Charlotte Blake Alston credits preschoolers with helping her discover her calling in life. As a teacher of young children, Blake Alston developed into a master storyteller.
"I was always incorporating storytelling into what I was doing in my classroom ... to engage children and to bring history and literature alive," she said.
Interested in learning stories from her African-American tradition, Blake Alston left the classroom to become a performer. "It's just been extraordinary" working as a storyteller, she said.
On Sunday, Blake Alston is scheduled to give two performances of "Let My Stories Tell You Who I Am," sponsored by the Candlelight Concert Society's family performing arts series. The shows -- recommended for families with children ages 4 and older -- will be held at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center. Tickets are $9.
Using traditional African instruments, Blake Alston tells both ancient and modern stories. Much of her performance will focus on stories, songs and games from the African and African-American oral traditions.
She said that the art of storytelling "goes back to those days ... before video games, before television, before radio, when you actually had to do this thing called talk to each other."
Blake Alston plans to include a traditional "pourquoi" tale -- also known as a "why" story -- a trickster story and an original historical tale using historical American characters and events. "The stories are simple enough that they are concepts that children relate to and understand and connect to their own experience," she said.
Like many of her stories, tales like those about trickster Anansi the spider involve audience participation. "All the songs generally that I do in a family program are participatory. Some of the stories will be participatory as well," with a chant repeated in the story, she said.
"Young children retain and internalize stories more when they're involved," Blake Alston said.
Blake Alston, who performs in traditional African dress, will play several drums and a kora -- a 21-stringed instrument.
Blake Alston, who lives in the Philadelphia area, has been performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra for 13 years. Together, they have a long-running concert series called "Sound All Around" for preschoolers. This is her second appearance for Candlelight Concerts.
Information: www.candlelight concerts.org, 443-367-3123.