11-12 World of MusicTeacher Guide Preview

2011-2012 ConCerts for Young PeoPle

a World of Music

Jere FliNt, conductor

KhAchAturiAN: “Sabre Dance” from Gayane

FAllA: “Dance of the Miller’s Wife” from Three Cornered Hat

MoNcAyo: Huapango

sheNg: “From the Mountains” from Postcards

coPlANd: “Hoedown” from Rodeo

trAditioNAl New orleANs JAzz: When the Saints go Marching In

JohNsoN: Drums, a Symphonic Poem

ASO 11 Student Teach.indd 2 11/21/11 8:26 AM

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Antarctica

Arctic Region

Australia

Central America

SouthAmerica

North America

Africa

AsiaEurope

MiddleEast

Caribbean

to:

Our Friends

Your SchoolOur Hometown, USA 12345

FroM:

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra


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Bon voyage! We hope that you and your students enjoy your trip around “A World of Music”. ”

This concert is designed to teach students about the music of their world. They will learn how music sounds different from country to country. They will also learn that there are many similarities. While each culture has its own ideas about music, many of those ideas have been shared and assimilated into the music of other cultures.

Composers everywhere have the same tools available to them –melody, rhythm, harmony, musical form and the varied sounds of instruments. The way they use those tools and the typical instruments of their country determines the characteristic sound of their music. A Chinese or Chinese American composer writing music that “sounds” Chinese might use chimes and flutes and base the melody on the pentatonic (five-note) scale. The Spanish composer (or a composer in Latin American influenced by Spanish music) might use guitars and emphasize Spanish (Mexican, Argentinian, etc.) dance rhythms. Early jazz musicians used the harmonies of European music and the “blues scale” with flatted 3rd and 7th pitches and syncopated rhythms of African music.

Through the music of this concert, students will become familiar with composers from around the world. Some of those composers lived and wrote in the idiom of their own country. Some are Americans who have strong ties to other countries and cultures. No matter whether they are living or deceased, Chinese Americans, African Americans, or natives of other countries, their music brings the echoes of other places to our ears. Then, of course, your students will experience the purely American music – New Orleans jazz and Copland’s wonderful musical vignettes of the American West.

What makes music American, Spanish, Mexican, Chinese or African? Take your students on this journey with us to find out. We look forward to seeing you at Symphony Hall!

teacher’s introduction guide to Audience Behavior

Your students will learn many things by attending Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Concerts for Young People. Not the least of these is concert etiquette. Please review these guidelines thoroughly with your students. This knowledge of the expectations in a formal concert situation will increase their comfort in this new environment – and increase their enjoyment!

• Upon arriving inside the Galleria (lobby) of the Woodruff Arts Center, everyone is expected to speak in a moderate tone of voice. It’s fine to talk, but no yelling, please.

• Upon entering Symphony Hall it’s time to whisper only. Ushers will be seating your class, and they need to be heard when they direct you to your seat. The orchestra will be warming up on the stage. The musicians need to be able to hear themselves, too.

• When the lights dim, all whispering should stop. The concertmaster is about to tune the orchestra and the conductor will be entering next.

• When the conductor enters the stage, everyone applauds.

• Once the music begins, everyone should concentrate on the music. Between pieces of music, the conductor will speak. Listen carefully.

• Noisemakers to avoid (things you didn’t think about!): Velcro fasteners on wallets and purses Beepers, cell phones and the alarm on your watch Jingling jewelry Any kind of electronic toy

• Show your appreciation for the music at the end of each piece by applauding. Watch the conductor carefully to make sure the music has really ended. Sometimes it seems like the end, then the music starts again. The conductor usually puts his hands down by his sides when the piece is over.

• Avoid yelling on the way out of the hall or the Galleria. This is the moment when your teacher and the ushers need your attention most. Watch and listen!


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curriculum connections

There are many ways to integrate learning in music with learning across the curriculum. The most effective method organizes learning around themes. The choice of theme will dictate the depth and value of the integrated learning.

In addition to engaging the Georgia Performance Standards for music, there are ways to make authentic cross curriculum connections to help students fulfill or exceed the Georgia Performance Standards.

We hear music everyday – in our cars, on television, at birthday parties and sporting events. Music is closely connected with emotion and can set the mood for a special occasion or activity. It makes sense to teach the arts by relating them through their common elements. When the connections among disciplines are this abundant and pervasive, the theme is useful for meaningful learning in all areas. Below, we’ve listed a few of the GPS strands that may be explored through music. We hope you make use of this valuable learning tool and consider the following lesson ideas.

National Education Standards for Music: NA-M.K-4., NA-M.K-4.8, NA.5-8.9NA-M.K-4.8

Music GPS Strands: M3GM.8, M3GM.9, M4GM.8, M4GM.9, M5GM.8, M5GM.9, M6GM.8, M6GM.9, M7GM.8, M7GM.9, M8GM.8, M8GM.9

Fine ArtsVisual Arts

• Have students create an artwork capturing Bright Sheng’s “From the Mountains”. First, have students discuss the images or feelings that they hear conveyed in the music. Then discuss how one might transfer those feelings into a visual form — through particular, colors, lines, shapes, and objects.

• Manuel de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat is a ballet. In the 1919 premier scenery was drawn and painted by Pablo Picasso, a world-renowned painter. Research Picasso, and have students draw a representation of their own version of Picasso’s, “Dance of the Miller’s Wife”.

• Have students create a non-representational drawing using one of the melodic contours from our musical examples as the artistic theme. Have a class art exhibit, and compare the ways students used these lines to create a visual artwork. It might be helpful to discuss some visual possibilities before the students begin. They might choose to use the same color or color family each time they repeat a melodic line contour. The lines might overlay each other, remain separate, be inverted, ornamented, extended, etc. Ask students to make an educated guess to name each composition represented.

dance

GPS Strands: D4C R.2, D4CO.4, D5FD.4, D5CR.2, D5CO.4, DMSPCO.4

“Dance of the Miller’s Wife” from The Three-Cornered Hat is a fandango, a Spanish dance style, which is characterized by strong rhythms. Ask someone in the class to describe or volunteer to demonstrate the type of dance movements that would best illustrate the emotion in “Dance of the Miller’s Wife.” Have students demonstrate the type of movements from “Huapango” and/or ”Hoedown.”

