K to Gr. 4 Study Guide Conductors for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra School Concerts are generously supported by Mrs. Gert Wharton. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s School Concerts are generously supported by The William Birchall Foundation and an anonymous donor. Click on top right of pages to return to the table of contents! Table of Contents Concert Overview Concert Preparation Program Notes 3 4 - 7 8 - 18 Lesson Plans Artist Biographies Musical Glossary 19 - 33 34 - 36 37 - 38 Instruments in Musicians Teacher & Student the Orchestra of the TSO Evaluation Forms 40 - 51 52 53 - 54 The Toronto Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Christina Huang for preparing the lesson plans included in this guide - 2 - Concert Overview Symphonic Fairy Tales April 21 & 23, 2020 Suitable for grades K–4 Dina Gilbert, conductor Jeffrey Beecher, double bass and host Principal Double Bass Jeffrey Beecher is your guide for a journey of magic and imagination, as timeless fairy tales are brought to life through beloved orchestral works. This fantastical concert will help students discover and rediscover classic children’s tales through the power of musical storytelling. Program to include excerpts from*: • Prokofiev: "Shawl's Dance" from • Peter Yarrow: "Puff, the Magic Cinderella Act 1, No. 2 Dragon" • Grieg: "In the Hall of the Mountain • Dukas: The Sorcerer's Apprentice King" from Peer Gynt • Humperdinck: Prelude to Hansel • Ravel: "Les entretiens de la Belle et and Gretel de la Bête" from Ma mère l'Oye • Stravinsky: "Finale" from The • Jon Deak: Jack and the Beanstalk Firebird *Program subject to change - 3 - Concert Preparation Let's Get Ready! Your class is coming to Roy Thomson Hall to see and hear the Toronto Symphony Orchestra! Here are some suggestions of what to do before, during, and after the performance. Whether it’s your first symphony concert or you’re a seasoned audience member, there’s always something new to learn and experience! Before Listen and Read Listen to the pieces of music • Have you heard any of these pieces before? • Which one is your favourite and why? • Do you hear anything new or interesting? • Try out one of our listening journals and record your observations. Read the biographies and program notes • Were there any composers you had never heard of before? • Did you learn anything new or interesting about one of the pieces, composers, instruments or TSO musicians? During Look and Listen Look around the orchestra and the hall • Have you been to Roy Thomson Hall before? • Are there any instruments you haven’t seen before? • Do you notice anything interesting about the orchestra? Listen to the orchestra and conductor • Is it different listening to the live orchestra versus a recording? • Think about how the different pieces make you feel. • Is there a particular instrument or part of the piece that you like listening to the most? • What instruments are used to create different sound effects? - 4 - Concert Preparation After Discuss and Reflect Discuss and reflect with your classmates • Was there anything that surprised you during the concert? • What was your favourite/least favourite piece and why? • Was your experience different from your classmates? • Fill out our Student Feedback form and let us know what you think! Review Rules and Reminders Review these rules and reminders with your classmates • No outside food or drink allowed inside Roy Thomson Hall. • No flash photography or recordings. • Please visit the bathroom before the concert. Audience members walking in and out during the concert can be distracting. • We encourage you to applaud and show appreciation. The orchestra relies on your energy to perform. • If you’re unsure when the piece of music is over, look to the conductor and performers on stage. The conductor will turn and face the audience once the piece of music is over. Have fun and enjoy your experience! - 5 - Concert Preparation Listening Journals Name: ____________________________ Date: _________________________ Name of the piece ___________________________________ Composer ___________________________________ 1) What kind of sounds do you hear? Does it sound like a big group of musicians or a small group? 2) What different dynamics do you hear? Is the music loud, soft, or in the middle? Does it slowly get louder or softer? (ex. pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, crescendo, diminuendo, etc.) 3) How would you describe the tempo? Is it fast or slow or both? 4) How does listening to this piece of music make you feel? Does the music remind you of any- thing? 5) What two words would you use to describe this piece of music? 6) Did you like this piece of music? Would you recommend it to a friend? Why or why not? - 6 - Concert Preparation Symphonic Fairy Tales Podcast Listening Journal Name: ____________________________ Date: _________________________ 1) What is timbre? 