Symphony Around the World

January 20, 21, 22, 2016

Chico, Redding, Red Bluff

Welcome to the North State Symphony's musical world tour. We hope you will enjoy your travels as together we explore the great diversity of music from around the world, and learn how people can unite in the universal language of music.

This resource guide was created to help you prepare your students for the concert. Included are learning activities, short biographies of the composers, and information about each of the pieces that will be performed. Some resource materials have also been provided at the end of the guide. Enjoy the activities, and we will see you at the concert!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Who's Who? 1

Dwayne Corbin, Conductor 1 Daun Weiss, Narrator 1 Tim Koop, Soloist 2

Meet the Composers 3

Aaron Copland 3 Achille-Claude Debussy 3 Astor Piazzola 4 Allah Rakha Rahman 4 William Grant Still 5 Tan Dun 5 Heitor Villa-Lobos 6 Antonio Vivaldi 7

The Musical Selections 8

Variations on a Shaker Melody, Aaron Copland 8 Lenox Avenue Blues, William Grant Still 8 Choros No. 7, Heitor Villa-Lobos 8 Libertango, Piazzola 8 Piccolo Concerto, Antonio Vivaldi 8 Petite Suite I en Bateau, Debussy, (arr. Busser) 8 Veera Pandi, A.R. Rahman 8 Prairie Tune, Albert Wang 9 Internet Symphony, Tan Dun 9

Learning Activities 10

Meet The Orchestra 10 Instrument Timbre 11 Musical Journals 12 Listening and Drawing 13 'Tis a Gift to Make a Variation 14 Fun With Instruments 16 Let's Go to the Concert! 17

The Concert Experience 17

Resources 17 WHO'S WHO?

CONDUCTOR

Dr. Dwayne Corbin Conductor, percussionist, and educator are three ways Dr. Corbin has proven himself to be a successful and integral part of Northern California’s music community. As conductor of the Shasta Symphony Orchestra, he has grown the orchestra and its funding while continuing to position the Shasta Symphony as a key educational/artistic organization in Shasta County and the surrounding region. He also is Associate Professor of Instrumental Music at Simpson University, serves as the Resident Conductor of the North State Symphony, and just completed a successful one-year interim position as Assistant Conductor of the Juneau Symphony.

In the past, Dr. Corbin conducted wind ensembles at Wheaton College and the University of Cincinnati, led the Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble, and taught public school programs in the greater Seattle and Chicago areas. Corbin has held the position of Principal Percussionist in the North State Symphony since 2006, regularly presents jazz and classical percussion recitals, and leads the Shasta Percussion Workshop, a summer percussion immersion course. Dr. Corbin’s composition Cage for One won first place in the 2009 Percussive Arts Society composition contest and is published by C. F. Peters. Corbin earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music, a Masters of Music in percussion performance from Central Washington University, and a Bachelor’s of Music Education from Wheaton College. He resides in Redding, CA with his wife, Caryn, and their two sons, Andrew and Peter.

NARRATOR

Daun Weiss Daun Weiss holds an M.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Oregon and a B.S. in Music Education from Western Baptist College.

A frequent regional soloist and a founding member of the Chico Early Music Ensemble, Daun specializes in Baroque music. She is a featured soloist at Chico’s Bach Festival each spring. Daun has performed with the Sacramento Early Music Consort, the Sacramento Baroque Soloists, and with the California Bach Society. In September Daun collaborated with colleagues to create Madrigals and More, an afternoon of madrigals, baroque duets and trios.

Daun also enjoys work as an oratorio soloist, having sung works as diverse as Orff’s Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Mozart’s Requiem. She enjoys guest performances with the North State Symphony and with Shasta College where she recently sang Schubert’s Mass in Eb.

A newfound passion for Daun is originating performances of local composers’ music. She has sung Dan Pinkston’s songs, Jerry Grant’s Songs Without Words, and most of Russell Burnham’s song cycles. This fall she had the privilege of premiering Burnham’s Natural Selections in the intimate setting of the 1078 Gallery in Chico, surrounded by an art collection of the same title in the presence of the poet, composer, and artists. Daun finds creating beautiful, enduring music in our community profoundly meaningful. 1 Daun and her husband, Leo, enjoy life in our beautiful north state sailing on Lake Oroville, biking in Bidwell Park, and relaxing around their backyard pond with friends.

PICCOLO SOLOIST

Tim Koop Tim Koop, who joined the North State Symphony in 2012, has appeared as soloist with the San Jose State University Orchestra, and this January will make his solo debut with the North State Symphony. Mr. Koop was formerly principal flutist of the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra of Palo Alto, and has also performed with groups such as the Folsom Symphony, Palo Alto Philharmonic, Redwood Symphony, and the Veridian Symphony.