english language ArtsGPS Strands: ELA4LSV2, ELA4R1, ELA5LSV2, ELA7RI

• A composer changes a melodic motif to give variety to a composition. Though the motif is varied, it maintains its essential character. Stimulate students’ imaginations about motif variation by using the following dramatic techniques to vary the phrases of the Traditional New Orleans Jazz classic, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/l/louis+armstrong/when+the+saints+go+marching+in_20085348.html)

• Assign individual students to read the sentences in each of the following ways:

1. Loudly (Musical term= Forte)

2. Softly (Musical term= Piano)

3. In a fast tempo (Musical term= Presto)

4. In a slow tempo (Musical term= Adagio)

5. Read a sentence 3 times using a higher voice each time (Sequence)

6. Three or more voices reading together (Musical term= Chorus)

7. Read the sentence backwards (Inversion)

• Composers use rhyme schemes, for instance, ABAB, or AABB… to arrange a composition. Have students write a poem about China or Africa, and make sure each student writes using imagery and the musical sounds that they hear, like the African drums.

• Ask students if they can name two current television commercials that use classical music to sell products? (Diamonds and Reese’s Cups). Ask why they think the music was chosen as background music? Ask students to work in groups to write the text for a new commercial using the Johnson’s Drums, a Symphonic Poem for background music. Ask how they will choose a product for their commercials... Allow students to read their commercials while portions of Drums play in the background.

• Direct students to make a list of six questions they would like to ask Bright Sheng in an interview. Tell the partners to answer as Sheng might have answered. Trade roles, if there is a question that neither student can answer, instruct them to look it up using the resources from the Teacher Guide.


curriculum connections

• In class, have the students listen to “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” which is the piece that helped Copland in creating “Hoedown”. In a journal entry, have the students describe what Copland was feeling when he wrote “Hoedown”. (Link to Bonaparte’s Retreat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeQucos9-M).

• In Manuel de Falla’s, “Dance of the Miller’s Wife,” El Corregidor watches the miller’s wife dancing the fandango. Have students get into small groups and write a dramatic or comedic version of that scene from The Three-Cornered Hat. Make it fun by having students create props and scenery. Once the groups are ready to perform, have the “Dance of the Miller’s Wife” playing in the background.

MathGPS Strands: M3N1, M3M1, M3M2, M3M3, M3M4, M6M2

• “Dance of the Miller’s Wife” is a fandango, a Spanish dance style, which is characterized by their strong rhythms. As the students are listening to the piece, encourage them at first to tap their toes on all of the beats. Then ask,” How many beats are in duple meter? Triple meter?” Have students distinguish between strong and weak beats. Once mastered, have the students write the fractions for each rhythm, by putting strong beats over weak plus strong beats.

• Bright Sheng uses the Chinese Pipa in most of his works, because it represents the culture of China. Do research on how to make a Chinese Pipa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4tKwq3OSO4). Have each student get into groups, and have them build their own Chinese Pipa. Students will be able to measure their own pieces of wood to make the bridge, and the length of each fishing line to make the strings. Each student will be able to take the area of the cylinder (paper towel tube) and the triangle (cylinder to the wood.)

scienceGPS Strands: S3CS2, S4CS2, S4P2, S5CS2, S6CS3, S8P2

Explore www.vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/music.html on the net. Have students report on the purpose of the Voyager project. Print out the list of musical examples included on the Voyager I disk. Lead a discussion on why each piece might have been chosen, and why only one piece of music would not suffice for the purpose of the Voyager project.

social studiesGPS strands: SS4H2, SS4H6, SS5H4, SS6G11, SS6H6

• The Three Cornered Hat was completed in 1919, when anarchy and socialism occurred. Have students use outside resources to write an essay on the life in Spain during 1917 to the early 1920s. Each student should add their own opinions about de Falla’s life in Spain throughout the time he composed The Three Cornered Hat.

• Have students investigate the different types of Mexican instruments that are used in Moncayo’s, Huapango. Write an essay based on early Mexican instruments, and how they have influenced Mexican culture in today’s society. Outside resources from the school library, as well as, the internet will help with this activity.

• Compare and contrast the lives of Aram Khachaturian and Bright Sheng. Each composer experienced a major revolution in their countries (The Bolshevik Revolution of Russia and the Cultural Revolution in China. ) Have students write a journal entry as if they were a a native of one of these countries living during this time period. Some questions that the students can think about are how did this Revolution start? Why did Bright Sheng leave China? Why did Aram Khachaturian stay in Russia?

• Creoles were a group of people who lived in New Orleans, and were the founders of much of Louisiana’s culture. Do research on the Creole culture, why did they move to New Orleans and what were their contributions to Louisiana. (http://www.creolehistory.com/)

• Copland’s “Hoedown” is based on the 1800 Old West in the United States. Have students imagine that they are women living in the Old West. Write a journal entry about the struggles and problems faced as a female. Research the rights that all women had in the 1800s.

• James Johnson was an early 20th century Jazz composer in New York. Lead a discussion about how Jazz music has influenced the American culture? What types of negativity came from Jazz music when it was born in the early 20th century?


ABout Gayane

The ballet Gayane describes the story of a young woman who lives and works on a Russian farm. She must choose between her criminal husband and the people with whom she works. The “Sabre Dance” is in the final act. It is where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section is based on an Armenian folk song. Due to its exciting rhythm, “The Sabre Dance” is very popular in concerts, films, and tv. The piece can be heard in the SpongeBob Square Pants episode “Slimy Dancing”.

whAt MAKes russiAN Music “russiAN?”

Russia is a large and culturally diverse country, with many different types of people. Each group created their own local music. Russian music also includes music from the many peoples who populated the Russian Empire, including Gypsies, Jewish, and Ukrainian peoples.

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)

“sabre Dance” from Gayane

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where iN the world is russiA?

Russia is the largest country in the world. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and part of Europe and spans nine time zones. It shares borders with 14 countries. It has the world’s largest forests and ¼ of the world’s fresh water in its lakes.

who is ArAM KhAchAturiAN?

Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was born in Tiflis, Russia (now Tbilisi, Georgia) to a poor Armenian family. In his youth, he loved the music he heard around him, but at first he studied medicine. In 1921 he travelled to Moscow to join his brother, the stage director of the Second Moscow Art Theatre. His brother let him write music for his plays. Although he had almost no musical education, Aram showed such great talent that he was admitted to the Gnessin Institute and later the Moscow Conservatory.


