ESO WORLD TOUR Grades 1 through 8 Tuesday, April 2, 2019 (Middle School Day) Wednesday, April 3, 2019 Thursday, April 4, 2019 Friday, April 5, 2019 1

ESO WORLD TOUR

Spring Festival Overture Li Huanzhi

Shepherd’s Hey Percy Grainger

Polonaise brillante No. 2 Henryk Wieniawski Claire Arias-Kim, violin

African Drumming Demo Michael Folker

Beneath Alex Shapiro

Suite from “Frozen” Arr. Krogstad

Mambo from West Side Story Leonard Bernstein

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Many thanks to the Elgin Symphony’s education committee for the idea to take this concert on a world tour! It was a unanimous choice: let’s sample orchestral music from the world’s seven continents. Choosing the repertoire for the concert was not as easy as we thought it might be during the conception of this program. How can we narrow down the large quantity of orchestral music from Europe, where the symphony orchestra originated? Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven would all be obvious choices. In a surprising twist we chose a composer from Poland, the home of the brilliant violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. We are thrilled to have young violinist Claire Arias-Kim as our soloist for Wieniawski’s Polonaise brilliante No. 2. What repertoire can we choose from the continents with musical traditions that don’t necessarily include traditional western orchestral instruments? What do we do about Antarctica? (We always try to program something that’s just pure fun.) For Africa, we felt it was important to demonstrate the drumming traditions and to highlight the expertise of one of our members, percussionist Michael Folker. It became a concert of interesting connections. When we began to dig deeper into the repertoire, we realized much of the music on this program contains dance elements: the lion dance in the Li Huanzhi, ---the Grainger, the polish dance form “polonaise” in the Wieniawski, the obvious dancing qualities of the African drums and Bernstein’s Mambo. Ask your students if they see any other connections among these pieces even though they are from very different cultures. As you prepare for this concert, review the instruments of the orchestra. Have students pick their favorite instrument, perhaps one that they already play, one that they would like to play, or one played by someone they know. Have them share what they know about that instrument: what family does it belong to? How does it make its sound? Invite students to watch for their favorite instrument at the concert and see where its players sit. Invite them to listen carefully for their favorite instrument throughout the concert. Review the seven continents. HERE is a handy worksheet for you. Take some time to review general characteristics of each continent including climate traits and the different countries and cultures. Don’t forget to review the oceans too! If you have dual language students, you may want to develop a special place in your classroom to hang up instrument words written in a different language. Ask students to go home and ask their parents how they would write, say or translate a specific instrument into their language. For example, flute could be “flauta” in Spanish. You could create an “international instrument word contest” to see which classroom provides the most translated instrument names to earn an extra recess or a “free day” in music class. With younger students, use the rhythmic pieces for steady beat or movement activities. Much of this music is rhythmically exciting and will inspire movement. Have students share any experiences with symphonic music they have had and share a favorite piece from this program or from others. Reinforcing and reminding students of the standard elements of music will get them thinking about the variety of concepts they’re learning. Include these elements of music on a word wall or on display somewhere in your classroom: rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture, form, expression. If you teach beginning or middle level band or orchestra, look for ways to incorporate this repertoire and its concepts into your rehearsals, even if just for a few minutes a day.

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ASIA

Spring Festival Overture

By Li Huanzhi b. January 2, 1919 d. March 19, 2000 Composed in 1956, the Spring Festival Overture is one of the most popular orchestral works in China. The piece honors the Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, and depicts the colorful parades and spectacular snaking dragons and lions typical of the holiday. The festival is 15 days long and occurs between January 21 and February 20, according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. The holiday is observed by 1/3 of the world’s population and is a joyous occasion of parties and family gatherings.

The brilliant opening brings the spirit of dance and celebration. Two folk dances from North Shaanxi in China provide the melodies for this section. The middle section, lyrical and nostalgic, contrasts with the opening. A third folk tune is introduced here which is a dance celebrating the growth of seedlings. In the final section, the tempo quickens again for the return of the opening music. Hong Kong native Li Huanzhi, is one of the most prominent composers in China. He studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (beginning in 1936) and the Luxum Institute of Arts in Yanan. In 1985, he was elected as the chairman of the Chinese Musicians’ Association. He wrote many orchestral compositions celebrating the culture of China. The Pentatonic Scale Traditional Chinese folk music is based on the Pentatonic Scale which is a group of 5 notes from the major scale that is made up of only whole tones. The major scale, as we know, has 7 notes. The pentatonic scale chose 5 notes (“penta”, as in the 5-sided Pentagon) and made a new scale with those notes. Pentatonic scales can be major or minor. The major pentatonic scale uses the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th degrees of the major scale, while the minor pentatonic scale uses the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th degrees of the major scale. When played alone, the notes of a pentatonic scale are pleasing and can create a very nice melody in any order of execution. An easy way to play a major pentatonic scale on a piano is to play only the black keys. Many general music classes have several folk songs that use the pentatonic scale and are performed in Orff 4 ensembles with recorders. With the elimination of half steps, an entire ensemble of players can be playing random notes from a pentatonic scale without notable irritation due to removed dissonance. Try this for fun: As you listen to Spring Festival Overture, play a C pentatonic scale on a piano or pitched Orff instrument. In the lively first section: on marked C-D-E-G-A of the piano, or a C pentatonic set up of barred instrumentation, invite students to play random rhythms or try to imitate the melody as they play. Notice how well the “improvisation” fits with the music! In the slower, middle section which begins with the oboe solo, switch to this minor pentatonic scale: A-C-D-F- G. (This will work for several measures until the piece begins to modulate.) When you hear the melody return from the first section, switch back to the C-D-E-G-A scale. For orchestra and wind instruments: have groups of 5 students each take a note of the C pentatonic scale and play a select rhythmic ostinato on their individual note, but all play at the same time. Experiment with a 4- measure to 8-measure phrase. Students will be creating an instant ensemble of improvised pentatonic tones! See if they can change the mood or style of their ensemble with a change of tempo, dynamics, rhythms or articulations. Create solo parts by eliminating one or two tones at a time and then adding them back in at random times in the improvisation.