A native of Chico, California, Mr. Koop studied with Isabelle Chapuis-Starr of Opera San Jose and Cathy Payne of the San Francisco Symphony while pursuing his music degree at San Jose State University. He continued his studies at Indiana University studying with Kate Lukas, and additionally received coaching from the Cleveland Orchestra flute section while obtaining his masters degree. Mr. Koop has played in master classes taught by Isabelle Chapuis-Starr, Tom Robertello, Robert Stallman and Tadeo Coelho. Tim currently resides in Sacramento with his partner Chance and two pets, Arthur and Leo.

2 MEET THE COMPOSERS

It is interesting to learn a little about the composers featured at the upcoming concert. While there are no activities planned around their lives, your students might enjoy learning something about them.

AARON COPLAND (1900-1990) Aaron Copland is possibly the most famous of all American composers. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of five children. His parents were non musical immigrants from eastern Europe, and they lived above a small department store that they owned in Brooklyn.

Copland began playing piano as a young child, and early on had dreams of being a great composer. When he was twenty, Copland went to Paris, France. There he studied music with the famous Nadia Boulanger. She was one of the most important music teachers at that time, and he felt she was the most important musical influence in his life. He returned to New York in 1924, determined to compose “American” music.

Copland paid close attention to the music of his time, and he experimented with jazz rhythms, blues, and folk tunes, incorportating them into his music. His music was often experimental, featuring irregular rhythms and jarring sounds. Just as young people today know about the latest iphones and streaming, and facebook, he realized that radio, phonographs, and film were the way to reach new audiences for modern music. He wrote music for theater, ballet, and movies, and created a distinctly “American” sound.

Copland composed music until his 60's. Then he simply ran out of ideas for composing. “It was exactly as if someone had simply turned off a faucet,” he said. He continued to conduct his works and made recordings of his music, and lived to be 90 years old.

Factoid:

Did you know that Copland performed for kids at a young people's concert in in New York with his friend Leonard Bernstein? He also met Villa-Lobos when they were both in Europe.

DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Achille-Claude Debussy was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, the oldest of five children. His family had little money, but Debussy showed an early talent for the piano, and he began taking lessons at the age of 7. By age 10 or 11, he entered the Paris Conservatory. At age 22, Debussy won the Prix de Rome, a prestigious French Scholarship, which allowed him to study for two years in Italy. Debussy's music reflected the subtle inflections, meter, and rhythm of his native French language, and he often used dissonances and unusual forms, which were unusual in his day. He has been called an impressionistic composer, because he created musical impressions in his compositions. Debussy composed music for the piano, piano and voice, orchestra, chamber orchestra, soloist and orchestra, and voice. 3 Factoid: Debussy said, “Music is the space between the notes.” Think about that. What do you suppose he meant?

ASTOR PIAZZOLA (1921-1992) Astor Piazzola was an Argentine composer of tango music. (Tango is a form of dance music that sprang up among the poor on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.) He was born in Mar de Plata, Argentina. His parents were both Italians who had immigrated from Italy to Argentina. When he was four years old, Astor's parents moved to New York City. There he was exposed to the sounds of jazz, and it became integral to the music he composed later in life. He was also introduced to classical music, when a neighbor gave him piano lessons. He began playing the bandoneon (similar to an accordion) after his father found one in a pawn shop, and he became a master on the bandoneon at a young age. Astor's family returned to Argentina when he was about 16. Astor played traditional tango music for many years, then embarked on a new sound for tango, which relied heavily on jazz. This new style, which revolutionized tango music, was called Nuevo Tango, and was wildly successful. Piazzola continued to write and perform his Nuevo Tango music throughout his life. Factoid: Did you know that the bandoneon is considered one of the most difficult instruments to play?

ALLAH RAKHA RAHMAN (1966-) A R. Rahman was born to a musical family in Madras, (now Chennai) India. He began piano lessons at the age of 4. When he was 9, his father passed away, and he had to help support the family. At the age of 11, Rahman dropped out of school and joined an Indian musical troupe. He traveled the world with various orchestras. He studied music at the Trinity College of Music in London, then set up a recording studio in his home town of Chennai. In 1991 Rahman was asked to compose the soundtrack for the Indian movie Roja. The movie was a huge success, and brought Rahman national acclaim. He has since composed for many movies, both Indian and American, and has had several world concert tours. Rahman is known for revolutionizing Indian film music. He has received multiple prestigious awards, including Academy Awards for best score and best song in the movie Slumdog. He has set up a foundation to help poor and underprivilelged children, and has announced initiatives to promote western classical music in India. Factoid: Did you know that Rahman's birth name was A.S. Dileep Kumar? He changed his name when he converted to Islam.