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Russia

China

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978)

“sabre Dance” from Gayane

resources http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main.asp?composerid=2750

http://www.armeniaemb.org/DiscoverArmenia/CultureArt/AramKhachatrian.htm

ABout ArAM KhAchAturiAN’s russiA

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was established as a federation on Dec. 30, 1922. Joseph Stalin, general secretary of the party, assumed the prime ministership on May 6, 1941. Although he was Georgian by birth, Stalin became a Russian nationalist and significantly promoted Russian history, language, and Russian national heroes, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s. During Stalin’s reign the official and long-lived style of Socialist Realism was established for painting,

sculpture, music, drama and literature.

More ABout ArAM KhAchAturiAN

The composer joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1943. However, along with leading composers Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, he temporarily fell from official favor. It was the Symphonic Poem, later titled the Third Symphony, that officially earned Khachaturian the wrath of the Party. Ironically, Khachaturian wrote the work as a tribute to communism: “I wanted to write the kind of composition in which the public would

feel my unwritten program without an announcement. I wanted this work to express the Soviet people’s joy and pride in their great and mighty country.” He was restored to favor later that year. The decree affected Khachaturian profoundly: “Those were tragic days for me... I was clouted on the head so unjustly. My repenting speech at the First Congress was insincere. I was crushed, destroyed. I seriously considered changing professions.”

More ABout “sABre dANce”

Khachaturian composed three ballets. His second was Gayane. The story takes place on a collective farm on the Georgian border in 1941, the year the Germans invaded the Soviet Union during World War II. The lives of its residents, their conflicts, and their allegiances offer an object lesson in how to be a loyal Soviet citizen and the rewards of a life devoted to the state, and Khachaturian’s music narrates the story and its intermittent set pieces with style and directness in the best Russian tradition. Favorites from the ballet include the raucous Sabre Dance, with its percussion (especially the xylophone) playing at break-neck speed.


where iN the world is sPAiN?

Spain is part of Europe. The African country of Morocco is just ten miles away, across the Strait of Gibraltar. Ships sail through the Strait of Gibraltar to get from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.

who is MANuel de FAllA?

Manuel de Falla (mahn-well day fiy -yah) was born in Cádiz on the southern coast of Spain. He learned to play the piano as a little boy. He wrote music that sounds like

the folk music of Spain. The people of Spain loved Manuel so much they even put a picture of him on their money. He

wrote all kinds of music. One of his compositions was an opera for puppets.

whAt MAKes sPANish Music sPANish?

Spain is known for its exciting Spanish dances. Manuel wrote “Dance of the Miller’s Wife” in the style of a fandango. The fandango is a very old Spanish dance. In Spanish music, you often hear the clicking of castanets and strum of guitars. The rhythm of Spanish music is very important. When we think of Spanish rhythms, we

often are thinking about a fandango rhythm.

The Three-Cornered haT

The Three-Cornered Hat is the name of a ballet. The ballet is based on a funny story about a silly town mayor (El Corregidor). He wears a huge three-cornered hat as part of his official uniform.

At the beginning of the ballet, we see a miller’s wife dancing the fandango. El Corregidor sees her and wants to dance with her.

The miller’s wife pretends to flirt by offering him some grapes. When he reaches for the grapes, she snatches them away. He falls down, and the miller and his wife make fun of El Corregidor.

Activity 1: Castanets are held in each hand and snapped together in a rhythm while you dance the fandango. In this piece, Manuel de Falla imitates the sound of castanets on the xylophone.

You will hear a rhythm pattern that sounds like the strumming of a Spanish guitar. The pattern is repeated over and over in the “Dance of the Miller’s Wife.” This “fandango” rhythm makes the piece sound Spanish. The rhythm pattern looks like this:

Listen to this piece while you follow the Listening Guide on the next page. Do you hear the castanets and the guitar rhythm?

Activity 2:Rhythm is the most important part of Spanish dances. The dancers move their feet to the rhythm. They click a rhythm on the castanets. The guitarist strums a rhythm. The people watching might clap another rhythm at the same time.

After you listen to Falla’s fandango rhythms, pretend you are in the ballet. Make up some rhythms that you might clap as you stand and watch the miller’s wife. Take turns with your friends being the clapping “soloist.”

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)

“Dance of the Miller’s Wife” from The Three-Cornered Hat

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1 2 & 1 & 2 & 1 2


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Note: Listening guide is in the back of the Teacher’s Book

resources www.manueldefalla.com Photographs, detailed biography and an interesting discussion of The Three-Cornered Hat

www.chesternovello.com From the menu, select “Listen,” type in Falla to listen to four of Manuel de Falla’s major works. Select “Composer” to read more about Falla.

ABout MANuel de FAllA’s sPAiN

Spain occupies the majority of the Iberian Peninsula between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Manuel de Falla (mahn-well day fiy -yah) was born in a region of Spain called Andalusia. Andalusia is on the southern tip of Spain. Falla’s hometown of Cádiz is on the southwestern coast of Andalusia on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Moors of North Africa were the medieval Muslim inhabitants and rulers of the Iberian Peninsula. Even today, Spanish culture is highly influenced by its Moorish history. Moorish architecture abounds in Andalusia. Andalusian music is also full of Moorish characteristics.

ABout sPANish dANce Music

Spanish dance styles, especially flamenco, of which the fandango is a type, are characterized by their strong rhythms. The compás (meter) can be duple or triple. One remnant of Moorish influence on Spain’s early music is the use of the Phrygian mode or “gypsy scale” – which is similar to the natural minor scale. Spanish folk dance is usually accompanied by the 6-string guitar. In Spanish classical music based on dance forms, you will hear the strings of the orchestra play a rhythmic ostinato imitating the guitar strumming patterns in folk dances. The music is also highly percussive, with the sound of castanets, hand-clapping and stamping of the feet.

More ABout MANuel de FAllA

Falla was one of Spain’s most important composers. His teacher, musicologist and composer Felipe Pedrell, interested Falla in native Spanish music. Falla did not quote Spanish folk melodies, but strived to capture the essence of Spain in his music. His nationalism was shared by his good friend, poet Frederico Garcia Lorca. They produced a festival of Spanish folk music together. Lorca’s tragic murder by Franco and Franco’s subsequent victory in the Spanish Civil War led Falla to leave Spain for Argentina, where he lived the rest of his life. In his early 30’s, Falla lived for a few years in Paris, where he met and was influenced by the Impressionist composers Debussy and Ravel.

