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The Ralph Wilder Orchestra

Testimonial

Ralph and his orchestra were fabulous! Ralph was very pleasant to work with since the very first day I met him. I can't tell you how happy I am that I had your orchestra. It was worth every penny.

Artist Discipline: Music

Artist Bio

The Ralph Wilder Orchestra, led by Ralph Wilder, prides itself on its wide musical variety, professionalism, and musicianship. Members of the band have extensive teaching experience at all grade levels including elementary school through the college level, and have all worked in music education as private instructors, band, marching band, orchestra, and jazz band directors.

Artist Statement

When I first began performing for Urban Gateways about 18 years ago as a member of another Touring Program. I noticed that most of the programs were about ethnic culture — Latin American dancing, music, percussion, African dance, music, clothing, Eastern European music and dance — and I realized that at that time there was very little, if any, programming about American culture of any kind.

I then created the idea of teaching American history from the early 1900's to the present through the usage of popular music. Realizing that popular music is a clear barometer of current culture, and the changes in musical styles, as reflected in the changes in American life during the past 100 years, is a fascinating and educational method of better knowing who we are — culturally, racially, and morally during this past century.

Educational Philosophy

As a former music teacher at all levels including Elementary, Junior High, High School and College, I feel I have excellent experience in determining the many various areas of a child's interests, including his ability to absorb material, maintain attention span, while providing education mixed with entertainment. Our performance spans American popular music from 1912 to 2008 and creates intense interest and fun for the students as we come closer to the music of their time. Closing the performance by having several students "rap" with us, followed by inviting a teacher to do the same, creates a lasting impression and succeeds in providing a huge amount of educational material. Performances are fast paced and carefully honed, which allows the learning to be both fun and memorable.