Meet the ESO Musician: Kelvin Lin

Like Li Huanzhi, ESO violinist Kelvin Lin studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He graduated in 1988. Kelvin has been a member of the Elgin Symphony for 22 years. He came to the United States in 1992 because he says “I love the land of freedom and opportunity.” Here’s what Kelvin says about the Shanghai Conservatory: “The entrance examination is rigorous and based on two or three parts according to different majors, and candidates are judged by their musical ability and potential. The average rate of admission around 20% in keeping with the enrollment plan, but the actual rate for each major differs based on the level of candidates and the available vacancies. If the level of the candidates does not meet the requirement, then some places may be left vacant.

The undergraduate and graduate courses at Conservatory are divided into three parts: academic courses, professional basic courses, and professional core courses. In addition, students complete optional courses and practical or teaching programs which also count towards their credits.

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Both undergraduate and graduate students at Conservatory are encouraged to participate in international competitions as long as they can arrange the commitment to fit with their studies. International competitions are a benefit both for enhancing a student’s professional level and gaining connections for their future career.

I never met Mr. Li Huanzhi in person but I am very proud of be part of the alumni and have performed many of his compositions in the early 80’s. In my opinion, The Shanghai Conservatory of Music is one of the most competitive musical education institutions in the world.” Activities for elementary school ages:

1. Make a Chinese dragon puppet. Use it to create a lion dance while listening to Spring Festival Overture. You will need: large, grocery-sized brown paper bag, scissors, markers, construction paper, glue, crepe paper. (For a smaller, hand-held puppet, use a lunch-sized bag and do not cut out eyes. Draw eyes right above the fold of the bag.) a. Open the large paper bag and cut 2 holes where the eyes will be. b. Use markers, construction paper, glue and crepe paper to decorate the lion. c. Give the lion a face, teeth, a tongue and colored eyes. d. Watch this video of a traditional lion dance: click here e. When the puppets are dry, take a few minutes to try out some lion dance moves. Have students take turns using their own dragon head while other friends connect like trains and walk around the room while the music is playing. f. Have older students create a mixed media presentation using: dragon puppets, their own improvised C pentatonic song on Orff instruments or band/orchestra instruments and an iMovie recording of a student-created dance that goes along with their pentatonic improvisation. Submit recordings to a shared Google drive so they can be viewed by all classes or parents. 2. Follow this link to make a Chinese New Year banner. These types of banners can be found decorating the homes, especially around doors, of the Chinese people for several weeks nearing the holiday.

Recommended Reading:

Celebrate Chinese New Year with Fireworks, Dragons and Lanterns By Carolyn Otto

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AUSTRALIA Shepherd’s Hey

By Percy Grainger b. July 8, 1882 d. February 20, 1961 “My art sets out to celebrate the beauty of bravery.” ~Percy Grainger Australian composer Percy Grainger was the son of a well-known architect. He showed great talent at an early age for music and art. In 1895 at the age of 13, he moved to Germany with his mother to study piano and composition. He never returned to live in Australia after that, but he did retain a strong love of the Australian landscape and its people. In 1900 he moved to London and embarked on a long and arduous career as a concert pianist, composer and conductor. In 1914, he moved to the United States and shortly thereafter he joined the U.S. Army as a saxophone player. He did not serve actively, but he was often seen in uniform at concerts aiding the Red Cross. In 1918, He became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He died of cancer in White Plaines, New York in 1961. Grainger is best known for his cheerful compositions of piano pieces, however his compositions for military band are highly regarded as classics.

Shepherd’s Hey

B A A •Twinkle , •Up above •Twinkle, Shepherd’s Hey is based on an old folk tune. It is a Morris twinkle the world twinkle Dance, although Grainger notes that this composition was little star so high litle star •How I •Like a •How I not meant for dancing. It is written in A-B-A form. Form in wonder diamond wonder music is important because it creates a structure for the what you in the sky what you are are melody and harmony, but it is especially important in dance music because it gives the choreographer a structure to guide their plans. 7

Older students may have observed that some of the Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually dance steps in the Morris Dance excerpt (link in box accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and to the right) have elements of ‘step dancing’ known the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, and practiced in some collegiate circles. Step usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancing is a body percussion-based dance, dancers. (Wikipedia) There are lots of you tube videos of emphasizing footwork and clapping rhythms in Morris dancing. Here’s one using Shepherd’s Hey. choreographed synchronization. See if any students can learn a few parts of the dance presented in the video to the right and share it with the class after practicing. Activity: Rhythm Stick Dance: Grades 3-5

Objective: students work in groups of twos or fours to create a rhythm stick dance that can be performed to the music. Directions: 1) Decide to stay seated or to stand up for your

dance. 2) Tap your own sticks, tap your partner’s sticks, exchange sticks, bend, lean opposite directions, tap up high and down low, toss sticks to each other, etc. to create a memorized routine of moves with the sticks. Be sure to make it easy enough to remember, and to be performed without ever dropping your sticks. Present it to the class.

