ESO WORLD TOUR Grades 1 through 8 Tuesday, April 2, 2019 (Middle School Day) Wednesday, April 3, 2019 Thursday, April 4, 2019 Friday, April 5, 2019 1 ESO WORLD TOUR Spring Festival Overture Li Huanzhi Shepherd’s Hey Percy Grainger Polonaise brillante No. 2 Henryk Wieniawski Claire Arias-Kim, violin African Drumming Demo Michael Folker Beneath Alex Shapiro Suite from “Frozen” Arr. Krogstad Mambo from West Side Story Leonard Bernstein 2 Many thanks to the Elgin Symphony’s education committee for the idea to take this concert on a world tour! It was a unanimous choice: let’s sample orchestral music from the world’s seven continents. Choosing the repertoire for the concert was not as easy as we thought it might be during the conception of this program. How can we narrow down the large quantity of orchestral music from Europe, where the symphony orchestra originated? Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven would all be obvious choices. In a surprising twist we chose a composer from Poland, the home of the brilliant violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. We are thrilled to have young violinist Claire Arias-Kim as our soloist for Wieniawski’s Polonaise brilliante No. 2. What repertoire can we choose from the continents with musical traditions that don’t necessarily include traditional western orchestral instruments? What do we do about Antarctica? (We always try to program something that’s just pure fun.) For Africa, we felt it was important to demonstrate the drumming traditions and to highlight the expertise of one of our members, percussionist Michael Folker. It became a concert of interesting connections. When we began to dig deeper into the repertoire, we realized much of the music on this program contains dance elements: the lion dance in the Li Huanzhi, ---the Grainger, the polish dance form “polonaise” in the Wieniawski, the obvious dancing qualities of the African drums and Bernstein’s Mambo. Ask your students if they see any other connections among these pieces even though they are from very different cultures. As you prepare for this concert, review the instruments of the orchestra. Have students pick their favorite instrument, perhaps one that they already play, one that they would like to play, or one played by someone they know. Have them share what they know about that instrument: what family does it belong to? How does it make its sound? Invite students to watch for their favorite instrument at the concert and see where its players sit. Invite them to listen carefully for their favorite instrument throughout the concert. Review the seven continents. HERE is a handy worksheet for you. Take some time to review general characteristics of each continent including climate traits and the different countries and cultures. Don’t forget to review the oceans too! If you have dual language students, you may want to develop a special place in your classroom to hang up instrument words written in a different language. Ask students to go home and ask their parents how they would write, say or translate a specific instrument into their language. For example, flute could be “flauta” in Spanish. You could create an “international instrument word contest” to see which classroom provides the most translated instrument names to earn an extra recess or a “free day” in music class. With younger students, use the rhythmic pieces for steady beat or movement activities. Much of this music is rhythmically exciting and will inspire movement. Have students share any experiences with symphonic music they have had and share a favorite piece from this program or from others. Reinforcing and reminding students of the standard elements of music will get them thinking about the variety of concepts they’re learning. Include these elements of music on a word wall or on display somewhere in your classroom: rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture, form, expression. If you teach beginning or middle level band or orchestra, look for ways to incorporate this repertoire and its concepts into your rehearsals, even if just for a few minutes a day. 3 ASIA Spring Festival Overture By Li Huanzhi b. January 2, 1919 d. March 19, 2000 Composed in 1956, the Spring Festival Overture is one of the most popular orchestral works in China. The piece honors the Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, and depicts the colorful parades and spectacular snaking dragons and lions typical of the holiday. The festival is 15 days long and occurs between January 21 and February 20, according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. The holiday is observed by 1/3 of the world’s population and is a joyous occasion of parties and family gatherings. The brilliant opening brings the spirit of dance and celebration. Two folk dances from North Shaanxi in China provide the melodies for this section. The middle section, lyrical and nostalgic, contrasts with the opening. A third folk tune is introduced here which is a dance celebrating the growth of seedlings. In the final section, the tempo quickens again for the return of the opening music. Hong Kong native Li Huanzhi, is one of the most prominent composers in China. He studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (beginning in 1936) and the Luxum Institute of Arts in Yanan. In 1985, he was elected as the chairman of the Chinese Musicians’ Association. He wrote many orchestral compositions celebrating the culture of China. The Pentatonic Scale Traditional Chinese folk music is based on the Pentatonic Scale which is a group of 5 notes from the major scale that is made up of only whole tones. The major scale, as we know, has 7 notes. The pentatonic scale chose 5 notes (“penta”, as in the 5-sided Pentagon) and made a new scale with those notes. Pentatonic scales can be major or minor. The major pentatonic scale uses the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th degrees of the major scale, while the minor pentatonic scale uses the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th degrees of the major scale. When played alone, the notes of a pentatonic scale are pleasing and can create a very nice melody in any order of execution. An easy way to play a major pentatonic scale on a piano is to play only the black keys. Many general music classes have several folk songs that use the pentatonic scale and are performed in Orff 4 ensembles with recorders. With the elimination of half steps, an entire ensemble of players can be playing random notes from a pentatonic scale without notable irritation due to removed dissonance. Try this for fun: As you listen to Spring Festival Overture, play a C pentatonic scale on a piano or pitched Orff instrument. In the lively first section: on marked C-D-E-G-A of the piano, or a C pentatonic set up of barred instrumentation, invite students to play random rhythms or try to imitate the melody as they play. Notice how well the “improvisation” fits with the music! In the slower, middle section which begins with the oboe solo, switch to this minor pentatonic scale: A-C-D-F- G. (This will work for several measures until the piece begins to modulate.) When you hear the melody return from the first section, switch back to the C-D-E-G-A scale. For orchestra and wind instruments: have groups of 5 students each take a note of the C pentatonic scale and play a select rhythmic ostinato on their individual note, but all play at the same time. Experiment with a 4- measure to 8-measure phrase. Students will be creating an instant ensemble of improvised pentatonic tones! See if they can change the mood or style of their ensemble with a change of tempo, dynamics, rhythms or articulations. Create solo parts by eliminating one or two tones at a time and then adding them back in at random times in the improvisation. Meet the ESO Musician: Kelvin Lin Like Li Huanzhi, ESO violinist Kelvin Lin studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He graduated in 1988. Kelvin has been a member of the Elgin Symphony for 22 years. He came to the United States in 1992 because he says “I love the land of freedom and opportunity.” Here’s what Kelvin says about the Shanghai Conservatory: “The entrance examination is rigorous and based on two or three parts according to different majors, and candidates are judged by their musical ability and potential. The average rate of admission around 20% in keeping with the enrollment plan, but the actual rate for each major differs based on the level of candidates and the available vacancies. If the level of the candidates does not meet the requirement, then some places may be left vacant. The undergraduate and graduate courses at Conservatory are divided into three parts: academic courses, professional basic courses, and professional core courses. In addition, students complete optional courses and practical or teaching programs which also count towards their credits. 5 Both undergraduate and graduate students at Conservatory are encouraged to participate in international competitions as long as they can arrange the commitment to fit with their studies. International competitions are a benefit both for enhancing a student’s professional level and gaining connections for their future career. I never met Mr. Li Huanzhi in person but I am very proud of be part of the alumni and have performed many of his compositions in the early 80’s. In my opinion, The Shanghai Conservatory of Music is one of the most competitive musical education institutions in the world.” Activities for elementary school ages: 1. Make a Chinese dragon puppet.