Sight to Sound
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The Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Presents Sight to Sound Youth Concert 2014-2015 Teacher GUIDE KSO Youth Concerts 2014-2015 “Sight to Sound” Teacher Guide Pages Concert Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..………………..2 Artwork Submissions………………………………...……………………………………………………………...3 Symphony Orchestra Instrument Families………………………………..……………………………….4 Symphony Orchestra Template……………………………………………………………...………………...6 “Sunrise Ignites Daybreak’s Veil” from Chasing Light, by Shwantner….……………..….…...8 In the Steppes of Central Asia, by Borodin..……………………....………………………………...….10 Music Composition Templates………………………………………..……………………………………….12 “The Storm of Chenery Auditorium”………….…………………………………………………...….......14 “The Royal March of the Lion” from Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saens……….....16 Mosquito Dance, by White……...……….………………..……………………………………...….....…..18 “The Elephant” from Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saens…………..………………….…..20 “Flight of the Bumblebee” from The Tale of Tsar Saltan, by Korsakov….…...…………….20 “The Moldau” from Ma Vlast by Smetana……………….……………….……………………….……..22 “The Flying Theme” from E.T., by Williams………………....………...………………...…………….24 Flying Theme Pictures for Writing Activity……………………………………………………………..26 What a Wonderful World, by Thiele/Weiss…….………….…..……………………….…………….28 Special Needs Modifications……….……………………………………………………..……...………...30 The Conductor’s Role……………………………………………………………..………..……..……………31 Review: Show What You Know & Post-Concert Reflection…………………….……………..32 Concert Behavior: Setting Up Your Students for Success…………………..………………….33 MI Standards and Benchmarks…………………………………...………………………...…………….34 Instrument Index……………….…………………………………...………………………………..………...36 Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra Stage Plot…………………………….…………….………..…..37 Student and Teacher Guide cover design, composer pages, lesson formatting and graphic design by Cori Somers. Youth Concert 2014-2015: Sight to Sound Dear Students, Welcome to the Kalamazoo Symphony Youth Concerts 2015! This year’s program will take us on a musical journey with composers who have used the symphony orchestra to create images of our natural world through music. You will explore sunrises, thunderstorms, rivers, animals and more! We have exciting participation pieces this year too! You will have the opportunity to sing with us, create a storm of your own, and submit artwork that will be shown during the concert! We look forward to seeing you at the Kalamazoo Symphony concert, enjoying the music that sparks your imagination! CONCERT PROGRAM Schwantner “Sunrise Ignites Daybreaks’ Veil” from Chasing Light Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia *Working “The Storm of Chenery Auditorium” Mystery Composer ????????????? Saint-Saëns “The Royal March of the Lion” from Carnival of the Animals White The Mosquito Dance Saint-Saëns “The Elephant” from Carnival of the Animals Rimsky-Korsakov “Flight of the Bumblebee” from The Tale of the Tsar Saltan *Smetana “The Moldau” from Ma Vlast Williams “The Flying Theme” from E. T. *Thiele/Weiss What a Wonderful World * Indicates a student participation piece! Youth Concerts are made possible in part by: The Burdick-Thorne Foundation, Education for the Arts, John E. Fetzer Institute Fund, Diane S. Robertson, Mignon Sherwood DeLano Foundation, Stucki Family Foundation, Tyler-Little Family Foundation, Youth Concert Luncheon supporters , Dorothy U. Dalton Foundation, Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation, Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra League, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, Pfizer Corporation, Zoetis, Schupan And Sons, Upjohn Mason Grandchildren’s Chair in Music Education 2 We invite your students to submit artwork based on Friedrich Smetana’s work “The Moldau” from Ma Vlast. All artwork chosen will be displayed on our screen during the KSO’s performance of “Ma Vlast”! We will have a special presentation for each day of the week to be sure that pieces chosen from your school will be shown when your students are at the concert. Submission requirements: You may submit original works of art or email photographs to [email protected] Work must be done in 2D, any medium welcome Work must be done on no larger than 11 x 17 paper Work must be matted on a solid color piece of construction paper Place all artwork in one envelope and label the back of each piece with name and grade of student Submission Deadline: All artwork must be postmarked by Thursday February 19, 2015 Please send all submissions to: Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra All artwork will be C/O Cori Somers returned by April 1st 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Suite 100 Kalamazoo, MI 49007 3 Instrument Families When we talk about musical instruments, we often talk about them as being part of a family. That's because, just like in human families, the instruments in a particular family are related to each other. They are often made of the same types of materials, usually look similar to one another, and produce sound in similar ways. Some are larger and some are smaller, just as people come in different shapes and sizes. 