BSO Midweek Concert
The Polar Express
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Ken Lam Baritone Robert Cantrell
The Maryland State Boychoir
Still Images from The Polar Express
The Polar Express
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
10am: Tiny Tots PreK-K 11:30am: Prime Time Grades 1-3
Friday, December 4, 2015 10am: Tiny Tots PreK-K 11:30am: Prime Time Grades 1-3
Table of Contents
Welcome Letter, Teachers’ Guide Information ………………………….… 1
The Polar Express: Snapshot for Teachers and Students ..……………... 3
Track One: Winter Holidays………..…………………………………….……….. 7 Music, History, English Language Arts
Track Two: Train and Winter Songs.. …..………………………………..…… 9 Music, STEAM
Track Three: Storybook Singing …..……………………………………………. 14 Music, English Language Arts, History, Visual Arts, Drama
Track Four: Make a Travel Commercial...…………………………………… 15 Music, English Language Arts, Drama, Visual Arts, History
Track Five: Movement Games..………………………………………………….. 17 Music, Drama, STEAM
Track Six: Drawing the Story………………………………………………………. 20 Visual Arts, English Language Arts, STEAM
Track Seven: Designing the Menu……….. ……………………….………...…. 21 Visual Arts, English Language Arts, STEAM
Centennial Activities ……………………….….……………………..…………..….. 23
Special Thanks ……………………………………..………………..……….….….... 30
Welcome to the BSO Midweeks!
On behalf of the Associate Conductor for Education, Ken Lam, the members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the BSO Education Department, I am delighted to welcome you to our 2015-2016 Midweek Concert Series. This season we celebrate the BSO Centennial: 100 years of extraordinary orchestral music in Baltimore. With the BSO Midweek Concert series as the longest running education initiative at the BSO (running since February 16, 1924), and the first regular educational concert series of any orchestra in the country, we are thrilled to have you join us to celebrate this momentous occasion here at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
This Centennial Midweek Concert Season we present four concert themes: two for younger students (The Polar Express and Peter and the Wolf) and two for older students (Icarus at the Edge of Time and All About Sports). For the first time ever in the history of the BSO we are offering concerts for High School Students with special presentations of Icarus at the Edge of Time.
Two of these concert themes have been hand-selected especially for this season to celebrate our Centennial. Icarus at the Edge of Time celebrates you, our future audiences, and our exciting new Arts-Integrated, STEAM-Activated approach to relevant, interactive and interconnected concerts. Peter and the Wolf celebrates the BSO’s tradition of bringing live music to student audiences, with Prokofiev’s timeless tale and engaging music.
About this Guide
On the next pages you will find The Polar Express Teachers’ Guide, written by a highly skilled group of Maryland educators with specialism in music, drama, science, English/Language Arts and visual arts, led by extraordinary award-winning curriculum writer and editor, Richard McCready.
At the start of the guide is a “Snapshot” of your concert experience. This will give you a sense of what to expect in the concert, along with some thoughts about the various curricular connections, and music we suggest you experience in the classroom before the performance. This is also where you can find the listing of all the specific curriculum standards that are supported by the concert and by the activities.
Beyond the Snapshot pages you will find a variety of activities, organized as “Train Tracks” to signify the various directions that you can explore in order to prepare for this concert. Each Track may be used in whichever order you wish. We have also highlighted the various cross-curricular links that align with each Track so that you may jump to areas that are of particular interest to you and your students. We hope that your students try at least one prior to coming to the concert so they can make the most of their live experience at the Meyerhoff.
Each activity is written to the student and encourages their natural sense of creativity and exploration. They will be able to read the activity pages, or you will be able to read the activities with them. Not all of the activities are specifically musical. Some are scientific, some are movement games, some employ and encourage art skills, and some involve storytelling and role-play. You best know your students, their capabilities and interests. You should encourage students to try the activities that you feel most appropriate for them and for your classroom. Encourage other teachers in your building to try some of the activities as well.
