Rachel Sumner

You can elect to have me perform a mixture of fun music or work with a special theme. Here are just a few special themes:
• Holidays: Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Patriotic
• Catch the Reading Bug (I encourage children to read and talk about creative writing.)
• Summer Reading Concerts (I will work in the summer theme)
• All Around The World (Learn works and sing songs in a number of different languages)
• Pre-K Concerts: Circus; Bugs, Bugs, Bugs; Sing Around The Campfire; and more.
• Name That Instrument Family (I bring homemade instruments and talk about the three instrument families)
• Old-time Favorites Concert for Seniors for your assisted living center, nursing home, or independent living facilities.

Here are some descriptions of a typical concert and how I involve the audience:
1. The Bath Time Tango (I often invite a few audience members to put on a shower cap and while the entire audience pretends to scrub and sing along. Depending on the age range, sometimes I teach them to dance tango with a friend.)
2. The Flamingo (a dance)
3. The New Itsy Bitsy Spider (a hip, uptempo song based on the traditional song)
4. Dry Bones (I play percussion with wooden spoons. I bring older children up and teach them to play and invite the audience will walk, march, jump, and dance around)
5. You Brush Your Teeth (I play guitar and involve the audience in pretending to brush their teeth. Sometimes I bring instruments like washboards, tin can guitars, and invite a few people to play them)
6. C-H-I-C-K-E-N ( I put chicken tails on a few audience members and they shake them during a special part of the song. We all spell the word chicken making alphabet shapes with our bodies and then I tell chicken jokes.)
7. Purple Train (We make train whistle sounds and chug.)
8. Join the Parade (The audience will march along.)

I may bring puppets like these to smaller venues:
My hen with her nest, eggs, and a chick. (The children get to play egg shakers.)
My itsy bitsy spider and his water spout. (Everyone sings & I pour water down the spout. Sometimes I have a sunshine and rain cloud helper from the audience.)

Small or larger venue: My three-layer caterpillar puppet.

I work with and for families with infants to older children up to about ages 10-12 in concert situations. I can usually adapt most of my shows on the spot to engage the youngest and oldest children and encourage them to participate. A former big band singer, I also perform concerts for seniors,

Award-winning children's performer Rachel Sumner has created an essential niche in the area of "edutainment." She has gained fans young and old with her lively interactive performances that promote language development, self-esteem, teach sign language, and many other important learning skills.

Rachel performs for festivals, museums, schools, libraries, parties, and special events around the country. In addition to concerts, she presents educational workshops and keynotes that are full of creative ideas, musical activities, and fun for educators, librarians, children and parents. She also has created a special emergent literacy class for preschool children and parents that is offered to libraries in the Nashville area.

She is a trained Teaching Artist/Arts Integration Specialist with:
Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning in the Arts
Disney Musicals in Schools
Tennessee Performing Arts Center Education
Tennessee Arts Commission

Rachel's Recordings:
Seven CDs featuring lively original music and stories
Two lullaby CDs with subliminal heartbeats
Four MP3 singles
They were met with rave reviews.
They garnered numerous regional, national, and international awards.
Join the Parade was hailed as one of the best children's recordings of the year.
Tap Those Toes rose to the #2 top-selling CD on Cdbaby out of all musical genres.
Reviewers suggest Tap Those Toes for children's library collections and multi-cultural programs.

Television and Radio:
Co-produces and hosts a TV show for young children called "My Storytime Place" that airs in Nashville and throughout Middle Tennessee.
Produces and hosts a radio show called "Rachel's Fun Time"
Radio Lollipop features her radio show in 27 children's hospitals around the world.
Her recordings air on children's radio, satellite, and cable stations.

This depends on the size of the venue.

When I play smaller parties or medium-sized venues:
I bring my own sound equipment. The only thing you need to provide is a small table for equipment, a working grounded electrical outlet, and sometimes a grounded extension cord (three prong) if the outlet is far from the performance area. If the party or venue is outside, you need to provide water and a covered area to protect me from the sun or rain. Make a rain plan in advance of the date. Do we move inside? If the show is cancelled due to rain, you are responsible for paying the full fee.

For larger venues:
I will provide a pdf about my sound needs. If the venue is outside, you need to provide water and a covered area to protect me from the sun or rain. Make a rain plan in advance of the date. Do we move inside? If the show is cancelled due to rain, you are responsible for paying the full fee.

Tip for outdoor shows in the summer:
If possible, it is nice for the audience to have a shaded place where they can get out of the sun while watching and participating in my show. This is especially helpful in the south!