4 WILLIAM GRANT STILL (1895-1978) William Grant Still was a gifted conductor and composer, and the first African American to have major productions of both a symphony (1931) and opera (1949). He was born in Woodville Mississippi, the son of two teachers. William's father died when he was an infant. His mother remarried, and it was his stepfather, Charles Shepperson, who nurtured William's interest in music, by listening to 78 records, and taking him to live concerts. Still began violin lessons at the age of 15, and he taught himself several other musical instruments.

Still attended Wilberforce University to study medicine. His interest in music led him to conduct the universitiy band, and to write his own compositions. Dissatisfied with the music available at Wilberforce, Still eventually went to Oberlin College. His college was interrupted when he joined the US Navy to serve in World War I.

Still had a long and successful career as a composer, arranger, and conductor. Many of his compositions melded jazz with more traditional orchestral melodies. They also incorporated elements of African music, and dealt with concerns about the condition of African Americans in the US. Still moved to Los Angeles in 1939, where he arranged music for movies. In 1955, he became the first African American to conduct a major orchestra in the south eastern US. His works have been performed nationally and internationally by many major orchestras.

Factoid:

Did you know that Still was the first African American to conduct a noted American orchestra? In 1936 he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the famous Hollywood Bowl. Not only that, his grandaughter processes and distributes his music. It's “still” a family business.

TAN DUN (1957-) Tan Dun was born in Changshas, Hunan (China). He is a contemporary composer and conductor, and is known for his compositions of the sountrack for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Hero, among others. He also composed the music for the medal ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. As a child, Tan Dun was fascinated by the ceremonies and rituals performed by the shaman, or medicine man, in his native village. The ceremonies were set to music made from natural objects. He grew up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, when people in China were discouraged from pursuing music, and as a teenager, he was sent to a commune to work in the rice fields. There he joined an ensemble of other residents and learned to play traditional Chinese instruments. In 1977 Tan Dun went to study music at university in China. Before he entered the university, Tan Dun had never heard western classical music. In 1986 the Chinese government allowed him to come to the USA to study composition at Columbia University in New York.

5 Tan Dun merges Chinese and Western music seamlessly, each style complimenting the other. He often uses instruments made of organic materials such as paper, water and stone in his compositions, and tries to capture sounds from nature. His works continue to explore the boundaries of classical music, multimedia performance, and Eastern and Western traditions, and are performed by orchestras worldwide. Tan Dun lives in New York, and is based out of Columbia University. Factoid: Did you know that whenTan Dun was nine years old, the Cultural Revolution swept across China? The government commanded that music be silenced, even for funerals. When the Cultural Revolution ended, music was allowed again.

HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (1887-1959)

Heitor Villa-Lobos was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Heitor became interested in music as a child while listening to his father, who was an amateur musician, play music with his friends at weekly gatherings in their home. When he was six he began playing the clarinet and the cello. The cello was actually a viola that had been modified for him to play, because he was too small to play a real cello. Heitor's family often traveled around Brazil, and he was interested in the native Brazilian folk music he heard on those trips. He was also fascinated by the music that was played on the streets in his native Rio de Janeiro. This music was called a choro, which was written and played by local musicians at informal gatherings and during Carnival. Without his parents knowing, he learned to play the guitar. They did not approve of him hanging around with those “delinquent” street musicians. When Heitor was 18, he became a musical vagabond, and spent about ten years exploring Brazil’s ”dark interior”. He absorbed the native Brazilian musical culture, which was influenced by Portuguese, African and American Indian elements. Villa-Lobos blended the folk music of his native Brazil, and European classical music to create a unique sound. The influences of each are equally important. To play his music as a European composition would be played would to miss the essence of his compositions. This quote from a music thesis by Gabriel Furtado, The Progression of Villa-Lobos' Compositional Style from the Suite Popular Brasileiro to the Doze Estudios, 2010, sums up much of his music: “It's too dainty.” “Dainty?” “Yes, you're pussyfooting it”...... “We're not in a concert hall..... so don't play like you're in the Teatro Municipal.” Villa-Lobos was a prolific composer; he composed over 2000 works in his lifetime, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music, operas, ballets, piano, the Choros, and music for films. He also wrote numerous pieces for guitar. After Villa-Lobos returned to Brazil he organized a huge choral group made up of people from all social classes in the city of Sao Paulo. He was also invited by the government of Rio de Janeiro to organize the study of music in the schools of the city.