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Share & Connect
Most importantly, this year we have designed our guides as a mere starting point for exploration, with the essential piece being the work that is created by the student, for the student, and then presented to us here at the BSO. We can’t wait to see where these ideas might take your students and all the inspired, arts-integrated work they will produce in the classroom. We will aim to post this material on our website to inspire other students and teachers. We may even incorporate it into the concert experience, both this year and beyond. If you wish to share any materials with us at the BSO, please send them to [email protected]. Be sure to let us know how we may acknowledge the creators of the work. If you wish to send us materials for our internal use, please do be sure to specify which works may not be posted on our website. We promise to read every email, enjoy every art piece, listen to every composition, and watch every video. We hope that you will also check back on our website to share in the works of others.
We hope you enjoy this guide, your explorations that are yet to come, the concert experience, and sharing your creative work with us. See you in December, and be sure to also check out our other Midweek Concerts this season: All About Sports and Peter & the Wolf!
Warmly,
Annemarie Guzy Director of Education Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
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The Polar Express:
Snapshot for Teachers and Students
The Story
The Polar Express is a timeless children’s book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. In the story, a young boy is taken to the North Pole on a train called The Polar Express. There are many other children on the train and many wonderful treats to eat. The boy meets Santa and is handpicked to receive the first gift of Christmas. Santa gives the boy a bell, which he places in the pocket of his robe. On the train ride home, the boy finds he has lost the bell, but on Christmas morning, the bell is found in a mysterious small package under the tree. The boy and his sister ring the bell and hear its beautiful sound, but their parents cannot hear the bell and think that it is broken.
The Concert
The Polar Express is not only a book; it has also been made into a movie, a video game, and a version for symphony orchestra.
The version of The Polar Express that you will hear at the Meyerhoff is a setting of Chris Van Allsburg’s story for orchestra with a sung narrator and children’s choir, composed by Robert Kapilow. Hearing a story sung rather than read by a narrator will probably be a very new experience for students, and we encourage you to listen to the music before the concert. The score is totally delightful and enjoyable, but children will benefit more from the concert if they can listen to it before arriving at the Meyerhoff.
It is worthwhile to note that the music by Robert Kapilow (the version you will hear in the concert) is different from the music heard in the film with Tom Hanks. You should be able to find both versions on iTunes or Spotify, and it might be fun to compare the two versions, or perhaps even create your own version of some of the music in the classroom.
The first piece of music on this concert will be Prokofiev’s “Troika” from the Lieutenant Kijé Suite. A troika is a traditional Russian horse-drawn sleigh. It’s easy to imagine the horses and the sleigh traveling across a snowy winter landscape, and this piece is often heard in movies and on TV to depict wintertime. We’ll open the concert with this piece to set a wintry mood.
The concert will conclude with a quick trip around the world to explore different cultures in wintertime. For this musical adventure, the BSO will perform selections from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker including “Spanish Dance,” “Chinese Dance,” and “Trepak.” We’ll celebrate wintertime in these countries and highlight holiday traditions from across the world.
We hope you enjoy these concerts about holiday celebrations, world travel, and wintertime festivities. The activities in this guide will be a wonderful way to prepare for this delightful experience.
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Share & Connect!
Each activity ends with a way to share your thoughts, compositions and creations with us at the BSO. We look forward to seeing and listening to what you send us!
Useful Web Links Music of The Polar Express by Robert Kapilow o https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rob-kapilow-polar-express/id940215501
Preview of The Polar Express by Robert Kapilow (and also Kapilow’s Gertrude McFuzz ) o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs4MsDGob6w
Music of “Troika” by Sergei Prokofiev from Lieutenant Kijé Suite o https://open.spotify.com/track/0vAuvor57Kozo21tSnfLGY o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QsRDpsItq0
Music of The Nutcracker by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtLoaMfinbU . “Spanish Dance (Chocolat)”: at 1:00:47 . “Chinese Dance (Le The)”: at 1:07:05 . “Trepak”: at 1:08:32
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Curriculum Connections
This symbol This symbol This symbol This symbol This symbol This symbol denotes denotes denotes denotes denotes Maryland denotes National National National National Science National Common Common Core Common Core Common Expectations & Common Core Social Arts Arts Core Arts National Common Core ELA Studies Standards: Standards: Standards: Core Mathematics Standards. Standards. Music Drama Visual Arts Standards
Here are the National Common Core Standards in Arts, English Language Arts,
Mathematics and Social Studies, that apply to this program and the activity guides:
National Common Core Arts Standards
Creating 1. Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. 2. Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. 3. Refine and complete artistic work.
