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The group of first-graders rushed to the stage and surrounded musician John Fisher last week.

They asked any and every question about music that came to their minds. And Fisher smiled.

For Kay Wagner, Fisher and the other musicians who make up Strings in the Mountains' Youth Touring Program, Thursday's performance at Soda Creek Elementary School accomplished its goal.

"I want kids to get a love of music and want more of it," said Wagner, who wrote the script for "It's a Strings Thing," a performance that blends music, education and entertainment.

"I want them to realize there's more music out there than what they hear on the radio or computer-generated music."

The Soda Creek performance was one of eight performances the six-person group will perform for area children before this year's Youth Touring Program comes to an end. The group also has traveled to Yampa, Walden, Craig and Hayden.

"Each school is different," Fisher said. "Each one has its own personality."

What all the students they meet have in common is enthusiasm and excitement of music.

"There's so much energy," he said.

That energy was obvious Thursday, as about 300 elementary children their hands and stomped their feet to the blend of music and information.

"It's a teaching thing, and it's entertainment, too," Fisher said. "If you put the two together, they learn almost painlessly."

Tension, resonance, notes and glissando were just some of the musical concepts emphasized in the production, which featured an array of stringed instruments including a guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, harps and even a ukulele.

"So many kids have only seen these instruments on television," Fisher said. "Seeing them in person is entirely different."

Vic Steiner started the Youth Touring Program eight years ago, and it's evolved every year since, Wagner said.

Past programs have focused on musical themes such as the history of music, beat, rhythm and cadence, and what makes a song sound happy or sad.

This year, Wagner chose to focus the program on stringed instruments.

"Strings are just fascinating," she said.

And the favorite stringed instrument for most children is the harp.

Harpist Andrea Erickson mesmerized students with the unusual instrument's sounds, which she described as angelic.

"Every audience we've gone to, the kids' faces light up when she starts playing the harp," Wagner said.

And the performers' faces light up when they see the children. More than 2,000 students will experience "It's a Strings Thing" performances before it ends this week. The program is funded entirely through grants from various foundations. The Steamboat Springs Rotary Club also provided funding.