Activity: Morris Beat Me Out Game: Grade 5-6 (Similar to Orff game: Shanghai Chicken)

Directions:

1) Have entire class stand in a circle. Give each student one rhythm stick. 2) On the starting cue, have every student pass/collect a stick to the next person to their right, keeping up with the tempo of the music. The passing/collecting should happen with a ‘half note’ pattern, pass one beat one, hold on beat two, etc. Be sure to explain that while they are passing a stick to the person with their right hand, their left hand will be receiving a new stick to pass over into their right hand to start the process all over again. Students are constantly collecting and passing at the same time. 3) During the B section, students hang on to their own sticks and play a “beat cross pattern” until the A section starts up again. At that time, passing the sticks on the beat to the right continues. BEAT CROSS PATTERN: With the right hand, tap across chest (like saying the pledge of allegiance) beat 1,2, and 3. On beat 4, transfer the stick to the left hand. Repeat the tapping across the chest like the pledge on beats 1,2 and 3 and pass back to the right hand on beat 4. So it sounds like: (RH) “Pledge, two three, switch (LH) Pledge, two, three switch”. Aural attention needs to be paid to learn the distinctive melodies of both A and B sections. Any student who drops their stick during either section is considered OUT and is eliminated from the game. Be sure to also remove their stick from the circle! 8

Band and Orchestra Student Challenge: Listen to Shepherd’s Hey a few times. See if you can play the first phrase by ear! Chose any note to start on and play the first phrase. Extra challenge: start on another note and play it in another key. Make a video! If you can play the first phrase of Shepherd’s Hey by ear in 3 keys, send us a video of you doing it. ([email protected]) With parent permission, we would like to post some videos on our website and maybe even play one or two on the screen before the concert!

Have a coloring concert! Here’s a fun way to engage your students while listening to the music on this concert and teach concert etiquette. Gather students into groups of four in different stations around the classroom. To make it interesting, you can label different areas of the room as “sections” and have students walk in to the room quietly, as if they are entering a concert hall. Give students a “ticket” labeled with a section, for example, Section 4 Seat 1. You can assign ushers to help students find their appropriate seat. Print out this coloring page. (You may also find other coloring pages online to use for this activity. For example: the continents of the world, the instruments of the orchestra, or elements of music.) Each group starts out with a bag of crayons. Listen to the pieces on this program. While the music is playing, students color the part of the page that represents the piece of music they are currently listening to. Students are not allowed to talk or get up, much like a real-live concert. When a piece is over, students must stop coloring and clap appropriately.

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EUROPE

Polonaise brillante No. 2 By Henryk Wieniawski b. July 10, 1835 d. March 31, 1880 Polish-born Henryk Wieniawski was noticed for his talent at the violin early-on in his life. When he was 9 years old he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, which was remarkable since he was so young and he wasn’t French. He wrote a number of very important works for violin that showed off virtuosic techniques like left hand pizzicato, harmonics, wide leaps and double stops. He died suddenly at 45, during the height of his career. Polonaise brillante A “polonaise” is a slow dance of Polish origin in triple time, consisting of an intricate march or procession. In the 17th to 19th centuries, a polonaise was played by musicians to open a royal court ball. Dancers, in couples according to their social position, would promenade around the room with gliding steps, bending their knees slightly on the third step. This is why a polonaise is written in ¾ time. As you listen, notice the march-like quality of the first few minutes of the piece and the way that the soloist leaps from the low register of the violin to the high register repeatedly, using flashy and difficult techniques. The middle section slows down a bit with a less intense and milder theme for a time, which seems to gain momentum and then bursts back to the original theme but not before a difficult passage with fast fingers coordinating with a fast bow technique (called spiccato) and a wailing set of octaves. As the original theme takes over and flourishes again, the piece starts to signal the conclusion with what can only be described as the most brilliant finale that can be conceived for showcasing what a violin is capable of. We can’t wait for you to hear 17- year-old Claire Arias-Kim perform this piece with the Elgin Symphony! She has been playing the violin since she was 3 years old, and has won lots of awards and traveled all over the world performing in groups or as a soloist. We asked her to answer a few questions so that we could get to know her better. Q: We know that it takes many hours of practice to become as accomplished as you are. How do you keep your focus? 10

