. These educational offerings are part of MAKM’s Music in Schools program, introducing students to the transporting possibilities of music.
In 2023, the Community Foundation of San Carlos granted MAKM $2,710 to assist in bringing assemblies to three San Carlos elementary schools: Mariposa, White Oaks, and Brittan Acres. The in-school musical performances introduced a new audience of seven hundred children to concert basics like how to sit, listen, and appreciate what they hear.
MAKM Education and Outreach Coordinator Lauren Estes says, “We expose kids to things they haven’t experienced before, including sitting for a concert. It’s participatory in a way kids may not know if they hadn’t been exposed to it before.”
Bay Area-based Grupo Falso Baiano, a traditional Brazilian choro music group, delighted students and teachers at the San Carlos all-school assemblies. “It was a wonderful way to start our week. The musicians were engaging and knew how to work with a large group of kids as an audience!” shared a 4th-grade teacher at Mariposa Upper Elementary. And a kindergarten teacher at White Oaks Elementary said, “Loved the intro, walking on with the drum beat leading the way. The kids enjoyed the upbeat songs. Especially when it was a recognizable tune!”
The internationally recognized musicians who perform on Kohl Mansion’s main stage visit middle and high school music students and share what living as a professional artist is like. “It’s just an incredible opportunity for students and teachers to connect with the artists who are traveling the world to do their thing,” says Lauren. They perform, speak with the students, and listen to the students play. Main stage artists also lead performance sessions with the Young Chamber Musicians in Residence, an advanced group of youth musicians who study and practice at Kohl Mansion.
The Music in Schools program augments middle and high school music programs with highly skilled music coaches who teach everything from strings, brass, wind, and voice. MAKM provides music enrichment in public schools, supporting music teachers in specialized areas. Coaches can work one-on-one with students or practice with a whole section of the orchestra or band. A huge difference can be made within just an hour of coaching. Learning to hold a violin bow, sing together, and play facing each other dramatically improves the sound being made.
Once a year, MAKM organizes a music teacher appreciation event to collect and distribute donated instruments to the schools. This year, MAKM received 140 instruments and collected some unique ones, like conga drums and bells, for teachers to expand the available instruments at their schools. The event allows music teachers to socialize and grow their support network. MAKM accepts instrument donations all year to help kids find their musical passion.
Outside of the schools, MAKM brings music appreciation into the community through its Family Series on Saturday afternoons at the San Mateo Public Library and Palo Alto City Library. Main stage musicians and professional local ensembles spanning classical chamber music, jazz, and world music create a musical conversation with library audiences. And field trips for kids to hear music inside the mansion are in the works to start back up in Spring 2025.
These concerts train kids to be future music lovers as they get a chance to learn how to be curious concertgoers. MAKM Executive Director Patricia Kristof Moy says, “We support excellence in performance and training of not only future musicians, but also future listeners, future ticket buyers, future supporters of culture at every level.”
Learn more about MAKM concert and music programs on their website and discover ways to hear and appreciate world-class live music around the Peninsula.
$2,710 granted for offering grade-appropriate classical music assemblies at all of the local schools (Fall 2023).