6 Factoid: Did you know Heitor had very little formal musical training? He took a few lessons, but he preferred to learn from the musicians on the streets and in the back country. He is reported to have said, “I learned music from a bird in the jungles of Brazil, not from academies.”

ANTONIO VIVALDI (1678-1741)

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was one of the most prolific composers of the Baroque era. He was born in Venice, Italy. His father was a professional violinist, and taught Antonio to play the violin. Antonio was very good and performed in concerts with his father throughout Venice. At the age of 15, Vivaldi began studying to become a priest, and was ordained in 1703. Everyone called him "the Red Priest," because he had red hair. Back then, men wore white powdered wigs, so his portraits don't show his red hair. Soon after his ordination, he gave up celebrating Mass because of ill health. It is thought he had bronchial asthma. Vivaldi was 25 when he became a violin teacher at the Ospedale Della Pietà (Devout Hospital of Mercy), a school for orphans and abandoned girls, in Venice. At the school, boys learned a trade, and the girls were educated in music. The most talented girls became members of the Ospedale's orchestra and choir. Vivaldi composed most of his famous works during his thirty years at the Ospedale. and the Ospedale was well known in Venice for the quality of its performances. Vivaldi also wrote many operas, and in 1730 he traveled to Vienna and Prague to present one of them. He subsequently moved to Vienna, hoping to get support from the King, Charles VI. Vivaldi was a very popular composer during his lifetime, but after he died, he faded into oblivion. His music was “rediscovered” in the twentieth century, and is once again very popular. Factoid: Did you know that Emperor Charles VI named Vivaldi a knight? Charles VI had a very long title: Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and King of Serbia, and Archduke of Austria.

7 THE MUSICAL SELECTIONS

The selections below will be played at the upcoming concert. Included is information about each of the pieces.

VARIATIONS ON A SHAKER MELODY, Aaron Copland

Most Americans have heard Copland's Variations on a Shaker Melody. They may not know that the tune was originally written in 1848 by Joseph Brackett, a member of a Shaker community in Maine. The melody was made famous when Aaron Copland composed Variations as a part of his ballet Appalachian Spring (1944). The melody brings to life the Shaker lifestyle of simplicity, humility, and faith.

Variations on a Shaker Melody is in theme and variation form. This means that after the tune or theme is first stated it is then followed by a series of five variations. In the variations, the musical material is explored by the composer using techniques such as changing the instrumentation and the rhythm, adding additional layers of accompaniment and counter melody, and changing the character of the tune.

LENOX AVENUE BLUES, William Grant Still

Lenox Avenue Blues is an excerpt from the ballet Lenox Avenue, which is a panorama of life in Harlem during the 1930's. Lenox Avenue is interesting because it's an honest and pure look at real life in Harlem, and it explores Harlem life in a really respectful, positive way.

CHOROS NO.7, Heitor Villa Lobos

In the 1920s, Villa-Lobos wrote a series of works called the choros. These compositions blended classical European music with the music he learned listening to, and playing with, the choroes, street musicians of Brazil. Their music included African and European instruments, rythyms, and melodies. They improvised in a free and often dissonant kind of counterpoint. Those characteristics can clearly be heard in this selection. Instruments are used in interesting ways, such as violins being strummed like a guitar, and the clarinet being playedwithout a reed in order to sound like a horn.

PICCOLO CONCERTO in C Major, RV 443, Antonio Vivaldi

Very little is known about this piece, other than it is scored for piccolo, string orchestra, and harpsichord. Tim Koop will solo on the piccolo.

8 INTERNET SYMPHONY, Tan Dun

“In 2008 Google and YouTube commissioned Tan Dun to write Internet Symphony ‘Eroica’ as a part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra project. Musicians from around the world were invited to audition by submitting videos of their interpretations of Internet Symphony to be judged by members of leading international orchestras. There were more than 3,000 auditions from more than 70 countries. The project culminated in a performance at Carnegie Hall on April 15, 2009. The performance was web cast and is available on YouTube. More than 22 million people from 200 countries on six continents have experienced Tan Dun’s feeling of a global music community, encapsulated in Internet Symphony.” (direct quote from Tan dun's website http://tandun.com/composition/internet-symphony/)

PRAIRIE TUNE, Albert Wang

This piece is based on a popular folk song of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It describes the dawn and dusk on the vast steppes, with gentle hills, clouds, horses, and gentle breezes. For Prairie Tune Wang uses cello solos and violin solos that imitate the folk instruments of Mongolia, which are made out of horse hair (and other horse parts!) Go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igil to see one of these instruments.