A: Taking breaks between hours helps me maintain my focus. It also helps me to have a plan/schedule of what tasks I’m going to accomplish that day within a certain amount of time. Q: What is your favorite piece that you have performed and why? A: It is very hard for me to pin it down to one because I’ve very much enjoyed many of the pieces I’ve performed. However, the most memorable performances for me would have to be when I had the opportunity to play the third movement of the Bruch violin concerto with the Elgin Youth Symphony orchestra at age thirteen because it was the first time I ever soloed with an orchestra. Q: Who is your favorite violinist? A: My favorite violinist is Nathan Milstein Q: Do you like other kinds of music? If so, what else do you listen to? A: Yes, I enjoy listening to movie soundtracks. Q: Can you describe your violin’s tone color? A: My violin has a very dark tone, which is a quality that I am drawn to in instruments. I look for an instrument with dark tone and a rounded sound, one that will project in a hall. Q: Do you have any hobbies? A: I love to write poetry. It is just another form of artistic expression for me that I am passionate about. Q: What’s your biggest dream? A: I want to be a soloist someday. I know it’s not an easy road to get there, but I’d love to be able to travel and share my music with all kinds of people in the future. Tone Color Tone color (also known as timbre) is the characteristic that allows us to distinguish one musical instrument from another. It is the quality of sound that is not characterized as pitch, rhythm or dynamics. For instance, a trumpet sounds much different from a violin, even if they play at the same pitch, for the same duration or at the same volume. In addition, one violin may sound audibly different from another violin. The tone color of an instrument is created by different components, including the raw materials used to build the instrument. An instrument made out of wood will sound different than an instrument made out of metal. Discuss: Claire describes her violin as having a “very dark tone”. Ask students what they think she means by that. What kind of instrument could be described as having a “bright” tone?

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Activity: Tone Color Walk-Through For all grades: adapt this idea to work for a particular grade level. Directions:

 Teacher sets up a ‘walk’, or an obstacle course for individual students to be guided through while wearing a blindfold.  In order to successfully walk through the ‘maze’, he/she must listen for certain tone colors in order to walk in the correct direction. For example: a triangle – 2 steps to your right, a hand drum – 2 steps to your left, a tambourine – continuous walking straight, a woodblock – stop sign, etc.  Make it a goal to have about 4 to 6 tone colors represented for action words. Use more or less sounds per grade level, or ability level of the class.  The student has to have an additional partner stand next to them for safety and guidance.  The winner is one who makes it completely through the course in the shortest amount of time.  Prior to beginning the course: please ensure that instrumentalists have a particular rhythm pattern selected to play during the course. As a student begins to walk, instrument players ONLY play on the cue of the teacher. Activity: Let’s Create! Collect empty Kleenex boxes for use to create homemade rubber band violins. Give each student 3 different widths, or thicknesses of rubber bands and have them discover which bands sound lower or higher. Give them smaller and bigger sized rubber bands for additional aural discoveries. After putting rubber bands onto the Kleenex boxes, play Polonaise brillante for the class and have the students pluck their instrument on only beat 1 of each measure to reinforce the ¾ time signature. Have students play on different beats, measures, or create ostinato patterns using their rubber band violins. For additional fun, divide the class into sets of three students. Each student gets to pluck their own violin on a particular beat so that one measure of music is divided into beat 1 person 1, beat 2 person 2 and beat 3, person 3. See if they can accurately play on their beat for 8 measures in a row. Come up with variations to this simple challenge.

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AFRICA West African Drumming and the use of “Call and Response” Demonstrated by Michael Folker, ESO Percussionist Percussion Instruments of West Africa include: The Djembe The Gankogui (African cowbell) The Talking Drum

The Djembe

The djembe is one of West Africa's best known instruments. This goblet- shaped drum is traditionally carved from a single piece of African hardwood and topped with an animal skin as a drumhead. In western understanding, the drum belongs to the membranophone class of instruments in the percussion family.

Some say the name of the djembe came from the Bamana in Mali, who said "Anke dje, anke be" to call their people together, as the saying translates as "everyone gather together." "Dje" means gather and "be" means everyone, which gave the drum used in these calls to order its name. The Bamanakans' mythology tells of the original djembe, which was made of the hide of a giraffe-zebra hybrid called the gebraffe. There are at least a dozen stories of the history of the drum told by many master drummers.

Another such myth of the Djembe attributes its origin to the chimpanzees. According to legend, men did not own the drum; chimpanzees did. The chimpanzees would often approach the camp of the trappers and hunters. One day a trapper named So Dyeu noticed the chimpanzees entertaining themselves with a drum while eating fruit in a tree. The trapper said to himself, “This thing they are beating is beautiful. I will set a trap.”

So he dug a hole and laid a trap. The next day he heard the chimpanzees shouting. He had caught a chimpanzee drummer. The hunter freed the chimpanzee but took the drum with him back to his village. And that is why the chimpanzees today beat their chests. Because they do not have a drum anymore to beat. 13

The djembe drum is most likely about 400-800 years old, and was created during the Malian Empire by the Mandé people. It spanned the modern-day countries of Senegal, southern Mauritania, Mali, northern Burkina Faso, western Niger, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and northern Ghana. The Mali Empire grew out of an area referred to by its contemporary inhabitants as Mande. Mande, named for its inhabitants the Mandinka (initially Manden’ka with “ka” meaning people of), comprised most of present-day northern Guinea and southern Mali. The empire was originally established as a federation of Mandinka tribes called the Manden Kurufa (literally Manden Federation), but it later became an empire ruling millions of people from nearly every ethnic group in West Africa.

It is taught that the blacksmiths made the first djembes, making each drum custom-fitted to the drummer who would play it. This makes sense as they would be the people to cut the tree. The making of the drum was spiritual, and the blacksmith was obliged to make offerings to the spirits of the trees he cut down. With the lengue tree, a sacrifice would be made to ask for Figure 1 Stem of a beautifully carved djembe in Guinea permission to cut the tree for a djembe. Once the blacksmith finished the djembe, it was delivered to the drummer who commissioned it, a member of the jeli caste. The jeli are musicians, who are responsible for the oral history of their people. This remains true to today.