More ABout The Three-Cornered haT

While touring Spain with his Ballets Russes, The great impresario Serge Diaghilev and his choreographer Leonide Massine saw a production of a pantomime, El Corregidor y las Moniara (The Magistrate and the Miller’s Wife), with music composed by their host Manuel de Falla. Diaghilev immediately saw the potential for a ballet. He persuaded Falla to expand his music and score it for orchestra. The resulting 1919 London premier of El Sombrero de Tres Picos starred Massine as the miller and boasted sets designed by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. It was the last ballet danced by the Ballets Russe before Diaghilev’s death just two weeks later. Massine continued to dance the role into the 1950’s.

Activity 1:If possible, first demonstrate the strumming pattern written in the students’ page. Point out that it imitates the strumming of the Spanish guitar. Tell students that this rhythm pattern is the very first thing they will hear. Ask students to listen, following the Listening Guide, and to raise their hands when the strumming rhythm pattern stops. The pattern is not heard during the bassoon solos. It disappears entirely in Part B and returns in Part A when the flute trill resumes. On the next hearing, ask students to raise their hands when they hear the xylophone imitating castanets. Help students by counting the repetitions of sections aloud. Finally, ask them to listen and follow the Guide independently.

Activity 2:After students have become familiar with the piece, encourage them to participate in the fandango just as onlookers at a party or performance would do by clapping their own rhythms along with the music.


José Pablo Moncayo (1841-1904)

Huapango

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where iN the world is Mexico?

Mexico is our neighbor. It is between the United States and Central America. Mexico and Central America form a bridge of land from the United States to South America.

who is José PABlo MoNcAyo?

José Pablo Moncayo played the piano and wrote music. He also conducted the Mexican National Symphony. José was born in 1912 in Guadalajara. Guadalajara is the capital city of the Mexican state Jalisco on the Pacific Ocean coast.

whAt MAKes MexicAN Music MexicAN?

Spain conquered Mexico in 1519. The Spanish ruled Mexico for over 300 years. They called Mexico “New Spain.”

Mexico has wonderful native folk music. It is similar to our American Indian music. The Spanish brought Spanish music to Mexico. Over time, native Mexican music mixed with Spanish music.

Mexican and Spanish music both have interesting rhythms. The Spanish guitar can be heard in both. They also share some of the same dance forms. Each dance has its own rhythm. Mexicans have some dances that are theirs alone. The huapango is one of them. Mariachi bands play the huapango. A mariachi band has violins, guitars and trumpets. Mariachi began in the state of Jalisco where José Pablo Moncayo was born.

huapanGo

The huapango (hwah-pahn’-goh) also comes from Jalisco. The word huapango means, “dancing on the platform.” The dancers use the platform like a drum. They stamp their feet like horses.

Activity #1:Count to 6 over and over. Clap on 1 and 4. This divides 6 beats into two equal parts.

1 2 3 4 5 6, 1 2 3 4 5 6 (6 divided by 3 = 2)(1 2 , 1 2 )

If you accent (clap) on 1, 3 and 5, it sounds like 3 sets of beats:

1 2 3 4 5 6, 1 2 3 4 5 6 (6 divided by 2 = 3)(1 2 3 , 1 2 3 )

In Huapango, the accents change constantly from 2’s to 3’s. Clap the first pattern twice, then clap the second pattern twice. Then go back to the first pattern. The beat should stay steady all the time. This is what Moncayo does in his composition.

Activity #2:As you listen, follow the Listening Guide to keep track of all the things happening in Huapango. Read from left to right.


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José Pablo Moncayo (1841-1904)

Huapango

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resources www.elmariachi.com Read about the mariachi tradition

www.sobrino.net/mer/materials.html More about the mariachi tradition

ABout José PABlo MoNcAyo’s Mexico

Jalisco, the sixth largest of Mexico’s thirty-one states, is on the west coast of Mexico bordering the Pacific Ocean. It has snow-topped mountains, plains areas, tropical jungles and resort beaches. A large percentage of Mexican-American immigrants come from Jalisco, and Jalisco is a favorite destination for American tourists. It is said to be the birth place of many things we consider typically “Mexican,” including mariachi music, the rodeo (charreadas) and the broad-brimmed sombrero hat. Guadalajara was founded by the Spanish in 1513. Because it came under attack many times from the Cazcanes Indians, the town of Guadalajara would be moved four times before arriving in 1542 at its present site.

ABout MexicAN Music

The native Aztecs already had a significant musical tradition before the Spaniards arrived. The sacred instruments and rhythms of the Aztecs are still heard today. Americans are probably more familiar with Mexican music from the Spanish Colonial era.

Mexico has distinct music from each state or region. Mexican regional sons (styles) reflect the unique preferences of each area. Mariachi is one of the most recognizable sons to American ears. With compositions such as Huapango, José Pablo Moncayo incorporated mariachi into symphonic music.

More ABout José PABlo MoNcAyo

José Pablo Moncayo had a short career. He was only 46 at his death. He made his mark in Mexico and internationally with one of his first compositions, Huapango. Moncayo helped to establish a Mexican School of Composition along with his colleagues in the Group of Four. This nationalistic movement is still an important part of the Mexican classical music world.

Moncayo spent more of his time conducting than composing. He was director of the Mexican National Symphony for six years. He wrote an opera, a prize-winning ballet and many other smaller works. Moncayo was mentored by the American composer Aaron Copland. Copland heard his music on a trip to Mexico. In 1941, Moncayo attended Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts to work with Copland.

More ABout huapanGo

Huapango captures the typical folk dance/mariachi sound of Mexico. The piece is rhythmically complex, with its shifting accents. At times, though, it just sounds like a relaxed group of musicians having a great time improvising. Underneath the free-for-all atmosphere of the music lies a brilliant use of the folk dance idiom to create a classic Mexican symphonic work.

Activity #1:Students will enjoy the music more if they can learn to clap the dominant rhythm pattern. Take time to practice this exercise. If students encounter problems, here’s a technique to help them feel comfortable with the shift in accent. Think about the rhythm in the “West Side Story” song “America.” It goes, “I like to be in A-mer-i-ca. O.K. by me in A-mer-i-ca.” The rhythm is a huapango rhythm: 123,123,12,12,12.