Performing 4. Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation. 5. Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation. 6. Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
Responding
7. Perceive and analyze artistic work.
8. Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work. 9. Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
Connecting 10. Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art. 11. Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural and historical context to deepen understanding.
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National Common Core English Language Arts Student Capacities
2. They build strong content knowledge. 3. They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline. 4. They comprehend as well as critique. 7. They come to understanding other perspectives and cultures.
National Common Core Mathematics Standards
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. 5. Use appropriate tools strategically. 6. Attend to precision. 7. Look for and make use of structure.
National Common Core Social Studies Standards
2. Applying disciplinary tools in civics, economics, geography, and history. 3. Gathering and evaluating evidence. 4. Developing claims and using evidence. 6. Taking informed action.
In addition, these Maryland Science Expectations apply to this program and the activity guides:
Maryland Science Expectations
Expectation 1.1 The student will explain why curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism are highly regarded in science.
Expectation 1.7 The student will show that connections exist both within the various fields of science and among science and other disciplines including mathematics, social studies, language arts, fine arts, and technology.
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Track One: Winter Holidays
The Polar Express takes place in winter in the month of December. While this particular story is inspired by the Christmas holiday traditions, there are so many wonderful winter holidays from around the world with other unique traditions. Explore these holidays below!
Activity Ideas
As you read The Polar Express you will notice that some of the action takes place at night, when it is dark, and some during daylight hours. Because winter holidays take place when days are short and nights are long in the Northern Hemisphere, light is a common symbol. People light candles for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, people place lights on Christmas trees and place candles in their windows, people carry lanterns to light the processions during Las Posadas, and people light lamps to celebrate Diwali.
In countries in the Southern Hemisphere, the holidays occur at the time of year when there are long days and short nights. Winter in Australia, for example, takes place when it is summer in the US. Even though Christmas and other festivals occur in the summer months in Australia, people still light candles, lanterns, lamps and tree lights, because the symbol of light is so important.
Your mission: Go on a scavenger hunt to learn about the holidays your classmates celebrate. On your hunt, ask these questions: 1. What is the name of the holiday you and/or your family celebrate? 2. What are some characteristics of this holiday, such as food, music, songs, art, customs, costumes or garments, etc.? 3. What is your favorite part of this holiday? What makes you smile when you think of this holiday? 4. What story can you share about this holiday? 5. How does light play an important part of this holiday?
Your challenge is to learn about 1 or 2 holidays that you do not celebrate at your home. Ask your parents, grandparents, teachers, etc. what holidays they celebrate. Ask and record their answers to the questions shown above.
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Key Terms
Diwali (Mid-October through Mid-November): This is one of the biggest Hindu festivals in India, celebrating the “Festival of Lights.” The festival is celebrated for five continuous days.
Feast of St. Nicholas (December 6): St. Nicholas is the Patron Saint of children. He brings coins and gifts to children throughout many parts of Europe.
Bodhi Day (December 8): The Buddhist Day of Enlightenment celebrates the day that the Buddha (Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautama) found enlightenment.
Las Posadas (December 16 through December 24): A Spanish and South American tradition, this celebration includes a procession to family homes for celebration and prayer and a re-enactment of Mary & Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.
Feast of Winter Veil (December 15 - January 2): This is a holiday in the game “World of Warcraft”. This holiday is based on Christmas. Cities are decorated with lights and a tree is decorated with presents. Special quests, items and snowballs are available to players during this time. The character of Greatfather Winter, who is modeled after Santa Claus, appears.
Winter Solstice Festival, or Saturnalia (December 21): This is a celebration of the shortest day and longest night of the year, when winter officially begins.
Christmas Day (December 25): This is one of the most celebrated holidays around the world, increasingly celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike.
Kwanzaa (December 26 - January 1): This is a Pan-African festival celebrated in the US and other countries with strong African heritage. During Kwanzaa, each day is devoted to celebrating a different principle of family and culture.
