Carnegie Hall's Link Up brings free orchestra education to Mansfield third-to-fifth graders

The Renaissance Theatre's main stage will host Carnegie Hall's Link Up program on Thursday, October 15 — free for Richland County third-to-fifth graders, but only for the classrooms that claim a seat before the limited capacity fills.

Two interactive performances, at 9:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., are open to students in grades 3 through 5, and both are free to the students and schools that attend. "Space is limited, with each concert accommodating approximately 1,000 attendees," the Renaissance Theatre said in announcing the program, urging schools and homeschool families to register early.

What the program is

Link Up is a free, yearlong music curriculum for grades 3 through 5 that pairs classroom learning with a culminating interactive concert performed by a professional orchestra. Carnegie Hall lists the Mansfield Symphony and Renaissance Performing Arts Center among its Link Up partners, one of more than 100 partner orchestras worldwide.

Throughout the school year, students sing and play instruments such as recorder or string instruments in class, then perform with the orchestra from their seats at the culminating concert.

The Mansfield Symphony will be joined by PROJECT Trio, a genre-crossing ensemble that blends classical, jazz, hip-hop, funk, and rock and is known for its beatbox flute. The group has a track record of school assemblies, workshops, and master classes.

The event is part of the Renaissance Theatre's Mechanics Bank Education Series, which spans student theatre productions, sensory-friendly performances, youth opera, Teddy Bear Concerts, workshops, Broadway camps, and Mansfield Symphony educational concerts.

A free seat in a tight year

The free program lands in a year when Mansfield City Schools cut operating expenses by nearly $8 million between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years, largely by cutting dozens of jobs, according to the district treasurer.

Cost is not the barrier here. The deciding factor is whether a classroom hears about the event and registers before the roughly 1,000 seats per concert are gone.

How to claim a seat

Advance registration is required through the Renaissance Theatre's ticketing site at rentickets.org or by calling the Renaissance Box Office at 419-522-2726. Questions about the Link Up program can be directed to Renaissance Education Manager Dauphne Maloney at [email protected].

The Renaissance Theatre is located at 138 Park Avenue West, Mansfield, Ohio 44902.

The classrooms that call 419-522-2726 or register at rentickets.org this week are the ones whose kids are in the room on October 15. The ones that wait are the ones left watching from outside.