1. Using the student guide pictures of the instrument families discuss the different instrument families. How do they produce sound? How are they played? How are they made? Where can you find them on stage? 2. Make copies of the instrument cut-outs and stage plots from the Teacher Guide on pages 6 and 7. Have students create their own Symphony Orchestra set up. Page 35 of the Teacher Guide provides you with how your students will see the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra on stage. The String Family : Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass Produce sound from vibrating strings. In most strings instruments, the vibrations are transmitted to the body of the instrument, which also vibrates, along with the air inside it. A vibrating string on its own makes only a very quiet sound, so string instruments are usually constructed in such a way that this sound is coupled to a hollow resonating chamber, a soundboard, or both. All string instruments have a bridge, which holds the string at the proper action height from the finger board. The bridge helps to transmit string energy into the "sound box" of the instrument to increase the sound volume. Makers of string instruments often seek very high quality woods, particularly spruce (chosen for its lightness, strength and flexibility) and maple (a very hard wood). Spruce is used for the sounding boards of instruments from the violin to the piano. String Instruments are played by Plucking: Pizzicato or Bowing: Arco Different pitches are created by varying the length of a string. A longer string results in a lower pitch, while a shorter string results in a higher pitch. By placing a finger down on the string , it shortens the distance between the finger placed and the bridge. The shorter the distance, the higher the pitch! A string with less tension (looser) results in a lower pitch, while a string with greater tension (tighter) results in a higher pitch. String instruments can be divided in three groups. Lutes - instruments in which the strings are supported by a neck and gourd, such as a violin. Harps - instruments in which the strings are contained within a frame. Zithers - instruments with the strings mounted on a body, such as a piano. The Brass Family: Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, Horn Produce sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones, literally meaning "lip-vibrated instruments" There are several factors involved in producing different pitches on a brass instrument. Slides, valves, crooks, or keys are used to change vibratory length of tubing, thus changing the available harmonic series, while the player's embouchure (mouth shape), lip tension and air flow serve to select the specific harmonic produced from the available series. 4 Modern brass instruments generally come in one of two families: Valve - a set of valves are operated by the player's fingers that introduce additional tubing, or crooks, into the instrument, changing its overall length. Each valve pressed moves air through additional tubing, individually or with other valves. Slide - brass instruments use a slide to change the length of tubing. The main instruments in this catergory are the trombone family. Most brass instruments are fitted with a removable mouthpiece. Different shapes, sizes and styles of mouthpiece may be used to suit different embouchures.Trumpets,trombones, and tubas are characteristically fitted with a cupped mouthpiece, while horns are fitted with a conical mouthpiece. Traditionally the instruments are normally made of brass, polished and then lacquered to prevent corrosion. Some higher quality and higher cost instruments use gold or silver plating. The Woodwind Family: Flute, Piccolo, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Bassoon There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed instruments (otherwise called reed pipes). What differentiates these instruments from other wind instruments is the way in which they produce their sound . Flutes Produce sound by directing a focused stream of air across the edge of a hole in a cylindrical tube. The flute family can be divided into two sub-families: open flutes, and closed flutes. Open Flutes - the player is required to blow a stream of air across a sharp edge that then splits the air stream . This split airstream then acts upon the air column contained within the flutes hollow causing it to vibrate and produce