Hanukkah (Late November to Late December): This is a Jewish holiday observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar. Hanukkah may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.
Hogmanay (December 31): Scottish New Year's Eve celebration. The Scots celebrate by telling Share & Connect! Write down some of the cool things you learn in an email and send it to the BSO. We would love to hear about the holiday traditions that are special to you. Email us at ([email protected]).
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Track Two: Train & Winter Songs
The Polar Express is a magical train journey. Imagine you are traveling by train in the winter. What are some of the sights, sounds, and smells you expect to experience on your journey?
Activity Ideas
On the next page is a list of songs about trains and songs about winter. What songs could you add to the lists? If you don’t know some of the songs, find them on iTunes, Spotify or YouTube and listen to them.
Have an adult help you cut out both of the spinners on the next two pages. You may need to print the pages first! Punch out each red dot using a hole punch and then attach the arrows to each spinner using a brad fastener.
Your challenge is to sing Winter and Train songs according to what happens when you spin the spinners. For example if one spinner says “Tempo – Allegro” and the other says “Winter Song”, then you should choose a winter song and sing it at a brisk speed. If a spinner says “Form – AB” sing the first song followed by the second song.
You can challenge your friends or do this activity together in class. We’ve included an extra blank spinner so you can make your own challenges.
Share & Connect!
Record your singing with a video camera and send your performance to the BSO ([email protected] ). We’d love to hear you sing!
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Song Lists
Train Songs Winter Songs
Down by the Station Jingle Bells Engine Engine Number Nine Winter Wonderland
Little Red Caboose Let it Snow
To Stop the Train Frosty the Snowman Working on the Railroad Susie Snowflake
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Track Three: Storybook Singing
The Polar Express is a book, but when you come to the concert you will hear it being performed almost like an opera. Composer Robert Kapilow created original music for orchestra with a baritone singer and children’s choir who sing the words from the book. What are other ways people tell stories? How do music and songs impact how you hear a story?
Activity Ideas
Find your favorite short story from literature (fiction) or even a true-life short story from history or the news (non-fiction). Assemble a small audience with family, your classmates and/or friends (maybe even your stuffed animals too!) Using your singing voice, perform your favorite story in a dramatic way using a lot of expression. Be sure to entertain your audience! Try adding props, set pieces, and movements as you share your sung storybook.
Try altering the dynamics (loud/soft) of your voice or using different tempos (fast/slow) during your performance in order to illustrate the story and change moods. Try using different vocal styles for different characters in your story.
Share & Connect!
Record your singing and story with a video camera and send your performance to the BSO ([email protected]).
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Track Four: Make a Travel Commercial
Imagine a travel commercial for a journey on The Polar Express. As you read the book and look at the pictures, imagine if the images were actually part of a 90 second commercial on TV, advertising seats aboard The Polar Express for your next winter holiday.
Activity Ideas
Travel commercials use music and images and sometimes even live people singing songs about a place they love. Can you and your friends make a travel commercial together for a place you love to visit? Maybe it’s your grandmother’s house. Maybe it’s a different town. Maybe it’s a different state. Maybe it’s even a different country!
How can you mix images, words and music together to make that place seem as special and exciting as possible to someone who has never been there? Does your place have a special song that invites people to come visit?
On the next page is a playlist of YouTube videos to show you what travel commercials look like. You can watch them for inspiration. What do you notice about the different ways that words, images and music are all used together to make
you want to travel to that place? How does each commercial make you feel about that place?
Want to really have fun? Now try making a commercial for a FANTASY world or place! It could be a world that exists only in a book, like “Narnia” in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It could be a place that you’ve never visited. It could be a world in the past or in the future. It could even be a place you completely make up, like a world made entirely of candy, or a place where everyone and everything is your favorite color.
Find a way to share your commercial with at least one other person. Maybe you could design and make special scenery and costumes. Maybe you could act, sing or dance in your commercial to show the culture of the place. See if your commercial makes your friends want to visit your special place too!
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Share & Connect! Useful Web Link
Record your travel commercial with a video camera or https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf3Ey7VkSKf phone and send it to us at the BSO YimcFJGKd7WPDAubO91ny0 ([email protected]). We’d love to see the places you love to visit, and the worlds you imagine!