VEERA PANDI, AR Rahman

This work is a Bollywood piece, featuring violins, viola, cello, and piano. Bollywood is the basis of most Indian pop music--think of how the songs of "Frozen" became super popular with kids all over the USA--in the same way, film music from India becomes the radio hits there. This work uses western instruments to imitate some of the Indian folk music instruments, like their drums and percussion instruments, as well as their flutes and oboes, which are built a little different than ours. The piece is dance-oriented throughout and is like the dance number from a Disney musical or music theater--an extended dance piece in the middle of a drama.

9 LEARNING ACTIVITIES

The following activities are designed to enhance your students' enjoyment and understanding of the upcoming concert. With the exception of Meet the Orchestra, the activities are not sequential. You may choose to conduct the activities in any order you like.

I. MEET THE ORCHESTRA

Lesson Overview: Every orchestra is made up of four families. This lesson invites you to meet these wonderfully diverse families and the members who make up the voices we hear at the symphony.

Materials needed: Computer with access to the internet In lieu of internet access, physical charts showing what the instruments look like.

Session 1: a. Begin by eliciting prior knowledge of an orchestra, instruments, and their families with an orchestra chart. Families include strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Refer to the websites listed below for pictures that you can display on screen in your classroom.

String Family http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fdhwjuxRuA/VE29Zc0msxI/AAAAAAAAF7E/Qq6cnp8HvYA/s1600/string %2Bfamily%2Bof%2Ban%2Borchestra.png

British site with posters of the the instrument families (and other fun information) mtrs.co.uk/subscriptions/Downloads/support/posters.pdf

Orchestra seating chart https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/35/74/7d/35747d6a50590604691765f00f375206.jpg

b. Watch The Remarkable Farkle McBride on YouTube or listen on a CD. This 15-minute story is a humorous and informative tale of one child's exploration of instruments in the orchestra. The story can be played in its entirety, or in sections. As the children are listening to the tale, refer to the orchestra chart if you have one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM5pmq5nr1Q

Session 2: a. Review the images of the instrument families. Discuss how the instruments in each family are “related” and what that means in terms of how each instrument produces sound. If real instruments can be brought in to the classroom, let the students study how each is made and how each produces sound.

10 Assessment: Students will master the names of the instruments of the orchestra, the families of each, and understand to some degree how each family creates a voice in an orchestra. a. Break the students in to groups of 4 or 5. Have them select a child to record information. On a large sheet of paper, have them make a tree trunk with four main branches leading off the trunk. With a box on each branch, have them write in the four families. Then have them draw smaller branches off the main branches and identify instruments within the families. b. Bring the students back together and report their findings.

II: INSTRUMENT TIMBRE

Lesson overview: Different instrument families produce different types of sounds. They can be identified from other instruments by their timber, which is their sound quality, or color, regardless of pitch or volume. Students will identify and describe the characteristic sound (timbre) of the violin, and trumpet.

Materials needed: Computer with internet access

Session 1: Can the students, with eyes closed, identify an individual who is singing or speaking by the sound color (timbre) of their voice? a. Have all students close their eyes, then select a student to say the current day and date, such as “Tuesday, November 4”. Have 3 or 4 students do this. Can each student be identified by voice alone? b. Select 4 students to stand before the class. Have them say together the current day and date. Have their classmates close their eyes while they listen to determine what makes the voices sound different or similar. c. Have students rearrange themselves until similar voice timbers are together. Ask what may have been the reasons for differences in timbre, tone color.

Session 2: The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has a wonderful website for kids, where you will find examples of all the instruments playing on short recordings. To access the website, go to www.dsokids.com. On the menu bar across the top, click “Listen.” Then click “By Instrument”. a. Select the violin. Have students listen to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Pay special attention to timbre or tone color. b. Select the Bass viol, and repeat the exercise. Have the students describe the similarities and differences in sound and color. c. Select a the trumpet, and have the students listen to Twinkle again. Discuss what makes the trumpet sound different that the previous two instruments. What other instruments

11 might have a similar type of sound to the trumpet (trombone, french horn, etc. ). Select another brass instrument from the list, and repeat the exercise.

Assessment: Students will able to correctly identify string, brass, woodwind and percussion families by sound and timbre. a. Break the students into small learning groups. Play a selection from the www.dsokids.com website. Have them discuss among themselves which family is represented and list 2-3 sound characteristics to support their answers. b. Have a student share their responses with the class. Each group may have slightly different characterizations of the sound each instrument family makes.