Traditionally, only those born into the djembe family would be allowed (or interested) to play the djembe. Castes have last names that have survived to this day and if your last name (your family name) is one of those families born into the djembe, it is your instrument and possibly your job to play the drum for the village.

The djeli caste still exists today, and is responsible for the traditional music. The djeli sing and perform during rituals, baptisms, weddings and sometimes funerals, and are trusted with the music of their ancestors.

The Gankogui (African Cowbell)

The Gankogui is an African bell. This simple percussion instrument is made of forged iron and comes in various sizes.

Origin of the Gankogui

When struck with a wooden stick, it can produce two sounds: "gang" and "gong".

The Ewe are a West African tribe. They mainly live in the Volta Region of Ghana and parts of Togo on the other side of the border.

The Ewe are very famous for their music: Ewe drumming is actually taught in universities all around the globe. In an Ewe ensemble, the musicians use various types of drums, depending on the piece they play. But one small instrument is always present: the Gankogui. 14

The bell usually plays a simple pattern. It repeats itself without changes throughout the whole length of a traditional piece. Now, this may seem easy - but it plays a very important role in Ewe music:

The bell pattern is the key to the rhythm. It provides the time line, after which every other instrument in the ensemble orientates itself.

But beware: Don't confuse the word "time line" with "main beat". The bell does not just mark the main beat of the rhythm. It's a bit more complicated than that:

Ewe drumming (like most African music) is polymetric. This means for instance: While the bell repeats a 4/4 pattern three times, the drums may repeat a 3/4 rhythm four times. Obviously, the bell player must play very steadily to maintain the relationships between the various instruments. Otherwise, he will confuse the whole ensemble.

Other Uses and Purposes

In Ghana, one thing always amazes me: If you're looking to buy a bell, and you can't find it at the art market, you'll find it where traditional medicines are sold.

Apart from entertainment, this musical instrument obviously serves other purposes as well. These are just some examples:

 In traditional shrines, its sound calls the gods and spirits for help and advice.  Messangers walk through villages, playing a certain bell rhythm. This calls the villagers to gather for an announcement by the local chief or king.  Fitness groups gather on Sundays for a run through their towns. Bell rhythms motivate and pace the runners.

The Gankogui – A funny name and a funny looking instrument but a very important part of African culture. The Talking Drum

Known in many different cultures by different names; dundun or gangan by the Yoruba of Nigeria, the talking drum is an hourglass-shaped membranophone. It is a made of a hollow wooden stock which is hourglass shaped with both ends covered by the drum skin – which can be of animal or even fish origin. The drum skins are connected across the hourglass frame by leather tension cords. The pitch of the drumbeat is modulated by the player squeezing those tension cords against his frame as he plays. In this manner, the drummer is able to mimic the sounds of human speech.

Origins of the talking drum

It is not certain where exactly the talking drum originated, however it is clear that it originated from Sub- saharan Africa where it is still played to this day. In West Africa, there are many variants of the talking drum in size and style of play, especially in relation to the different languages spoken in the regions, however one thing is consistent; the application of the drum in the relaying of messages. 15

How the drum talked

When danger approached a village, the talking drum was used to warn villagers using sounds plucked from the beat in tones that match the speech of the land. The drumbeat travels across the air with clarity and faster than a horse rider would, thus serving as an effective means of communication. It however requires special skill to be able to play the talking drum and use it to transmit messages that were intelligible to the receiver. Like an intricate Morse code or telegraph, the pitched shaves and beats of the drum meant different words, which however had to be followed up by explanatory phrases so that the meaning was not lost in ambiguity. Traditionally, a drummer had a name tag with which he was known – like a handle, and messages from that drummer started off with the handle and signed off the same way. The messages were then relayed poetically with short phrase messages often becoming eight or ten times longer.

A simple call tag like Still Weather would be drummed as something like “The storm does not fall, the sun is at rest, the breeze is still, the sky does not weep” and messages such as “Come back home” would be drummed as “Make your feet come back the way they went, make your legs come back the way they went, plant your feet and your legs below, in the village which belongs to us”. In this way, the messages were passed along poetically while also ensuring clarity. Every beat meant a sound in a phrase, and every phrase coincided with a word. In this way, the words were broken up into specific phrases which were drummed out in separate sounds.

Purpose of call and response:

In African cultures, call-and-response is a widespread pattern of democratic participation—in public gatherings, in the discussion of civic affairs, in religious rituals, as well as in vocal and instrumental musical expression. The influence of African “Call & Response” has continued in the Americas over the centuries in various forms of expression—in religious observance; public gatherings; even in children's rhymes; and, most notably, in music in its multiple forms: blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, jazz, and hip-hop.

In contemporary African-American worship services, where call and response is pervasive, a pastor will call out to his congregants to engage an enthusiastic response. For example "Can I get an Amen?"

Call and response is derived from the historical African roots that served as the foundation for African American cultural traditions and is an excellent way of bringing community together through words and rhythm.

Tiriba

Tiriba (Triba) is from the Susu ethnic group, originating in a region of Lower Guinea. Through the years Tiriba has been given different meanings. In the oldest period Tiriba was a great dancer who performed with a group of percussionists. Dancing in a special costume he was called "the Tiriba".

Though the Tiriba-dance is no longer danced, the rhythm is still played often and is now danced by mothers and daughters together to celebrate leaving childhood and becoming adults.