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Track Five: Movement Games
The Polar Express features a train that rides through the night to carry its passengers to the North Pole. Trains are truly amazing machines. They are capable of transporting very large loads of passengers or cargo over great distances, and they are
also capable of quite high speeds. It’s fun to pretend to be a train – these movement games will be great activities for you and your friends, and we’re sure you’ll really like them.
Activity Ideas
Body Train
Make a train with your bodies by lining up one behind another. The person at the head of the line is the engineer of the train and is going to lead everyone around the classroom or the school in the most interesting way possible – you can crawl under desks and over tables, around trees and along fences, or you can pretend there are things in front of you that you need to go around or under or through, too! You can pause to let the “cows” cross the tracks or decide if the train needs to back up slowly for a moment. As long as everyone can follow the engine, you can do whatever you
want!
Whenever the conductor blows the whistle the train should stop just as if it were stopping at a station. The person at the back of the train then moves to the front and becomes the new engineer and the train moves on down the tracks.
Keep playing until everyone has had a chance to be the engineer.
Can the train make sounds as it rolls along? Does it let off steam every time it stops? How many ways can you move and sound like a real train? Look up the parts of a train and more about how they move to make your movements even more realistic.
Moving through a Living Landscape Begin by naming as many different kinds of environments as you can that a train might travel through. Then name places a train could travel in a fantasy world. Under the sea? Through outer space? Along the canopy of the rainforest?
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How might you use the entire classroom space to become each of these environments, using only your bodies and the furniture in the room? Ask some people to be mountains or tunnels, while others are living things in this environment. Try a few out. Do the environments have sound? What’s the weather like in each place?
Now, try having half of the class transform the room into an environment and the other half become a train that moves through that environment in the most interesting way possible. Can you add sound to your journey?
Train Station Improvisation Set up the room so that there is a row of “benches” where passengers can wait inside the train station and watch what is happening. If you have room, you can even add a ticket counter, small store, and other kinds of spaces one might find in a train station. Decide as a group what time of day it is, what time of year it is, and where the train station is located.
Brainstorm the many reasons someone may be travelling and the different kinds of people one might find in the station such as people who work in the station or those waiting for passengers to arrive. Some people might be happy about where they are going or what they are doing. Others might be a bit anxious. Describe the reasons that each person has for being there, what they are feeling and what they are expecting to happen next.
Now everyone gets to choose his or her own characters and enter the space. Before someone can enter they need to have decided:
Who am I? Where am I going? Who am I meeting? Or what am I doing? How do I feel about this? What do I have with me? Do I need or want anything from anyone else? If so, what?
Let characters enter the environment one by one and see what happens. You can even have a ticket agent or other official make announcements from time to time about what is happening with trains that are arriving and leaving.
What do you notice about what happens when different kinds of people with different kinds of expectations and needs are in the same place together? What would happen if all these people were suddenly snowed in at the station together? Try your improvisation again only this time become the passengers in The Polar Express.
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Share & Connect!
We’d love to see the fun that happens in your class when you try these movement games. Perhaps you could record one of the activities with a video camera and send it to us at the BSO ([email protected]).
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Track Six: Drawing the Story
The Polar Express is a fantastic story that will be told in three ways: with music, words, and images. These activities will allow you to take a moment to focus on one of these three: the beautiful imagery of the book.
Activity Ideas
Imagining the picture Look at each page of the book The Polar Express, looking specifically at the images without looking at the words. What would it feel like to be in the picture? What is happening? What might happen next?
Find an interesting photograph from a magazine, on the internet, or from home. Just based on what you can see in the photograph, describe what is happening. Then try and tell a story of the image, imagining what happened before and after the photograph was taken.
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg (who also wrote The Polar
Express) is another great book to try using this activity.
Extending the Image Now place your photograph on a larger sheet of paper. You can tape or glue it down if you like. A photograph is only one part of the world - everything that the camera can’t “see” is cut off. What do you think is happening outside the edges of your picture? Draw this in! Go ahead and extend the photograph to all corners of your paper.
Share & Connect!
