Songbirds in the Classroom
Photos from Songbirds sessions with Travis and Rogue Valley students.
Music, storytelling, folk traditions, and creative play — brought to K–3 classrooms, libraries, and community spaces throughout Southern Oregon.
Through the six-week Songbirds program, K–3 students discover the joy of music, storytelling, and creative expression through singing, rhythm, folk traditions, songwriting, and hands-on arts experiences — building confidence, connection, and a lifelong appreciation for the arts under the instruction of program director Travis Puntarelli.
Songbirds emphasizes participation over performance: children learn folk songs as ways of play and connection, discovering music from cultures and traditions around the world through singing games, storytelling, puppetry, and hands-on projects. The program is currently redesigning its six-week structure so that each week builds one continuous story — weaving music, dance, history, and art into a single throughline rather than six standalone lessons.
Figures from the Bardic Arts Impact Report, FY 25–26.
“Travis from Songbirds has brought joy, engagement, rhythm, spoken story and cultural curiosity to my kindergarten classrooms for the past four school years. He is by far one of the main highlights of the well-rounded program we strive to provide to the low-income families of the Phoenix-Talent School District. The children sing and chant his songs far beyond his time in the classroom. By tapping into their musical brains, Travis is deepening their neural pathways while preserving the innocence and developmentally appropriate practices of early childhood education. I am in hopes of our continued collaboration.” — Marla Dentino, Phoenix Elementary School Educator, Two-Way Immersion Program
Photos from Songbirds sessions with Travis and Rogue Valley students.
Songbirds currently visits Phoenix Elementary, Talent Elementary, and Orchard Hill Elementary in the Phoenix-Talent School District each month, along with The Starlight Waldorf School for Children, with outreach underway into Ashland, Medford, and area libraries. The program is exploring expansion into additional grade levels, educator training opportunities, and a portable performance program featuring storytelling, puppetry, costumes, and character-based folk education inspired by traditions from around the world.
To create learning experiences that inspire joy, engagement, rhythm, storytelling, and cultural curiosity in children — using music and folk arts to support healthy development while preserving the wonder, creativity, and playfulness that are essential to childhood.
Partner With Songbirds