III: MUSICAL JOURNALS

Lesson overview: Students will record how their response to a selection from the upcoming concert changes after listening to it several times.

Materials needed: Computer with internet access Paper and pencil

Session 1: Ask students if they have ever tasted a new food. With repeated tastings, did their opinion of that food change? Then ask them if their opinion of a new student at school changed after getting to know that person. This happens in music. The more you listen, the more you hear. An unfamiliar piece of music can become a favorite after listening to it several times.

Explain that one of the pieces they will hear at the concert may have unfamiliar sounds and rhythms. This piece, Choros No. 7, by Villa-Lobos, has elements from Brazilian folk music combined with melodies and rhythms from traditional orchestra music. The sound created is unique, and unfamiliar to many people. It is also interesting and exciting. a. Go to the YouTube website https://www.bing.com/videos/search? q=choros+no+7+youtube&FORM=VIRE1#view=detail&mid=FC5465F3439D41844992FC5465F3439D41844992

Skip to minute 6.00 and play the last three minutes of the piece. That is what will be played at the concert. Have your students listen carefully to Choro No.7 and record their reactions in their journals. Ask “What did you think? Did you like it?”

12 Session 2: The next day have your students listen to Choros No.7 again, and record their reactions. Can they pick out an individual instrument?

Session 3: Wait a few days and play it again. Ask after the third time, “What did you hear this time?”

Session 4: After the fourth time to hear the Choros, break the students into groups and have them discuss their initial reactions and how those reactions might have changed over repeated listening. Ask, “Do you feel the same way about this piece as you did the first time you listened to it? What is different?” Have each group select a student to record responses and report to the class.

Assessment: Compare students’ initial reactions to their latest reactions. Did students’ recorded reactions change after listening several times?

IV: LISTENING AND DRAWING

Lesson overview: Students will learn a bit about Mongolia, then create a painting or drawing in response to listening to a selection of music written by a Mongolian composer.

Materials needed: Computer with internet access Art materials for drawing/ pastels, chalk, crayons, etc.

Session 1: a. Log on to images of Mongolia. Bing.com/images/search?q=images+mongolia&go=submit+Query&qs=bs&form=QBIR

Explain that Mongolia is a land-locked country bordered on the north by Russia, and the west, south, and east by China. It is the least populated country in the world, and there is very little arable land. Much of it is covered by grassy steppes, and there are mountains to the north and west. The Gobi desert is to the south. Mongolia is known as the “land of the horse”, and Mongolians have the reputation of being the best horseman on earth. They use horses as we would use cars. People live in yurts (or gers), round houses covered with animal skins or felt. b. Next, log on to the following website of horse images in Mongolia.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=mongolian+horse+images

13 Share a few of the pictures of the Mongolian people and their horses. Ask the children what they see in the pictures. Discuss the land characteristics, what the horses are doing, what the people are doing, and what they are wearing.

Session 2: a. As a continuation of the previous activity or on a separate day, review the pictures, and then add a second window and click on the following website:

stantons.com/sheet-music/title/prairie-tune/10119

This will bring up Albert Wang's Prairie Tune for the students. Play the tune. Explain that Wang comes from Mongolia, and tell them the name of his tune. Invite students to share what they see in their mind's eye when they listen to the music. b. Follow this with an art project. Play the selection while the students create their own color image of the steppes, mountains, horses running, etc.

Assessment: Students will create an artistic rendition of what they imagine when they listen to a selection of music.

You are invited to submit the drawings your students created in this project to North State Symphony. Several works will be selected to be a part of the slide presentation during the performance of this piece at the youth concert. For more information, call Mary McCluskey, Music Education Outreach Coordinator, at 720-3000.

V: 'TIS A GIFT TO MAKE YOUR OWN VARIATION

Lesson Overview: Students will be introduced to the idea that a tune can be interpreted in many different ways, and they will have the chance to try their own interpretations.

Materials needed: Computer with internet access Copies of the words to Simple Gifts, or the words displayed on the board.

For the teacher: Variations on a Shaker Melody is in what is known as theme and variation form. This means that after the tune or theme is first stated, the composer then shakes things up by changing the rhythm or the key, adding or removing instruments, adding harmony or counter melody, etc. All these variations change the character of the tune. There are five variations to this selection. Var. 1 / Theme opens with violins, then solo clarinet on the melody, with flute in the background. Flute comes on strong at the B part, then fades back again. Then there is a little “bridge”. 14 Var. 2 starts with an oboe and bassoon playing the melody, muted trumpets and horns accompany. There is another short bridge. Var. 3 begins with the trombones and violas playing melody, joined by violins and horns. Another bridge. Var. 4 has lively trumpets and trombones with a high strings back-up. A clarinet solo plays the B part quietly one more time, and there is no bridge. Var. 5 The full orchestra, with lots of brass instruments finishes out the piece in a rousing finale.