I like to be in A-mer--i----ca. O.K. by me in A- mer--i---ca. 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2, 12, 12, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2, 12, 12

Activity #2:After viewing the DVD, play the recording of Huapango. Help students follow the listening guide in their books. The percussion instruments start the music. The brass instruments do the majority of the solo work, but Moncayo uses every instrumental tone color in the orchestra. The listening guide helps students follow by dividing the sections of the music by the prominent instruments in each section.

Jalisco


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where iN the world is chiNA?

China is in eastern Asia. Asia is the largest continent. China is the fourth largest country in the world. It is about the same size as the United States. China is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east.

China has beautiful mountains, rivers and plains. It also has a big desert – the Gobi Desert. More people live in China than in any other country. Over one billion people live in China.

China has one of the oldest civilizations. It has the oldest written language still used today. The four great inventions of ancient China are paper, the compass, gunpowder and printing.

who is Bright sheNg?

Bright Sheng was born in 1955 in Shanghai, China. His mother taught him to play the piano when he was four years old. His Chinese name is Sheng Zong Liang. He chose the English name Bright because “Liang” means “bright lights” in Chinese. Bright Sheng came to the United States to study music in 1982. Bright Sheng now teaches music at the University of Michigan. He has won many prizes and honors for his beautiful music.

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When Bright was a child, China was an unhappy place because of the “Cultural Revolution.” During that time, schools were closed. Most educated people were made to go far away from their homes to work on farms. When Bright was 10 years old, soldiers came to his family’s home and took away the piano. When he was 15, he was sent far away from his home to play music for the government in a farm village. He could not study music until he was nearly a grown man. Bright Sheng learned many Chinese folk songs while he worked with the peasants. You can hear the sound of that Chinese folk music in Bright Sheng’s music for orchestra. He helps the orchestra imitate the sounds of Chinese folk instruments.

whAt MAKes chiNese Music chiNese?

Melody and harmony are more important than rhythm in Chinese music. Most melodies are based on a 5-note scale called the pentatonic scale. That scale sounds very different from the scales of Western music. Chinese music uses flutes and string instruments such as the pipa. You will also hear chimes and bells in Chinese music. You can go to www.philmultic.com/pipa/ on the web to see and hear the pipa played.

posTCards

Bright Sheng wrote music called Postcards to help us hear and “see” his homeland and its beautiful folk music.

Activity: As you listen to “From the Mountains” imagine the scenes that Bright Sheng has in mind. Make a picture of one of those scenes and share it with your class. How does each one make you feel? Draw a face to show how you feel when you listen to each piece.

Bright Sheng (b. 1955)

“from the Mountains” from Postcards


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Bright Sheng (b. 1955)

“from the Mountains” from Postcards

resources:www.enchantedlearning.com/asia/china/ China facts, lesson plans and student activities

www.silkroadproject.org/teachers/index.html More information on Chinese instruments and the Silk Road Project

More ABout Bright sheNg’s chiNA

Bright Sheng’s story of life in China during the Cultural Revolution is hard for Americans to imagine. Sheng’s parents were tortured, and his grandparents committed suicide when his grandfather was labeled as an “enemy of the state.” It is estimated that up to 750,000 Chinese lost their lives in this repressive and violent period of Chinese history. Bright Sheng spent a large part of his older childhood and early adulthood in Qinghai, a remote poverty-stricken village near the Tibetan border in western China. He lived alongside the peasants and was deprived of any formal education or music training. He says that his ability to make music is what enabled him to survive. The folk music and dance troupe he was assigned to played and sang propaganda music based on folk music, but with lyrics extolling Mao Zedong and the communist revolution. During those seven years, he collected folk music and taught himself on native instruments.

More ABout Bright sheNg

After the Cultural Revolution, Sheng earned an undergraduate degree in music composition from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He migrated to the United States, and earned an M.A. in composition and conducting from Queens College under Leonard Bernstein. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Columbia University. Bright Sheng holds a Distinguished University Professorship at Michigan State University. In 1999, President Bill Clinton commissioned Sheng to write a piece especially for a state dinner welcoming Chinese Premiere Zhou Rongji. In 2001, Sheng was named a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and received a $500,000 cash prize. He collaborates with Yo-Yo Ma in the “Silk Road Project” as Artistic Advisor. Sheng is one of several Chinese American composers writing cross-cultural music which honors both the Chinese culture and the American culture.

More ABout posTCards

Postcards was commissioned by two St. Paul Chamber Orchestra patrons for their wedding anniversary. They chose Sheng for the commission because his music reminded them of their trip to China. He wrote the piece in folk style as a group of four “postcards” from various places in China. Sheng says that he wrote it in a period when he felt homesick for his native land. Sheng describes in music the landscape of China. (The term for landscape in China is shan shui – mountains and water.) “From the Mountains” is based on a Chinese folk melodies. It evokes the scenic mountains shrouded in mist.

Strings and woodwinds are paired in the beginning of “Mountains,” alternating with French horn passages. The strings and woodwinds “bend” the pitches to sound like the string folk instruments of China. The violins state the nostalgic theme, echoed by the oboe. The flute and piccolo follow, joined by the brass instruments and building in intensity. In the middle, the piece almost comes to a standstill. The piercing voices of the piccolo and celeste (a keyboard instrument with metal bars instead of strings) continue along with the flute. The piece ends as strings bend the pitches again and the bass clarinet echoes the fading theme. From somewhere, crickets chirp. One can sense night falling.

Activity: Because this is a tone poem and is highly descriptive, it lends itself to interpretation in a variety of media – dance, painting, drama. Lead your class in visualizing the scenes and dramatizing the action. Talk about the feelings created by Sheng’s Postcards from China. Ask students to write their own postcards.


Traditional New Orleans Jazztraditional new orleans Jazz, When the Saints Go Marching In

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When The sainTs Go MarChinG in

When the Saints Go Marching In is the best-known Traditional New Orleans jazz piece. It’s about people marching into heaven. Sometimes it is played in funeral parades in New Orleans. On the way to the cemetery, the band plays slowly. On the way back home, the band plays fast.

People all over the world love to sing this song. Here are the words to the refrain:

“Oh, when the saints go marching in, Oh, when the saints go marching in. Oh, Lord, I want to be in that number, When the saints go marching in.”

