An Upbeat Measure of Education : Music program: Too Many Bongos perform school concerts that introduce percussion instruments from around the world.

What does the Los Angeles Philharmonic have in common with an eclectic local rock combo called Too Many Bongos?

Other than the fact that both generally stick to music based on the diatonic scale, both have been appearing regularly before local audiences thanks to the Orange County Philharmonic Society.

Which ensemble is more important? Hard to say.

Certainly the L.A. Phil gets all the power gigs--concerts featuring the Western world’s most revered composers, nattily draped patrons and expensive, meticulously designed acoustical surroundings. Plus the musicians take their cues from such goose-bump-inducing names as Zubin Mehta, Kurt Sanderling and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

One thing you can say for Too Many Bongos’ audiences: They may not be as rich as the L.A. Phil’s, but they’re certainly a lot . . . shorter.

The quintet, you see, has been touring Orange County in recent months performing at elementary schools, courtesy of the Philharmonic Society’s education department.

As the group’s name suggests, its specialty is percussion instruments from around the world. During outreach concerts for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, though, the spotlight shines in turn on each band member: violinist Madeline Soderlund, guitarist Ken Soderlund, bassist Mark Schuyler, percussionist Joe (He of Many Bongos) Zawierucha and drummer/leader Paul Angers.

Pat Heilig, the Philharmonic Society coordinator of educational programs, said having Too Many Bongos as one of the 17 groups it sends out to county schools throughout the year exemplifies the society’s goal “to expose kids to all different types of music.”

How does it go over? If a recent session at Lincoln Elementary School in Santa Ana is typical, kids love the Bongos as much as the Bongos seem to enjoy playing for them.

During the course of the performance for the 150 or so pupils, the group surveyed an array of international musical styles and instruments, sort of “Around the World in 45 Minutes.” Far from boring the listeners to distraction with ethnomusicological trivia and dry lecturing, Angers knew how to grab their attention immediately. And how to hold onto it.

Before demonstrating a Nigerian rhythm or Brazilian melody, Angers (pronounced ahn-ZHAY) asked the kids to identify a song hearing only its bass line. When Schuyler stepped forward and obliged, popping out a familiar run, all hands shot in the air: “M.C. Hammer!” It was a clever and effective way of drawing a parallel between the songs most kids listen to every day and the various types of folk and popular music from other lands.

All Angers had to do to cement their allegiance was mention that he had worked with Madonna--he appeared with her during a scene in the film “Dick Tracy.” Suddenly they all wanted to know everything about him. During a question-and-answer session after the performance, kids wanted to know how long he’d been “in the business,” whether Too Many Bongos is “a real band” and whether Angers has “any other movies coming out”?

“If you get sick, does another person take your place?” another pupil asked.

“I’d have to be pretty sick,” Angers said. “If you’re a fan of Motley Crue and you buy a ticket to see them, you don’t want to see somebody else up there taking their place, do you?” His answer prompted a wave of laughter.

The youngsters’ reaction to the Bongos pleased not only the band members and schoolteachers, but also another observer standing in the back of the room.

“In Santa Ana, we feel that music is really important--it’s not like some other districts where music is considered a frill,” said Randy Coleman, music coordinator for the Santa Ana Unified School District.

“By exposing them to arts and music in programs like this, we can let kids see there are other things in the world besides math and science.”

In Santa Ana schools, Coleman said, music programs are filled to capacity; in fact, a shortage of district-supplied instruments has forced some would-be music students to be turned away.

“We try to furnish as many kids as we can with instruments,” Coleman said. “I’ve even tried getting a program going where people could donate old instruments to the district that they have sitting in the closet from when they were in band.”

Back in the front of the classroom, Angers was once again stressing the importance of music education in a direct way: “If I hadn’t had a music program where I was able to learn to read and play music, I wouldn’t have gotten that job in ‘Dick Tracy’ with Madonna.”

That’s a public-service announcement that had impact.