dann russo: Blog

Dann Russo’s workshop was well-received by me and all of the participants in the room.  In a format more like an intimate “unplugged” setting than a simple pedagogical workshop, Dann and his acoustic guitar transformed tales from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Homer’s Odyssey into lush harmonies with gorgeous lyrics.  His voice soared like Daedalus and Icarus over the melodies that he composed over the themes from Greek and Latin myths, tackling a range of styles from ballad to blues (and everything in between). 

Dann explained how important it was for his students...to appreciate art in all of its forms, and to express themselves creatively.  Drawing on their own creative strengths, Dann asks his students to produce works of art (music, poetry, creative writing, drawing, painting) as presentations to the class.  His results, as he described, are far better than any PowerPoint could ever be.