Please photograph or scan your drawings and stories and send them to us at the BSO ([email protected]). We would love to see your artwork and hear stories about your photographs!
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Track Seven: Designing the Menu
In The Polar Express, a young boy rides the train to the North Pole. In the book, he and the other children are in the dining car. Imagine the sights, smells, and tastes he must have experienced!
Activity Ideas
Imagine you are the head chef on The Polar Express. Your task is to create a menu of choices for the passengers. Your menu must include: an appetizer, a main course,
two drinks (one hot and one cold), 2 or 3 desserts, and 2 or 3 treats. Create fun, tantalizing names for each, and describe what is contained in each menu item.
When you have decided on your menu items, create your own menu using your best handwriting to fill in the menu card. You’ll want your guests to be able to read what it is they are going to order. If you like, you can use the template on the next page or you can create your own.
Share & Connect!
Please scan or photograph your menu and send it in to us at the BSO ([email protected]). We bet we’ll get really hungry reading your menu.
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Welcome to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Centennial Season!
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is going to turn 100 years old in 2016! This very special birthday is called a Centennial, and is a great opportunity to learn more about the BSO’s amazing history.
The BSO’s first ever performance was of Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, and it took place on February 11, 1916. That is a long time ago! What was life like in 1916?
This is the American flag as it was in 1916. What do you notice that is different? This flag was in use in the United States from 1912-1959, and only had 48 stars! It was designed in 1912 to include the recently-added states of New Mexico and Arizona. It is strange to imagine a time when new states were still being added, isn’t it?
The flag as we know it today, with 50 stars, first flew in 1960, and represented the addition of Alaska and Hawaii. Will we ever have more than 50 states? Some people believe that Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., among other places, could become states one day in the future. How would you redesign our flag to include more stars?
The U.S. population in 1916 was about 101,961,000 people. Today it is about 321,216,397! The population of Maryland in 1916 was about 1,415,000 people and is now about 5,976,407!
In 1916 our President was Woodrow Wilson. When the BSO played its first concert, America was about one year away from adding its support to the Allies and entering World War I.
In 1915, you could buy a dozen eggs for 20¢, a pound of cookies for 10¢, and a pair of kids’ flannel pajamas for 37¢. A kids’ movie ticket was only 15¢! But before you get too excited looking for your time machine, you might want to know that the average salary was $687 a year - and that was only for men. Women in the workforce earned an an average of $340 per year. Women were not yet able to vote in 1916, and persons of color continued to be prevented from voting and participating equally in society by unfair laws and practices. Children often worked long, difficult hours in factories or on farms, and were not protected by consistent child labor laws. We have grown as a country in our efforts to combat these inequities, and are still continuing to grow.
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In 1916, what were some trends in the areas of this season’s Midweek Concerts?
All About Sports! Baltimore has always loved baseball, but in 1916, it was without any team - either major or minor league. In the late 1800s and early 1900s there were both major and minor league teams (with names such as “The Lord Baltimores,” the “Baltimore Orioles,” and the “Baltimore Terrapins”) in the city. Babe Ruth (a Baltimore native!) had just been sold to the Boston Red Sox in 1915, and although minor league baseball returned in 1918, it wasn’t until 1954 that Baltimore had its’ own modern major league team - the Baltimore Orioles that we know and love today!
The 1916 Summer Olympics were scheduled to be held in Berlin, but were actually cancelled due to World War I.
The Preakness Stakes have been run at Pimlico in Baltimore since 1873!
Peter and the Wolf The Maryland Zoo at Baltimore was founded in 1876! In 1916, the zoo was a few years away from getting its first elephant, Mary Ann, which was very exciting! If you have been to this amazing zoo recently, you might be surprised to know how much it has changed - consider this description from the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore’s website:
“An inventory of the Zoo’s collection from 1880 lists 17 species, including hundreds of deer, 13 monkeys, two black bears, two wolves, one tiger, one alligator, two boa constrictors, and one three-legged duck.”
Wondering how they took care of all that land?:
“The Zoo’s early collection also included a flock of sheep used to “mow” the grass.”
