Rave
reviews have inspired Jonathan to create this second heroes
concert which features stories and songs about Thomas Edison,
Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Benjamin Franklin, and
Pocahontas. Stunning 30” X 40” photographs of each of the
heroes flank Mr. Sprout’s elaborate stage sound system. |
THOMAS
EDISON (1847-1931), often called the greatest
inventor who ever lived, patented over 1,000 inventions. These
included the motion-picture projector, the phonograph and the
electric light bulb. Though he completed only three months of
schooling, he loved to read. It was his powerful imagination,
his firm optimism and his complete self-confidence that enabled
him to spend long hours inventing things that would make life
better for all of humanity. |
HARRIET
TUBMAN (1820?-1913) was born a slave
near Bucktown, MD. At about the age of twenty-nine she escaped
to the North. Before the outbreak of the Civil War she made
nineteen journeys back to lead other slaves - including her own
parents and most of her brothers and sisters - to freedom along
the secret route known at the Underground Railroad.
Slave owners were
constantly on the lookout for Tubman and offered large rewards
for her capture, but they never succeeded in seizing her or any
of the slaves she helped escape. She helped so many blacks
escape to freedom that she became known as the "Moses of
her people." |
FREDERICK
DOUGLASS (1818-95) escaped the master’s whip at the
age of 20 when he fled North, disguised as a sailor. As a strong
voice for civil rights, his lecturing and reasoning were so
impressive that opponents refused to believe he had been a
slave. A beacon of morality whose vision transcended race and
gender, he wrote books and published a newspaper discussing both
the evils of slavery and the rights of women. |
Few
people have done as much for the world as BENJAMIN
FRANKLIN (1706-1790). Although he was always proud to
call himself a printer, Franklin was also a diplomat, a
scientist, an inventor, a philosopher, an educator, an author,
and a public servant.
In Europe,
Benjamin Franklin was the most famous American of his time. It
was he who persuaded the English to repeal the hated Stamp Act.
It was also he who convinced the French to aid in the American
Revolution. Franklin helped draft both the Declaration of
Independence and the American Constitution. |
POCAHONTAS
(1595?–1617) was a legendary Native
American princess who, at the age of about eleven, may have saved
the life of English explorer Captain John Smith. She was a brave,
compassionate girl who later helped the colonists by bringing them food.
Without her, Smith claimed, the English would not have survived.
She inspired a rare peace between two nations with her vision of
cooperation between the European settlers and her own people.
Distinguished ambassador, peacemaker and trusted friend, her legacy
lives on with the survival of a colony that led to the birth of a nation. |
“Jonathan’s American Heroes Two concert is
entertainment at its best. Our staff and students sang and danced while
learning information that addressed the Core Curriculum Content Standards
for Social Studies. Our best assembly to date, this show is well worth the
investment of time and money.”
Alyce
Anderson, Principal
Herbertsville
Elementary School, Brick, NJ
“One of the best performances we’ve ever had ... truly
excellent.”
Diane
McDonough, Cultural Arts Chairwoman
Tomaso Elementary
School, Warren, NJ
“He’s so contagious. His messages are always so
positive and motivating, filled with merriment and joy and good music.”
Ruth
Sauter, Presenter & Director of Music & The Arts
Doylestown
Presbyterian Church
The Doylestown
Intelligencer , Doylestown,
PA
“Students were amazingly mesmerized by the music and
learned a lot about many incredible heroes. The children spoke about
Jonathan for days after his performance.”
Judy
Niconovich, VP PTA
Arlington Heights
Elementary School, Stroudsburg, PA
|