Purly Gates is a freelance musician and educator based in Driftwood, TX.
Over the past four decades she has performed in pre-schools, libraries,
camps and elementary schools across the US, from NH to Hawaii, and on a National Endowment for the Arts-funded residency in Micronesia.
She has also worked as a pK and 3rd grade classroom teacher, K-8 music specialist and visiting—or residency—artist in New England and the southwest.
Purly holds a B.A. in Art and was certified as
a K-6 classroom teacher. A talented multi-instrumentalist and singer/
song-writer, Ms. Gates brings to her work decades of experience, enthusiasm, creativity and a unique approach.
Purly sings in English and Spanish, performed at DisneyWorld, and has been featured on TV & radio. She helped raise two step-children, and has travelled on 5 continents!
Ms. Gates was commis-sioned to write a theme song for the Texas State Library Summer Reading Club. (Hear an excerpt of the song below in the audio sampler.) Children all over the state heard and sang her song entitled “I Can Read”. She also worked with Very Special Arts of Texas (VSA tx) for two years in their Arts Alive program, a pilot project for TEA concerning pre-Literacy skills for bilingual pK classes in Austin ISD. Purly was a founding member of the Children’s Music Network (CMN) – an international organization for musicians, teachers, librarians, parents, etc. She sat on the Board of Directors for 3 years.
Among the many instruments which Purly plays, her favorites to bring in to classroom settings are guitar, dobro-ukulele and accordion. But she just might pull some very interesting home-made instruments from her ‘bag of tricks’ – which always keeps student interest high! See the limberjack below…
Purly’s musical styles are diverse, largely based in traditional folk and swing music. Her song-bag is well-stuffed from years of collecting &
writing. So she can sing about almost any DLM theme. If she doesn’t already know one on a subject, she’ll either write one or find one!
Ms. Gates has released 3 CDs for pK-5th graders: Singin’ on a Star, Songs for a Healthy World and the latest— I Can Read. [The National Head Start Family Literacy Center bought 400 copies of I Can Read !!]
WORKSHOPS
Purly offers small group and classroom workshops making instruments, writing songs, creating radio plays and using iPads to create soundtracks and songs. Click here to read more about her Residencies and Workshops
Purly conducts staff development workshops such as “Songs for Spare Moments” or “Finger Plays for pre-K’s”. Contact Purly for more info.
Pre-K and Early Elementary SONG SAMPLER
SOME VENUES WHERE PURLY HAS PERFORMED
DisneyWorld / Kerrville Folk Festival Youth Stage / Central Texas Book Festival / Libraries across the US / Houston International Festival Youth Stage / Numerous Head Start locations in New Hampshire / Boston, Austin & Memphis Children’s Museums / Boston Museum of Science and hundreds of pK’s and Elementary Schools from New Hampshire to Hawaii to Micronesia
REFERENCES
Celia Hughes, Exec. Director, Very Special Arts of TX (w)512-454-9912
Janet Hans, pK Teacher, Christ Lutheran Day School, San Antonio, TX (h)210-824-1068
Barbara Wilson-Trester, Retired Kindergarten Teacher, Sanchez Elem., Austin. Email: bjwilson49@gmail.com
FEES
Small Group Programs
Fees generally start at $150 for small groups, but are flexible, depending on how many dates are booked. (No PA system needed)
Large Group Concerts
Fees range from $200-250 for one 30-45 minute set for children and parents. Includes PA system.
Max group size: 125 [Could be a fundraiser!]
CONTACT INFO
Email: info@purlygates.com
COMMENTS from PREVIOUS PRESENTERS
“Thank you for such a wonderful program that not only entertained but put positive ideas about reading and being creative into the minds of our 4-6 year olds at HMD!! The children could really relate to your Dr. Seuss/Cat in the Hat routine and we all know and LOVE Bill Martin’s Brown Bear story! (Y)ou understand and know what our little ones are like and what it takes to hold their attention. You did a fantastic job. Finally, your songs were wonderful and it was easy for the children to participate and sing along. Many of our kids had never seen an accordion or banjo/ukulele played live! They loved it. ” -Carol Williams, Teacher, HMD Early Childhood Center, Beeville, TX
“YES! We would love to have you back. The feedback from the teachers was all very positive. The children enjoyed your presentation very much. Thank you for coming! Please think of us next year…”
-Marge Daley, Owner/Imagine Early Learning Center, Sierra Vista, AZ
“Our kids were in AWE”… they loved the concert and they loved Purly!!”
-Jody Wyffels, Prog. dir./ YMCA, Austin, TX
“You have a real gift for sharing your musical talents with children. I was particularly impressed with your ability to keep the interest of the children, get them involved in the music AND keep the group well in control – all at the same time!” -Pat Reuter/ Prin. Dessau Elementary, Pflugerville, TX
“Her sparkling sense of fun and humor comes through…. engaging and witty songs… very genuine, highly entertaining… she even captivated the adults in the group too.”