2) What is a musical motif? 3) What musical elements are used to created tension in music? 4) What are some of the elements you need to tell a good story? - 7 - Program Notes What Are The Stories About? Fairy tales are always changing. They exist all over the world. They are as different as the people who tell them. Today, you might read fairy tales in books, but in the past, you would have listened to a storyteller. Stories were passed down from person to person, from generation to generation. They lived in someone's memory instead of on paper. There are many variations of the same stories. Storytellers like to change the details to keep things interesting for the listeners. Some make the stories easier to understand by adding people, places, or things from the local community. Other storytellers like to have scary details to frighten children. Some want to teach you a lesson, whereas other storytellers are just hoping you have fun! Here's a short description of what each story is about: Cinderella - A young woman is unfairly treated by her step-sisters and step-mother. Her appearance is magically transformed for a short time, during which she attends a ball and meets the prince. She runs away before the magic spell ends, but her slipper falls off. The prince asks different women to try the slipper until he finds Cinderella and marries her. Peer Gynt - A lazy and selfish man goes on adventures around the world. In one episode, he refuses to marry the troll king's daughter and must escape from the angered trolls. - 8 - Program Notes Beauty and the Beast - A woman breaks a curse, turning a prince back into his human form by helping him change his negative qualities. Jack and the Beanstalk - A boy helps his poor family by stealing magical objects and animals from an evil giant. - 9 - Program Notes Hansel and Gretel - A boy and a girl outsmart an evil witch without the help of adults. The Firebird - A prince rescues a group of princesses from an evil king with the help of a magical bird. - 10 - Program Notes Prokofiev Biography As a young boy, Sergei Prokofiev had a reputation for stirring up trouble and getting himself into all kinds of mischief! At the age of five, he began to demonstrate great musical talent. Hoping this musical talent would keep him out of trouble, Sergei's parents sent him to St. Petersburg to study music full-time when he was only thirteen years old. Sergei kept his reputation as a troublemaker throughout his entire life. He always pushed the limits when composing music and never cared what people thought. This fearless attitude is what inspired Sergei to write imaginative music that would speak to audiences for generations to come. He composed one of the most famous stories- told-through-music, Peter and the Wolf. "Shawl's Dance" from Cinderella Listen The "Shawl's Dance" is like a musical argument. It takes place when Cinderella's two step-sisters are creating a new shawl for the Spring Ball. The opening sounds of the tremolo strings give you a sense of urgency, with staccato notes indicating time running out. With the shawl complete, the two selfish step- sisters begin fighting over who will wear it. You can hear each one arguing in the quick-succession of triplets on the strings as they grab the shawl from the other. The fighting escalates until both pull on the shawl at the same time, tearing it apart. Did you know? Prokofiev was a talented chess player. He was friends with two world chess champions, and even won against them on occasion! - 11 - Program Notes Grieg Biography Edvard Grieg started learning music at six-years- old. His mother taught him to play the piano. As Edvard got better, others began to notice his talent and recommended putting him through a music school. Although Edvard's father was of Scottish origin, his mother was Norwegian. When Edvard began composing his own music, he was influenced by traditional folktunes from Norway. Edvard was passionate about his Norwegian heritage and would eventually start a school of music that celebrated Norway. Edvard met the famous playwright Henrik Ibsen and was asked to write the music for one of his plays, Peer Gynt. The most well-known music to come from this is "In the Hall of the Mountain King". Its easily recognizable theme can regularly be heard in films and television to this day. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt Watch & Listen At this part of the story, the hero is making his escape from a group of angry trolls chasing him. The piece is great example of changes in tempo and dynamics. It begins at a slow tempo, with a simple theme gently being played by the lowest pitched instruments in the orchestra, the double basses, the cellos, and the bassoons.