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Call and Response during the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Concert:

Michael Folker, with the help of the other two percussionists, will be leading this call and response (with the Tiriba rhythm) during the concert. Listen for the Djembe to make the call. When he finishes, the audience responds with the “Response Pattern”. The drummers on stage will then play an improvised version of the Tiriba rhythm for a period of time. The Djembe drummer, Mr. Folker, will then raise his hand to alert the audience that he is about to end. For our finish, the Djembe will play the “Call Pattern” one more time and the audience will finish the song by playing their response.

Pattern:

Response: Played by Audience

*Key: Noteheads are played by striking palms of hands on legs. X- Played by clapping Counting: 1 & A 2 & A 3 & A 4 & A

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Activity: Call and Response with Words “Toom-Bah-Ee-Lero”

This fun call and response song was created by Ella Jenkins. Ms. Jenkins was a native of Chicago, Illinois and spent much time in Palatine, Illinois working at a children’s camp in the 1950’s. Since she didn’t own a guitar, a friend gave her a drum and she began working with children doing rhythms involving “call and response”. Click here for a YouTube recording of Ella Jenkins performing this call and response. The following are the words and when to sing them. Leader: Toom bah Toom bah Group: Toom bah Toom bah

Leader: Ee Toombah Toombah Toombah Group: Ee Toombah Toombah Toombah

Leader: Toombah ee chee chee Group: Toombah ee chee chee

Leader: Ee Toombah Group: Ee Toombah

Leader: Ee Toombah ee lero Toombah Group: Ee Toombah ee lero Toombah

Leader: Toombah ee lero Toombah Group: Toombah ee lero Toombah 18

Leader: Toombah ee chee chee Group: Toombah ee chee chee

L & G: Toombah ee chee chee (fade out to silence)

(Compiled by Michael Folker) Michael Folker has been performing in the Chicagoland area for the past 30 years. He is percussionist with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic and Chicago Sinfonietta. Additionally, Michael is principal percussionist with the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, and Chicago Opera Theater. In addition to performing, Michael is the director of percussion at Judson University (Elgin) and is on faculty at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. He is the creator of “The Magic of Music” and “The Magic of Rhythm”, both of which are educational programs designed to teach young audiences about the wonders of live music. Michael is also the founder of “Rhythm for Life”, a program designed to empower and build life skills through rhythm and drumming. Michael earned his bachelor’s degree from Millikin University and his master’s degree from DePaul University in Percussion Performance.

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THE OCEAN Beneath By Alex Shapiro “As composers we are vessels, we are pouring out. We are communicators, that’s our job. If I can communicate beauty in all of its myriad forms and turn it into music, I’m just so fortunate.” ~Alex Shapiro

Born in New York City in 1962 and raised in Manhattan, Alex Shapiro began composing at age nine. At fifteen, she was encouraged by Leo Edwards in her first private composition lessons during a summer program in 1977 at Mannes College of Music, at which she also had her initial experiences building a modular synthesizer and writing electronic music. She was educated as a composition major at The Juilliard School's Pre-College division from which she graduated in 1980, and at Manhattan School of Music from 1980-1983, where she pursued electronic music

Ms. Shapiro is the recipient of national honors and recognitions including those from the American Music Center, ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, and Meet the Composer, and has been awarded artist fellowships from The California Arts Council and The MacDowell Colony. In 2011, Ms. Shapiro was honored by the international music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon, and presented its highest distinction given to members, the Award of Merit, for her innovative use of new technologies in developing her composing career and helping colleagues do the same. In 2013, Hal Leonard Corporation signed what they call a “groundbreaking, pioneering” exclusive print and digital distribution deal with Activist Music for Ms. Shapiro's symphonic wind band pieces and other larger works from her catalog.

Ms. Shapiro, Can you tell us about your composition, Beneath? What should we listen for?

The most exciting aspect of BENEATH that you can listen for throughout the whole piece, is the beautiful Pacific Humpback whale song that I use as a main theme! When I was beginning the piece, I didn’t have any plans to use anything other than traditional instruments. One day, I happened to be on the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) website, enjoying poking around the different natural sounds that they included on THIS page at the time: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/sound01/background/seasounds/seasounds.html (I’m not sure whether the links to the audio files work any longer) I listened to quite a number of whales, and when I came to this audio file, I was very touched by the lyrical line of the melody. As the whale sang, I walked over to my piano and began to improvise along with it. I was amazed: the whale was entirely in tune with our [“whale-tempered”!] scale! At that moment I realized that I needed to base the music for this piece around the tonal center and lyricism of this cetacean.

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What are you working on now?

I'm composing an electroacoustic piece for flute and percussion ensemble that’s about the magical communications between trees and our relationship to the forest. I’m also about to begin an electroacoustic SATB choral piece for a choir in Los Angeles, and after that I have four more electroacoustic wind band pieces on my plate. I’m always excited to continue to expand the wind band repertoire!

Is there anything in particular you might like the students to know about you?

Activism, in arts advocacy, environmentalism, and civil liberties, has been a significant part of my life, and so has proximity to nature. I was born and raised in New York City’s Manhattan, and later spent 24 years in Southern California. But in 2006 I discovered a very beautiful and extremely rural life on San Juan Island off the coast of Washington State, and I’ve lived here on the water’s edge for the past twelve years and can’t imagine calling any other place home. I see whales— Humpbacks, Orcas, and Minkes, swim by my house every week, and I can’t believe my good fortune to get to commune so closely with these amazing creatures. I think that living in nature has a profound effect on the way I hear.

