Terrance Simien Artist Profile Extended Version | Page 10

 What
 they
 are
 saying
 about
  Creole
 for
 Kidz
 &
 The
 History
 of
 Zydeco

“I've been teaching for 19 years, and I have searched high and low for information on the Acadiana Creoles. My Creole students hunger for information on this, and I have tried in vain to find a substantial enough amount of material to even teach a lesson. I congratulate you on your efforts and want to thank you for helping us to teach our students about their culture.” Liz Simoneaux Dorsey, Lafayette Middle School

“You performed today for Spirit Lake, IA elementary students and you rocked their world! Thanks for bringing great culture to our small town of sameness. We all loved the performance and I had a blast on stage" Angela, Spirit Lake Elementary “Thank you so much for all your work to present this program at COCA and in the St. Louis Community. It was such a pleasure to work with you and the band, and the audience response was unlike anything I’ve seen before. You made such a lasting impression on our children and families.” Jill Gillespie, St. Louis, MO “THANK YOU so much for working with us on getting Terrance and the band in our community for close to a week. It has been the most heartwarming and empowering experience I have seen in my 9 years at Carnegie Hall. Terrance is the only one who has been able to get the students and teachers so involved in a show that they gave him and encore and the school ALLOWED it! The community is buzzing about the shows...they touched the hearts of over 2400 school children in our county. EVERY middle school student was able to have a zydeco experience. " Lynn Creamer, Artist Director, West Virginia “I learned that Zydeco was the music of the Creoles” Curtis Brooks, age 10 New Iberia, LA

“This production was a huge success. The school and the Mayors Office continue to get calls almost
daily from parents and teachers in thanks for the presentation they attended. During each performance the connection between Simien, his band and the teacher/student audience was almost palpable. While having the time of their lives, students and teachers were learning new things in an interactive environment while affirming each other’s diversity. It was beautiful to observe such a positive experience!” Sabrina Beach, Development Director, Epiphany Day School “I think that Terrance's school performance is really a star element of his work. He creates excitement, connects so intentionally all over the hall, and the best part--is the educational/history element. I am so glad that he incorporated a few tidbits in the evening performance about the background of Zydeco, his family history and information about Creole” Tanya Gertz, Dir. Campus, Luther College, Iowa

Reviews from the student audience at Hobe Sound Elementary in Florida:
“Music is great, Zydeco is beter (better)”, Austin “We appreciate all you have done for us and happy that would spend your time teaching us. I hope that you will come back to teach the next generation of students here and they will be as interested and ecxited (excited) as we were!” Rachael “Thanks you for coming to Hobe Sound Elementary. We really enjoyed the great performance. It was like a real concert only with a full house of kids.” Jaren “Thanks for coming to teach us about Zydeco music. I didn’t now (know) anything about Zydeco music or that there was even music named zydeco.” Brianna “Thanks you for giving us the best zydeco experience ever! I REALLY enjoyed it! Devon