The Polar Express In the early 20th century, explorers were racing to be the first to get to the North and South Poles. The claims by those who said they reached the North Pole during this time are questionable, but Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team were the first documented group to have reached the South Pole, which they did in December 1911 traveling primarily by dog sled.
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Transportation in America at this time was rapidly changing! Railroads were incredibly important for transporting goods and people. But how did most people travel in their everyday lives? 1916 was right in the middle of a huge transition, and people had many different way of transportation: walking, riding horses, bicycles, streetcars, wagons pulled by animals, and the car, which was exploding in popularity.
In 1900 there were about 8,000 cars in the United States. This meant that there was 1 car per 9,500 people. By 1920, only twenty years later, there were an estimated 7.5 million cars in the United States, which meant that there was 1 car per 14 people. You might be interested to know that in 1915, an average new car cost $2,500, and gas was 15¢ per gallon!
Today, there are about 253 million cars in America, and about 321 million people in America. How does your family get from place to place every day? Do you have a car? Do you use public transportation like buses or the light rail?
Have you ever flown in a plane? The first commercial flight took place in 1914, but air travel did not become widespread until after World War II.
Icarus at the Edge of Time There were some major scientific discoveries in the early 20th century, including a few that are incredibly relevant to Icarus at the Edge of Time!
Albert Einstein had just published his general theory of relativity (or “general relativity”) the year before, in 1915. Simply put, general relativity deals with gravity, space, time, and provides rationale for such celestial phenomena as black holes. Einstein’s general relativity continues to inform our modern understanding of physics.
In 1924, Edwin Hubble was able to show that there were numerous galaxies beyond our own Milky Way Galaxy. Up until this time it was believed that the Milky Way was the only galaxy in the universe. As you might know, the Hubble telescope was named in his honor! Icarus at the Edge of time incorporates some of the most stunning images the Hubble telescope has recorded.
How has the BSO grown since 1916? Just like society and technology, the BSO has grown by leaps and bounds since 1916. The BSO’s initial budget was $6,000, which at the time was the equivalent price of about 2 to 3 new cars. Today the BSO’s budget is $27 million!
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In 1924, the BSO became the first American symphony orchestra to offer a regular educational concert series.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra proudly added its first woman to the roster in 1937, even though male musicians at the time protested this decision. In 1965, Wilmer Wise won the position of Assistant Principal Trumpet and became the first African American musician to join the BSO roster.
Some strange things have happened over the years! For example, Percy Grainger performed the Grieg Piano Concerto on January 15, 1933 while a bat was flying over the heads of the orchestra! It must have been a big fan of the BSO!
The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall has been the home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since its opening in 1982.
The BSO has won two Grammys over its history, and both recordings were conducted by David Zinman and featured cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The first included music of Barber and Britten in 1990 and the second featured music by Bloch and Bartok in 1995. The 2009 recording of Bernstein’s Mass also earned a Grammy nomination.
The BSO made musical history in September 2007, when Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s 12th music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra. With her highly praised artistic vision, her dynamic musicianship and her commitment to accessibility in classical music, Maestra Alsop’s directorship has ushered in a new era for the BSO and its audiences. The Future! Now that you’ve traveled with us through 100 years of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, American history, and developments in the way we live, what do you think we can expect in the NEXT 100 years?
What will our daily lives be like in 100 years? What sort of vehicles will we use to get from place to place? What will we eat, wear, and do for fun?
How will music change? What sorts of new instruments or styles might be developed? How could interactive technology be used? Will the audience help perform the concert, right from their seats?
One thing is for certain - we are looking forward to making these discoveries with you! We are so glad that you have joined us for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Centennial Season!
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BSO Centennial Activities
This year, the BSO is celebrating its 100 year anniversary, or Centennial! With that in mind, we have created the following fantastic activities that correspond with all of our Midweek Concerts in the 2015 -2016 Season.
Classroom Olympics
The 1916 Olympics were cancelled due to World War I, but resumed in 1920. Did you know that from 1912 to 1948, the Olympics not only included sporting events, but also an art competition?
Work with your classmates to design your own Olympic games. Imagine that any activity could be an event - even one that you invent. What activities would you most enjoy competing in? Think about what the rules would be for your event, and if you would need any special uniform or equipment. Now, design a trading card that shows you competing in your event. Ask your teacher if they can be photocopied so that you can trade them with your classmates.