What advice do you have for a young composer?

First and foremost: keep composing! Write everything and anything, in all styles of music. Expand your ears and your heart and be open to all sorts of ways to express yourself. Expose yourself to as many concerts and recordings as you can, and engage with other musicians and collaborate! It’s also very important to engage with the world around you, outside of music, so that your many interests feed your happiness and become the essence of what you have to say musically as a composer. Be keenly aware of the positive power you have to help and encourage other people, and to raise your voice through whatever your passions might be, and by doing so, to raise the consciousness of others.

Click here for a 50-second video of Ms. Shapiro answering the question, “What kind of a composer are you?” Click here for a video of Ms. Shapiro speaking about the beauty of whale songs.

Oceans cover ¾ of the earth’s surface. Within our oceans live millions and millions of life forms, many of which have yet to be discovered.

The humpback whale is found in all of the oceans of the earth except the polar seas. They prefer shallow waters. They feed in the cold arctic waters in the summer months and migrate to tropical waters in winter. This breed of whale is among the most acrobatic and are famous for their underwater singing and flipper slapping. They have the largest flippers of any whale! Texture Texture in music is defined by how the various instruments, tempo, harmonies and other elements are combined in a piece of music to create the quality of the sound. Texture can mean many things in music. It can 21 mean the types of instruments or voices, the number of instruments and/or voices, and the combination of those.

Physical materials have texture. Have students look around the room and touch and define the different textures around them. Is it smooth, soft, rough, sticky, etc.? Point out that musical texture is similar but that instead of touch, it is defined by what we hear. One might define the musical texture by the loudness and softness, the highness and lowness of the pitch, the length of the notes and the rhythm as well as the variety of instruments or voices involved.

Texture can be defined as thin or thick, and these sounds can be woven throughout a piece of music to create intensity or calmness. A Monophonic texture means that the melody has one voice. The voice may consist of one instrument or many different instruments, but they all follow the same melody and rhythm. Homophonic texture is more common in music. If a piece of music has a melody with chords supporting it, it is homophonic.

Activity: Let’s Create! Make a piece of art that represents the textures of the ocean and that directly compares physical textures to musical textures. Collect small pieces of cloth, aluminum foil, cotton balls, tissue paper and anything you can think of that might work for this project! Provide large pieces of construction paper and have crayons and/or colored pencils available. Students can glue the textures to their paper and/or use the side of a crayon to trace the textures.

Imagine together what instruments of the orchestra might be used if they composed a piece of music about the ocean. For instance, what would the violins represent? Perhaps the smooth silkiness of the water? What instrument might depict a school of fish? If the fish are tiny, maybe the piccolo or an oboe? Might a shark be depicted by a horn or a trombone? As they create their project, they can even write in which instruments of would demonstrate each texture if they were composing the piece. In addition, discuss whether the instruments might play high or low, loud or soft, short or long.

We would love to see what you come up with! Please take a picture of your favorite projects and send them to [email protected] . With your permission, we would like to display them on our website!

Group project for grades 3-6 Divide students into groups of 4. Find photographs to show them examples of physical textures. Some examples might be: pictures of wool, placid water, huge waves of water, waving grains of wheat, small pebbles, frosting on a fudge cake. Have each group select one photo. The students work together to find a way to describe their photo using the sounds from classroom instruments. They then take turns performing their texture sounds to the class and then explaining what texture they are demonstrating and why they have chosen those sounds.

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ANTARCTICA Suite from Frozen

By Lopez/Beck, arr. Krogstad We know that the music from Frozen wasn’t written by a resident of Antarctica. Frozen doesn’t even take place in Antarctica. Let’s just say this, until someone from Antarctica writes a piece for orchestra (perhaps one of those scientists in a research station?) we will substitute the Suite from Frozen to represent this continent. After all, Antarctica is frozen, and who doesn’t want an excuse to listen to the music from this very popular Disney animated musical? Antarctica: Cold, Windy, Dry and Beautiful

Here are some fun facts about Antarctica:

 The highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica is 58.2 degrees.  Antarctica is classified as a desert as little moisture falls from the sky.  The size of Antarctica expands and recedes as the ice changes through the seasons.  90% of the world’s fresh water is in Antarctica.  Some parts of Antarctica have had no rain or snow for the last 2 million years.  Antarctica is the only continent without reptiles.  Antarctica is the only continent without a time zone.  Antarctica is almost 1.5 times the size of the U.S. and is the 5th largest continent.  During one of Earth’s warmest cycles, Antarctica was covered in rich green forests and inhabited with dinosaurs.  There are more than 40 airports in Antarctica.  There are no indigenous people on Antarctica.