New orleans

“When the Saints Go Marching In” is such a popular song in New Orleans, their football team is called the New Orleans Saints!

louis Armstrong and his “hot Five”

where iN the world is New orleANs?

New Orleans is on the southern coast of the United States. It is in the state of

Louisiana. New Orleans is a port city. It is located where the Mississippi River flows

into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Spanish were the first explorers of the area. The Spanish and French people fought

over Louisiana for a long time. The French finally sold it to the United States in 1803.

Louisiana became a state in 1812.

whAt is trAditioNAl New orleANs JAzz?

Jazz was born in New Orleans. Many types of music came together in New Orleans. Spirituals, blues and ragtime were part of the mix. The first music called “jazz” was played by bands. Some people call that early jazz “Dixieland jazz.” Dixieland was a name for the southern United States.

Sometimes people called Dixieland jazz “hot” jazz. That’s because it is usually fast and has very interesting rhythms. The trumpet usually plays the melody. The clarinet and trombone decorate the melody. The banjo and piano keep the rhythm. Most of the time, the instruments all play together. It sounds like everyone is playing a solo at the same time!

Louis Armstrong was a trumpet player who grew up in New Orleans. He was one of the most famous Dixieland jazz players. The name of his band was the “Hot Five.”


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resourceswww.pbs.org/jazz This website on Ken Burns’ PBS series Jazz has extensive biographies of important people in the history of jazz and audio clips of historical and contemporary jazz recordings. Go to the Classroom link for lesson plans and handouts. Direct students to the companion site pbskids.org/jazz.

www.redhotjazz.com Extensive sound file archive of jazz recordings before 1930. Includes biographies and information on the bands of the era.

www.jazzinamerica.org/home.asp From the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Lesson plans, timeline, audio clips, history of jazz.

www.smithsonianjazz.org/class/armstrong/kit/kit.asp Another jazz reference

whAt is dixielANd JAzz?

Dixieland jazz was the first music to be called jazz (or “jass”, as it was sometimes spelled). Many jazz experts prefer to call it Traditional New Orleans Jazz or Early Jazz. Jazz is a mixture of musical elements found uniquely in New Orleans and the American South in the early 20th century. It was preceded by African American spirituals, blues and ragtime. African musical traits such as rhythmic syncopation and polyrhythms, “bending” pitch to express the meaning of words, call and response singing and collective improvisation were incorporated into early jazz. The “blues scale” (with its slight lowering of the 3rd and 7th pitches of the diatonic scale) was inherited from blues music already popular in New Orleans. Ragtime, a popular piano style and another precursor of jazz, developed from the brass band tunes of the day. Many African Americans in New Orleans learned music by playing in brass bands. The instruments of those bands naturally found their way into jazz. These elements, mixed with European harmonies and the musical structure of hymns, marches and dances resulted in an entirely new and uniquely American music. African Americans were the inventors and first performers of jazz. As African Americans migrated north to St. Louis and Chicago, the popularity of jazz spread and white musicians began to play it. Jazz and its descendents, rhythm and blues and rock music, are one of the primary exports of the United States. You can hear Dixieland Jazz in Germany, rhythm and blues in Great Britain and rock music all over the world.

When The sainTs Go MarChinG in

Over time, When the Saints Go Marching In has acquired the status of an American folk song. It probably had its start as a spiritual, but it is now in print as a hymn and a gospel tune as well. One of its early uses was in “jazz funerals” in New Orleans. Louis Armstrong is most closely associated with its early popularity.

Sports teams in the US, Australia and Great Britain have adopted the song as their theme song. It has been recorded by everyone from Judy Garland to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen.

Traditional New Orleans Jazztraditional new orleans Jazz, When the Saints Go Marching In

“sAiNts” sPorts triViA

• The New Orleans pro football team is named “The Saints.” According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: the New Orleans Saints’ franchise was awarded on All Saints Day November 1, 1966. The local newspaper, New Orleans States-Item, ran a contest to name the football team.

• The tune is a popular telephone ringtone in England, where the Southampton Saints woman’s football club has a strong following.


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rodeo

Rodeo is a “cowboy” ballet. The story is set on a ranch in the Old West. A cowgirl tries to show the cowboys that she can rope and ride as well as they can. They don’t like having a girl compete with them. All but one cowboy laughs at her. Later, at the hoedown, she shows up wearing a pretty dress. The rude cowboys ask her to dance. She turns them down. Then she dances with the only cowboy who was nice to her at the rodeo. The dancers dance to the section of Copland’s Rodeo called “Hoedown.”

A hoedown is filled with energy. The dances are fast and lively. You can hear the sound of fiddles playing. Aaron Copland used two old American square dance tunes in this piece. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association uses “Hoedown” from Rodeo in their TV ads. Can you imagine why?

Activity 1: Follow the Listening Guide on the next page. Notice that there are two main sections to the music – the A section and the B section. A short part of the A section is repeated at the end.

Activity 2: Make up your own hoedown dance to match the music. Four couples dance together in a square dance. (They make a square when the couples face each other.) Sometimes they move around in a circle holding hands. Sometimes the couples will link arms and “swing your partner.” Use different movements for the A section and the B section.

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Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

“Hoedown” from Rodeo

where iN the world is the “old west?”

The United States were formed from the 13 original English colonies on the east coast of North America. The country expanded westward until it reached the Pacific Ocean. In 1849, someone discovered gold in California. Thousands of people packed their belongings in covered wagons. They made the long trip west hoping to make lots of money. At first, the land was free. People could graze their cattle anywhere they wanted to. They could “stake a claim” on a piece of land.

whAt Are cowBoys?

From 1865 to 1890, the “Old West” was a place where people raised huge herds of cattle. Cowboys drove longhorn cattle north to Abilene, Kansas. They followed the Chisholm Trail from Texas. In Abilene, they would load the cattle onto trains. The trains took the cattle to market on the east coast. The cowboys were great horsemen. They had to round up the cattle and rope them from horseback. They had contests called “rodeos” to see who was the best at those jobs. Sometimes they had a “hoedown,” or dance party, after the rodeo. People danced square dances at the hoedowns.

What makes American music American? Composers make music sound American by using American folk songs and American folk instruments (like fiddles and banjos) in their music. Lots of American music also uses jazz ideas. Remember, jazz is a type of purely American music.

who wAs AAroN coPlANd?