Maybe you and your class could even plan and compete in your very own Olympics. You could Building Design collaborate to create puzzles, challenges, or trivia which could be events in your Olympic games.
The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall has been the home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
since its opening in 1982. We are lucky to have such an amazing space to hear the BSO! Architects
work very hard to design spaces which perfectly fit specific needs. Think about all the choices which
were made when designing the Meyerhoff, such as: how the building looks from the outside, how the
. audience enters the space, the height of the ceilings and windows of the lobby, how sound travels in
the space, and how every seat is able to see the stage.
What if you were given the job of redesigning your school or classroom? What does a school or
classroom need in order to best support teaching and learning? How could you address these needs with your design choices?
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Draw out your plans for the new school or classroom, making sure to label the parts. Optional: you could make your plans look like blueprints by drawing in white (with a gel pen, colored pencil, chalk, or charcoal pencil) on blue paper!
WBSO News at 11
Think about history over the past 100 years and how the orchestra might have shaped that history. Imagine that you are putting together a modern-style news broadcast about these events. You could do in small groups, or as a class. Identify the events or characteristics which are most interesting to you, then plan out short skits to explain what happened. Once everyone is ready, these can be performed while a newscaster narrates the story. For example, think about what you read about Roald Amundsen and his team reaching the South Pole in 1911, and imagine that a newscaster could say “This just in! We have received word that Amundsen and his team have made it to the South Pole! Let’s go to our Antarctica reporters to get the full story...” while a group is acting out the scientific team traveling on their dog sleds to reach their destination. You and your class could rearrange the events provided in the historical information so that your newscast would present information in chronological order.
Past, Present, and Future
Research what life was like 100 years ago in Maryland and compare that to life today. Talk with a partner. or small group about the similarities or differences you noticed.
Work as a class to make a large display which compares and contrasts life today with life 100 years ago. Or, work individually to create a written or illustrated response which explains this.
Think about all of the changes we have seen over the past 100 years - what do you think will change over the NEXT 100 years? Use writing, art, acting, or any other creative idea you can think of to depict what you think life will be like 100 years from now.
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Here are some things you could consider:
• What will transportation be like? • What will music sound like? Will there be new instruments? • People in 1916 probably could not have conceived of technology such as a SmartPhone - what
will technology be like in 2116?
• What will buildings look like? What will we eat, wear, and do for fun?
Ask your teacher if you can together as a class to combine your responses and hold a “Future Fair!” Visitors would be able to come learn about your ideas and possibly get a glimpse of what life will really be like in 2116!
Share & Connect!
Send us your explorations of the BSO’s Centennial! We look forward to seeing your discoveries and
ideas for the next 100 years! Send your drawings, ideas, videos, photographs, short stories and more to [email protected].
Useful Web Links . Want to know even more about the BSO’s Centennial? Check out the newly released book Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: A Century of Sound by BSO Oboist and author Michael Lisicky
http://www.bsomusic.org/online-store/bso-centennial/centennial-book.aspx
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SPECIAL THANKS
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra acknowledges with gratitude the work of the following individuals who contributed to the development of these materials:
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is proud Richard McCready , Lesson Plan Writing Workshop to acknowledge support for its Midweek Facilitator; Lead Writer, Editor Education Series from the following funders: River Hill High School, Howard County Official Education Partner:
Caro Appel, Writer River Hill High School, Howard County
Gina Braden, Writer Centennial Season Education Partner: The Park School of Baltimore, Baltimore County
Greg Clark, Writer
River Hill High School, Howard County
Nellie Hill, Writer Midweek Education Concert Series Sponsors:
Retired, Howard County
Theresa Iacarino, Writer Joppa View Elementary, Baltimore County
Rebecca Ludwig, Writer Baltimore City Public Schools
Catina Ramis, Writer Thomas Viaduct Middle School, Howard County
Carol Bogash, Vice President for Education and Community Engagement Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Annemarie Guzy, Director of Education Baltimore Symphony Orchestra These concerts are supported, in part, through
the generosity of the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Endowed Fund for Education.
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