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THE AMERICAS Mambo from West Side Story By Leonard Bernstein b. August 25, 1918 d. October 14, 1990 Leonard Bernstein, whose parents were Jewish immigrants, was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He fell in love with music when his cousin gave him his beat-up piano. His parents were not supportive of his interest in music so he had to find a way to pay for his own piano lessons. After his later success as a student at Harvard and then at the Curtis Institute of Music, his parents finally appreciated his gift and supported his career. In 1958 he became the music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held until 1969. During his tenure he championed the Young People’s Concerts, televised programs which introduced an entire generation to classical music. Bernstein was a great performer, conductor, educator and composer. His contributions to American music are unsurpassed. Mambo A mambo is a Latin American dance developed in Cuba. Watch the Mambo scene from the movie “West Side Story”. Watch this video and then teach your students to dance the mambo while listening! Ideas for involvement: 1. Create a word search of Latin American dance terms, names of cities, or Latin American food types. 2. Class conversation starters: In our newer National Arts Anchor Standards, teachers are to ask students several questions. One is: How do musicians improve their creations? Can any of your students begin a sentence with the words, “I wonder, I want to know, or I noticed” to begin a conversation about how students think an orchestra or even Bernstein himself might have decided to ‘fix’ something in the music he wrote, or with an orchestra he conducted, or with a group of students he was teaching? When do you think Bernstein decided his music was ready to be performed? Can you students list any specific music details that demonstrate awareness of ‘performance readiness?’ 24

Etiquette for Concert-Goers

Leave your cell phone at home! (Or at least turn it off).

No gum or candy.

Picture taking is not allowed! (That includes videos).

Refrain from talking.

Applaud when the concertmaster walks on stage. That is the signal that the concert is about to begin.

Careful, if you think the piece is over, wait a few seconds until you hear other people clapping…sometimes it’s just a pause in the music. (You should never be the only one clapping!) When the conductor’s arms are down, it’s usually time to clap.

Smile! Bring a good attitude…you are going to love this concert!

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Stephen Squires, Resident Conductor

Mr. Squires has had a distinguished career (now 40 years) as a collegiate professor. Currently he is Professor of Music in the Music Conservatory at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University, where he conducts the CCPA Wind Ensemble and teaches in the Core Music Studies curriculum. Prior to his appointment at CCPA, Mr. Squires served on the artist faculty at the Northern Illinois University School of Music. Stephen Squires is in his 28th season as Resident Conductor of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Squires received musical training at the Eastman School of Music Preparatory School, and earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, at the State University of New York at Potsdam. Mr. Squires also earned a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting/Trumpet Performance at California State University, Northridge. In addition to his duties with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, he is the Music Director of the Salt Creek Ballet Orchestra, the Millar Brass, the Illinois Brass Band, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Fox Valley Symphony. He is the former Music Director of the Illinois Chamber Symphony. Mr. Squires has conducted recordings for Delos, Spring Hill (a division of EMI) and Centaur Labels. An ardent proponent of new music, he has conducted over 80 world premiere performances. Mr. Squires has guest conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, the Green Bay Symphony, the Columbus Symphony and the Chicago Composers Orchestra. Mr. Squires is also an accomplished recital accompanist and freelance trumpeter.

Many thanks to Susan Carlson for her contributions to this teachers guide. Ms. Carlson is a comprehensive music teacher in Palatine School District 15. She is passionate about teaching the magical sounds of the orchestra and all its instruments. Currently she teaches at Willow Bend Elementary School in Rolling Meadows and serves the feeder students of Plum Grove Jr. High, Carl Sandberg Jr High, Rolling Meadows High School, and Fremd High School. She is a flute, piccolo and recorder player and performs as a hobbyist with the Buffalo Grove Community Band. She is also a member of the Elgin Symphony Education Committee.

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About the Elgin Symphony Orchestra

The ESO was founded as a community orchestra at the Elgin Community College by Doug Steensland in 1950. In 1971 Maestro Hillis was appointed Music Director, and the Orchestra’s artistic growth grew significantly. Maestro Hillis was an incredibly talented person. She was born in Kokomo, Indiana. During World War II, she was a civilian flight instructor and contemplated a career as a professional golfer. Ms. Hillis broke many barriers in her career. Her leadership and founding of the Chicago Symphony Chorus led her to eventually conduct major orchestras around the country. She captured national attention in 1977 when she substituted on short notice for an ailing Sir Georg Solti and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Hillis was succeeded by Maestro Robert Hanson in 1985 as the Music Director of the ESO. Under Maestro Hanson’s leadership, the ensemble became a fully professional ensemble. In 1988, 1989, and 2005, the ESO was named Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. The ESO was the first three-time winner of this award, which recognizes programming excellence, artistic quality and leadership. Maestro Hanson stepped down in 2011. In 2013, after an international search that featured 200 applicants, the ESO appointed Andrew Grams as the fourth Music Director to lead this orchestra. Maestro Grams has appeared with many of the great orchestras of the world as Conductor. Ironically, Maestros Grams and Hillis both received their conducting training from the renowned conductor Otto-Werner Mueller. With an annual operation budget of just under $3 million, the ESO is Illinois’ premier regional orchestra. Audiences of over 40,000 are served each year, and over 20,000 students are reached yearly with a combination of Traveling Ensembles and the Ainsworth Concerts for Youth. The Elgin Symphony continues to enlarge its mission as one of the foremost education orchestras in the country, adding programs for adults like the Listeners Club at the Gail Borden Public Library and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra Listeners Club on Huntley Community Radio. A partnership with Advocate Hospitals (Musicians Care) brings professional musicians weekly into area hospitals with healing and soothing music. Resources: New York Philharmonic Program Notes, James M. Keller, Program Annotator Teacher.org Britannica.com Livescience.com Credits: This teachers guide was created with the help of: Wendy Evans, ESO director, community engagement and orchestra personnel Susan Carlson, music teacher, district 15 Michael Folker, ESO musician

Coloring Concert