Aaron Copland was born in 1900 in Brooklyn, New York. He studied piano with his older sister. Copland attended an orchestra concert when he was a young man. He liked the music so much he decided to become a composer. Aaron Copland wrote music that we say sounds “American.”

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Note: Listening guide is in the back of the Teacher’s Book

resourceswww.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/ Go to the Masters List and read about Copland.

Our Singing Country: A Second Volume of American Ballads and Folk Songs, John Lomax (includes Bonyparte, the square dance tune quoted in “Hoedown”)

memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/copland/ The Library of Congress online collection, including pictures, a biography and timeline. This fascinating site includes a copy of a letter Copland wrote promoting the work of then-unknown composer Pablo Moncayo (Huapango). One can view the rough sketch of Rodeo in the composers own hand. His notes mention the “bucking horse” (section A of the piece) and “a good riding rhythm.”

More ABout the AMericAN old west

The Old West was not entirely lawless, but law enforcement was scarce enough that cowboys visiting towns on the frontier earned quite a reputation as trouble-

makers (thus the term “Wild West”). At first, the west was populated by railroad builders, buffalo hunters, gold speculators and an assortment of drifters. Native Americans, Mexicans, African Americans and whites all came together in the area after the Civil War. Together with the cowboys, they made for a lively mix. The cowboys drove the longhorns along feeder trails to the Chisholm Trail (the line in red) which led to the rail head in Abilene. It was worth the trouble to drive the cattle over such an arduous journey. Cattle sold

for about four dollars per head in Texas, but brought about $40 in the east.

More ABout the coMPoser

Aaron Copland was born to a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants. His first music education was through correspondence courses. After working hard for several years, he won a scholarship to study in France.

When Copland was asked to compose his first ballet, Billy the Kid, he wasn’t sure that a Jewish boy from Brooklyn could do the best job of writing music about the Wild West. He felt better when he found out that William Bonney – Billy the Kid – was also born in Brooklyn, New York. Four years later, in 1942, a new cowboy ballet by Copland, Rodeo, was presented to the public.

Copland wrote sixty articles and essays on music and authored five books, including What to Listen for in Music and Music and Imagination. Like the ASO’s own Maestro Robert Spano, Copland was a popular member of the faculty at Tanglewood. In his fifties, he became a conductor, conducting until he was 83. His numerous awards include a Pulitzer Prize, an Academy Award for Best Musical Score, The Presidential Medal of Freedom and 30 honorary university degrees.

More ABout rodeo

The movements of Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, extracted from the ballet in 1943, are Buckaroo, Corral Nocturne, Saturday Night Waltz, and Hoedown. Copland quotes a number of familiar western folk songs in Rodeo. In Hoedown, we hear excerpts from the square dance tune Bonyparte and a few measures of McLeod’s Reel played in folk fiddle style. The dance episodes were first performed in 1943 by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.

A “hoedown” was originally a fast dance related to the jig or clog dance. Now the term applies to almost any activity (from comedy improvisation to rollerblading) that includes a virtuoso display.

Activity 1: Help students identify the A and B sections. Ask them to raise hands when they hear the new B section. The return of the A section is quite noticeable, since the music virtually stops beforehand.

Activity 2:Chances are that your physical education teacher can introduce the class to some simple square dance steps. Your school library should have at least one book and maybe a recording on folk and square dancing.

TEXAS

OKLAHOMA

KANSAS


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timpani

Big AcceNt!

2 times 2 times 3 times

oboe and violin melody

xylophone imitates castanets

high flute trill

bassoon and cello

Big AcceNt!

strumming rhythm

bassoon and celloNew flute and violin melody

7 tiMes

flute and violin melody

6 tiMes

oboesolo violins

repeatoboesolo

harp glissando

oboe solo2 times

timpani solo

xylophone imitates castanets

high flute trill

guitar strumming

Big AcceNt!

flute and violin melody

4 tiMes

10 BigBangs

olé!!

Part A

Part B

RememberingPart A


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B

Do you hearthe

fiddles???

Come tothe dance!

Ride over tothe dance hall... Grab your

partner!

Tune up thefiddles!

4 times3 times much

softer…

theme 2 theme 2Oboe tune

Swing your partner!

All together, now!!!

Take a rest...S-L-OW D-O-W-N

louder!

loud druMs…

theme 1

theme 1 theme 1 theme 1

theme 1

A

A

softer

Intro

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James Price Johnson (1894-1955)

Drums, a Symphonic Poem

where iN the world is AFricA?

The equator runs across the middle of Africa. Africa is connected to Asia and Europe to the north. (Remember that Spain is only 10 miles away across the Strait of Gibraltar.)

Africa is the second largest continent on earth. It covers more than one-fifth of the earth’s land surface. It has the world’s longest river, the Nile. The lower bank of the Nile was the home of the first great civilization.

Most of Africa is desert and grassland. Forest covers only 10 percent of the land. Africa has over 1500 species of animals. There are 53 countries in Africa. The people in these countries speak over 1000 different languages.

whAt MAKes AFricAN Music AFricAN?

Music is an important part of life in Africa. Everyone makes music. People sing and play instruments, especially drums. There are many different styles of African music. Rhythm is important to all of them. Rhythms are clapped, danced and played on drums of all kinds.

African drumming is a very complex art. You hear many different rhythm patterns at once. One drummer plays the steady beat that keeps all the different rhythms together.

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who is JAMes JohNsoN?

James Price Johnson was an African American pianist and composer. He grew up in New York in a neighborhood called Harlem. James studied piano as a young boy. He heard a lot of jazz music when he was young. He also liked Broadway show music. He studied classical music all of his life.

People called James Johnson the Father of Stride Piano. The stride piano style is very hard to play. He taught many famous jazz pianists how to play stride piano. James Johnson wrote one of the most popular tunes of the 20th century – “Charleston.”

James wrote Broadway show tunes. He also wrote music for the orchestra. James was one of the first composers to use African music ideas in symphonic music.

DRuMS, A SyMPHONIC POEM

The drumming you’ll hear in Drums, a Symphonic Poem is written for orchestra drums, not African drums. James helps the orchestra imitate the sounds of African drums. Listen for many rhythms played at one time. The melody sounds jazzy. James was also one of the first composers to bring jazz to the orchestra.