Session 1: a. Introduce your students to the main melody of Simple Gifts by playing the internet version from the following web address:

http://www.carnegiehall.org/Audio.aspx?id=4294970425 b. Inquire how many students are familiar with the tune, and possibly, the words. Refer to the board, or pass out the lyrics to Simple Gifts. Play the melody again and have the children accompany the song, singing the words. Your students should become very familiar with the song after just a few times of singing it.

'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free 'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'It will be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained, To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed, To turn, turn it will be our delight, Till by turning, turning we come 'round right. c. Share with your students the history of the musical selection Variations on a Shaker Melody. It was a part of a larger work called Appalachian Spring. Tell them Copland wrote several variations to the tune Simple Gifts, changing the mood of the tune a bit with each variation. Add that you are going to play the selection for them. Ask if they can figure out how many different ways the melody was played (5, as described above). d. Challenge the students to come up with their own variations on this theme. Divide the class into groups of four or five. In those groups they can discuss ideas on how to vary the tune. Some ideas might be speeding up or slowing down, changing the rhythm, adding drums, bells, whistling, etc. They can experiment with singing the song different ways. Bring the class back together and have them discuss or demonstrate how they would vary the tune. (One variation is the vocal - piano arrangement they accompany)

Assessment: The students will discover how melodies can vary by creating their own version of the melody and then describe or demonstrate those variations to the class.

15 VI: FUN WITH INSTRUMENTS

Lesson overview: Students will have the opportunity to make rudimentary instruments, thereby discovering how sounds are made on those instruments.

Materials needed: Old water hose or clear plastic tubing, cut in lengths of approximately 18”. Funnels to attach to one end of the tube Tape Empty plastic bottles of different sizes

Session 1: The Brass Family Musicians produce sound on instruments in the brass family by buzzing their lips into a mouthpiece. The buzzing sound passes through a tube and exits through a bell-shaped opening. The size of the instrument and bell, length and diameter of the tube, whether the tube is straight or conical, and the mouthpiece, all contribute to each instrument's unique sound. Brass instruments also may use slides, valves, and mouth embouchure to play different pitches. a. Give each student an 18” length of old water hose, or some similar tubing. Have them make a buzzing sound with the lips. Then have them place their lips at the end of the hose, and buzz their lips again until they can make a sound. b. Ask the students how the sound might change if a cone (the bell) were added to the tube. Demonstrate by taping a standard kitchen funnel to the end of the hose and buzz (or have a student buzz) into the tube again.

Session 2: The Woodwinds Wind instruments either produce sound by blowing across a sound hole, as with flutes, or by blowing air into a mouth piece which contains a reed, or reeds, to vibrate. In ancient times these instruments were made of reeds or hollowed out wood. Today wind instruments are also made of metal alloys.

Your class can make an orchestra of wind instruments by simply blowing across the opening of different sized bottles. a. Have students bring plastic bottles of various sizes from home. Instruct them to blow across the opening of the bottle. With some practice, they will get a sound. Tell them that flutes are played similarly, by blowing across the mouthpiece . b. Have the students group themselves according to whether their bottles produce high, medium, or low pitched sounds. You can then have them explore why different bottles have different pitches.

Assessment: Through experimentation, students will discover why some instruments have high sounds , or pitch, and others have lower pitch.

16 VII: LET'S GO TO THE CONCERT!

Lesson Overview: Students will have a chance to write about what they expect the concert to be and whether it met their expectations.

Session 1: Have students write a paragraph essay before attending the symphony concert, entitled “How I imagine an Orchestra Concert.” Have them describe what they expect to see and hear at the concert.

Session 2: Immediately after attending the concert, have the students write a paragraph essay titled “My Orchestra Experience.” Did the concert meet their expectations? How? If not, why not?

THE CONCERT EXPERIENCE

You will be going to The Laxson Auditorium for the youth concert, which is on the campus of CSU Chico. The concert hall is a special place. It was built so that all the instruments would be heard clearly throughout the auditorium. No microphones, amplifiers, or speakers are needed when the symphony plays on the stage.

