Stuart Levine and his musical collaborators from the Lawrence Woodwind Quintet toot on a shower hose, shell, ramâÂÂs horn and five conventional instruments to excite the imaginations of elementary students.

During a recent show at Cordley School, the performers and their audience pranced and cavorted to the quintetâÂÂs tunes.

âÂÂSeeing an old guy in a tux running around delights them,â Levine said. âÂÂThey danced around the square in the gym.âÂÂ

It was a toe-tapping time when Levine and his cohorts performed at Cordley, 1837 Vt. The show was one in a series that will bring the classical musicians into each of LawrenceâÂÂs 18 elementary schools during a two-year period.

The quintet performs as part of Concerts for Young People, a nonprofit organization that provides musical enrichment programs.

In some places, the performers are initially viewed by students as musical oddities.

âÂÂMany have not heard live music before,â Levine said. âÂÂTheyâÂÂre afraid itâÂÂs going to be terribly loud. TheyâÂÂre scared.âÂÂ

But by the end of a typical 40-minute show, the students are happily humming âÂÂPassacaille for Woodwind Quintetâ or slinking out of the gymnasium to the rhythm of Scott JoplinâÂÂs rag âÂÂThe Easy Winners.âÂÂ

Fred Pawlicki, associate director of the Lied Center at Kansas University, is convinced the music awareness program should be expanded to the districtâÂÂs four junior high schools.

âÂÂThat may be such things as an opera singer, male or female, accompanied by a piano,â said Pawlicki, who volunteers for the program. âÂÂWe have a lot of ideas.âÂÂ

There are a lot of details to be worked out before that happens, including financing for the bigger operation. But Pawlicki said if they could raise about $4,000, they could expand the program into the junior highs.

The money for the program currently is a combination of school district funds, private donations and contributions from the musicians themselves.

The quintet members are each otherwise employed or retired and do the school gigs part time.

Expansion of the program, if feasible, would be a worthy goal, said Ann Bruemmer, the districtâÂÂs director of arts and humanities. The school district contributes a modest amount to support the elementary program.

âÂÂThe value of Concerts for Young People is real,â she said. âÂÂInstruments come alive for them. ItâÂÂs worth every minute we spend doing it.âÂÂ

Levine, who serves as ringmaster for the quintetâÂÂs shows in schools, said he would welcome a broader display of musical forms for students.

âÂÂWe love that idea,â he said.

Until that occurs, Levine and his gang will concentrate on the districtâÂÂs youngest listeners. The quintet at Cordley was: Paul Jordan, clarinet; David Ruhlen, bassoon; Barbara Jones, oboe; Sharon Learned, flute; and Levine, French horn. Jordan and Jones have been with Levine since the late 1960s.

A typical performance in a school begins with a cheerful, bouncy overture as students walk into the gym.

The quintetâÂÂs men are dressed in tuxedos and the women in concert black.

âÂÂYouâÂÂre playing for an important audience,â Levine said. âÂÂYou ought to look your best.âÂÂ

The group follows with snippets of other tunes to demonstrate meter, chords and how different instruments collaborate to make interesting sounds. They examine the difference between a single-reed and double-reed instrument.

They also come up with lyrics for an impromptu school song.

âÂÂDavid has them sing it so loud that other children in class canâÂÂt hear their teachers,â Levine said.

He said folks in the quintet demonstrate the sound of a shower hose, which is akin to musical flatulence. Big conch shells are played. âÂÂYou can get a tremendous sound out of that,â Levine said.

He also whips out a massive, 5-foot-long ramâÂÂs horn.

âÂÂThis is a ram you donâÂÂt want to meet in a dark alley,â Levine said. âÂÂItâÂÂs sort of a haunting sound.âÂÂ

Sharing appreciation of music with younger generations keeps the quintet motivated. ThereâÂÂs more at stake than what appears on the surface.

âÂÂWe tell the children,â Levine said, âÂÂthat nobody knows why, but children that study instruments not only do better in school but tend to have happier, more productive lives.âÂÂ