Kids Tunes Online

We know there are a lot of talented musicians in NC, but have you ever wondered if any of them write children’s music? Well, wonder no more.

In the city of Wilmington live Chuck Agresta and Sarah McAlear – aka Wyckham Hall Music & Publishing.  They have worked together for 6 years and have written over a hundred fifty songs together. Chuck by trade is an, engineer, composer and producer and Sarah is a pre-school and ballet teacher who works with children every day.  In listening to the music on the market, they decided that they try their hand at writing entertaining, educational music not just for the children, but for parents and caregivers to enjoy as well.  Thus, their first children’s CD “Animals” was born.

Said Sarah,” We want to offer high quality, well crafted, fun as well as musical compositions. Music the whole family can enjoy.” And they have done just that.  A collection of 15 animals from around the world come to life as the orchestra plays with a vast array of instruments.

Said Chuck, “In addition to the modern orchestra, we used instruments that we thought would either emulate the specific animal, or used native instruments from the geographical region the particular animal lives. For a child to hear an instrument they have never heard before and have an association with it is very exciting.”

Take for instance the song “Dancing Bear”. Authentic Russian instruments are used. There is tuba, bass, mandolin, balalaika, accordion, as well as wrist bells and various drums. The music plays in varying time signatures giving the feeling of being in the middle of a gypsy caravan.

Other animals use both orchestral and ethnic instrumentation as well: Lion, Tiger, Kangaroo, Elephant, Crocodile, Bee, Snake, and many more.

As well as the CD, they are offering a coloring and lyric book. All of the animal illustrations were drawn by renowned artist Fleetwood Covington from Wilmington, NC. 

Says Sarah, “This is a fun, entertaining and educational coloring book that provides children the opportunity to encounter new animals, and learn each animal’s name and identifying features. We are very excited about children coloring them.” They must be. On the web site they are building a gallery for kids to send in their own scanned coloring sheets and Chuck and Sarah say they will put them online.

The CD and Coloring book should be available at the end of November and an animated DVD as well as a song book for piano and chords for guitar are in production. You can visit their web site at www.kidstunesonline.com or visit Fleetwood Covington at www.fleetwoodcovington.com

Wyckham Hall Music & Publishing (www.wyckhamhall.com) is a music and sound company that serves the film, video, audio and multimedia industries.