You can help prepare your students for the concert experience by discussing how the audience members play their part. Ask, “What can you do as an audience to help make the concert wonderful for everyone?” Below are some ideas, students will think of more. 1. Be quiet and respectful of your neighbors and the performers 2. Pay attention and listen carefully to the conductor when he speaks, and to the orchestra when it performs 3. Get into the music and feel the beat 4. Think about the feelings in the music and imagine the melody 5. Focus on the instruments. What do you hear?

RESOURCES: (All internet addresses were valid as of 12/11/2015) Instrument Images: String Family http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7fdhwjuxRuA/VE29Zc0msxI/AAAAAAAAF7E/Qq6cnp8HvYA/s1600/string %2Bfamily%2Bof%2Ban%2Borchestra.png

British site with posters of the the instrument families (and other fun information) mtrs.co.uk/subscriptions/Downloads/support/posters.pdf

17 Orchestra seating chart https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/35/74/7d/35747d6a50590604691765f00f375206.jpg

Books: Most books on and about music can be purchased online, and some may be available at local book stores. Below is just a partial list.

1. Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press, 1967 2. Barber, Nocola. The World of Music. Silver Burdett Press, 1995 3. Blackwood, Alan. The Orchestra; An Introduction to the World of Classical Music. Millwood Press, 1993 4. Cutler, Jane. The Cello of Mr. O. Dutton Children's Books, 1999 5. Hayes, Ann. Meet the Orchestra. Gulliver Books, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991 6. Helsby, Genevieve. Those Amazing Musical Instruments! 7. Hoffer, Charles. Concise Introduction to Music Listening. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1984 8. Hoffer Charles. The Understanding of Music. Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1981 9. Koscielniak, Bruce. The Story of the Orchestra. Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000 10. Kruckenberg, Sven. The Symphony Orchestra and its Instruments. Crescent Books, 1993 11. Kuskin, Karlin, The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, Harper Collins, 1982 12. Krull, Kathleen. Lives of Musicians. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1993 13. LeFrak, Karen. Jake the Philharmonic Dog. Walker Publishing Company, 2006 14. Lithgow, John. The Remarkable Farkle McBride, 2000 15. Lithgow, John. Never Play Music Next to the Zoo,Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013 16. Moss, Lloyd. Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin. Simon & Schuster, 1995 17. Nye, Robert & Bergethon, B. Basic Music. Prentice Hall, Inc., 1983 18. Snicket, Lemony. The Composer is Dead. Harper Collins, 2009 19. Tripp, Paul. Tubby the Tuba. Dutton Juvenile, 2006 20. Van der Meer & Berkeley, Michael. The Music Pack. Alfred A. Knopf, 1994 21. Wargin, Kathy-Jo, M is for Melody: A Music Alphabet (Art and Culture), 2013 22. Deborah Lyn Ziolkoski, Fun with Composers Vol. 1-3. Fun with Composers, Inc., 2009

Online Resources:

1. The Remarkable Farkle McBride, by John Lithgow You Tube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM5pmq5nr1Q

2. www.nyphilkids.org The New York Philharmonic’s website for teachers and students 3. www.sfskids.org The San Francisco Symphony’s educational website for children 4. www.dsokids.com Dallas Symphony Orchestra's educational website for children dsokids.com/media/1506/MusicFunFacts.pdf 5. www.carnegiehall.org/toolbox Resources for teachers from Carnegie Hall

18 GLOSSARY OF SOME MUSICAL TERMS

Accompaniment The supporting music which moves underneath the melody Baton A stick used by a conductor to help direct the music group Bow A wooden rod, with horsehair drawn tightly between its two raised ends, used in playing instruments of the string family. The bow is drawn across the strings to make them vibrate and thereby produce sound Conductor The person who directs a group of musicians Counterpoint When one or more melodies are played at the same time Dynamics The loudness/softness of the music Harmony When two or more pitches are played simultaneously Lyrics The words in a song Measure A group of beats framed by bar lines on a staff Melody The main tune in a piece of music Mood The feeling of a piece of music Meter How beats are grouped in music Percussion Musical instruments characterized by the striking, shaking, or scraping of the instrument to make the sound (Example: cymbals) Phrase: A short musical segment with a specific contour and duration that is part of a larger melody Pitch How high or low the musical tones are Rhythm How evenly or unevenly the music moves over the beat Tempo The speed of the music Theme The musical main idea which is sometimes repeated through the music Timbre Quality of sound produced by a particular instrument or voice Time A symbol used in music to indicate meter Signature Tone A sound of definite pitch and duration as distinct from noise Scale A series of tones ascending or descending in pitch Structure The organization of musical ideas in a composition Vibration Rapid movement of an object up and down, or back and forth

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