Activity 1: Use real drums or classroom objects (trash cans, boxes, etc.) to create your own drumming patterns. Choose 2 or 3 leaders. Each leader will play a short rhythm pattern. The rest of the group will imitate the leader’s pattern.

Activity 2:Experiment with ways to change the sound of your drum. Wrap something around it to make a muffled sound. Or try filling the drum with pebbles. Try playing the drum with different types of beaters. Make a whole orchestra of drums!


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James Price Johnson (1894-1955)

Drums, a Symphonic Poem

resourcesdigicoll.library.wisc.edu/AfricaFocus/ Click on drums to hear a variety of African drumming styles.

www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/index.html Lesson plans, activities, pictures and maps for studying African cultures.

http://jamespjohnson.org/ The official James P. Johnson Foundation website.

www.redhotjazz.com/jpjohnson.html Hear recordings of Johnson playing some of his most famous pieces, including “Carolina Shout” and “Charleston.”

www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=252 A lesson plan and resources for studying the Harlem Renaissance.

ABout JAMes P. JohNsoN’s hArleM

Harlem is the section of Manhattan north and east of Central Park. It extends from the Hudson River to the East River. In the 1920’s, Harlem was the center of an exciting African American cultural movement called the Harlem Renaissance. The area was settled by the Dutch in the 17th century as Nieuw Haarlem after the Dutch city of Haarlem. Later, it was a farming suburb of New York, reached by steamboat. Though it fell on hard times during the latter half of the 20th century, it is currently experiencing revitalization.

More ABout druMs, A syMPhoNic PoeM

Drums, a Symphonic Poem, began its life in 1932 as a song in a James P. Johnson Broadway revue titled Harlem Hotcha. A few years later, Johnson recorded it as a piano solo and in 1938 orchestrated it as a symphonic poem. The tune also exists under another song title, “Jungle Drums” (Smithsonian Folkways Recording), with lyrics by Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. Traditional African drumming rhythms are echoed in several percussion solos throughout the symphonic version.

More ABout JAMes Price JohNsoN

James Price Johnson (1894-1955) was one of the most important African-American jazz pianists and composers of the early 20th century. His “stride piano” style was the bridge between ragtime and jazz. Johnson was a champion

pianist and played at “rent parties” in Harlem, where his popularity helped draw a paying crowd to help his hosts pay their rent. Contests among the best stride pianists of the day were part of the entertainment.

Born in New Brunswick, N.J., James P. Johnson learned music first from his mother. He received classical piano training from Bruno Giannini. His later life reads like a history of jazz. Moving to New York in 1908, he studied piano with Eubie Blake, who taught him an “orchestral” approach to the piano. He continued to study composition, music theory and music history throughout his life. His influence was felt throughout the jazz world of his time.

In the 1920’s, his career took off with popular compositions (including “Carolina Shout” – the first sound recording of jazz-piano) and his solo performances. He was the favorite accompanist to singers Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters. He taught both Fats Waller and Duke Ellington to play stride piano and he wrote for Broadway. A tune from his show Runnin’ Wild (1923), “Charleston” came to define the whole decade. Johnson was voted into the Down Beat Hall of Fame in 1992.

Although he achieved commercial success with his jazz piano recordings and Broadway show tunes, Johnson’s fondest desire was to write music for the orchestra and bring attention to the influence of African music on American music. In his 30’s, Johnson began to write large-scale orchestral works, including Harlem Symphony in 1932. His one-act blues opera De Organizer, with libretto by Langston Hughes, was performed in 1940 in Carnegie Hall. Though his music for orchestra was not often performed during his lifetime, Johnson is now recognized as the important composer he was.

Activity 1:You may need to be the “leader” in the beginning of this activity. Once you identify some good drummers, turn the task over to students. Help them set up a constant steady beat in the beginning. This activity should be like a good long volley in tennis – keep it going!

Activity 2:Let the class sit in a circle after they’ve modified their drums. Ask each student in turn play to an 8-beat rhythm to demonstrate all the tone colors they’ve invented.


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Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation

Brown & Moore Associates, LLC

The Coca-Cola Company

Delta Air Lines

E Z Agape Foundation

GE Energy

InterContinental Hotels Group

Links, Inc., Azalea City Chapter

Livingston Foundation, Inc.

MetLife Foundation

Primerica, Inc.

Publix Super Markets & Publix Super Markets Charities, Inc.

Remillard & Associates, Inc.

SunTrust Bank Trusteed Foundation – Walter H. and Marjory M. Rich

Memorial Fund

SunTrust Foundation

The Society, Inc., Greater Atlanta Chapter

Wells Fargo

The William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund

The Zeist Foundation, Inc.

With deepest gratitude…

Major support is provided by the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs.

Major funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of

the Fulton County Arts Council.

This program is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA also receives support from its partner agency, the National Endowment for the Arts.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Atlanta Symphony OrchestraEducation & Community Engagement Staff

Mark Kent, Senior Director of Education and Community Engagement Melanie darby, Director of Education Programming

Nicole Bird, Education Programs Coordinator Ahmad Mayes, Community Programs Coordinator

tiffany Jones, Education Sales Associate Janice crews, Professional Learning Teaching Artist

The 2011-2012 ASO Concerts for Young People study guide was developed and written by Susan Merritt.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is grateful to the following corporations, foundations, and organizations that support education and community programs.

Jere Flint is the ASO Staff Conductor. He conducts the Symphony Street Concerts, the Family Concert Series and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. When not on the podium, he is a member of the ASO cello section. The conductor is the person who stands in front of the orchestra and leads the music. The conductor’s instrument is the whole orchestra! The musicians follow the conductor’s arm movements in order to play together. The conductor reads from the score. The score helps the conductor see what each instrument should be playing at any moment. The conductor starts and stops the orchestra and sets the speed (tempo) of the music. He keeps the beat and shows the players how the music should be played.

Below, Maestro Flint answers some questions to help you get to know him.

1. tell us something about your childhood.I was born on Long Island, New York, and loved “going into the city” (Manhattan, that is) with all its sights and sounds! I also played Little League baseball and ran track in high school.

2. what was the first musical experience you remember?

I remember as a little kid finding a conductor’s baton somewhere. I would wave it around to my favorite records (those are those big round black pieces of vinyl that pre-date CDs).

3. do you have any advice for young musicians? Take up an instrument or just sing, and pursue all kinds of music whether it is classical, pop, rock, jazz. Even if you don’t make a career of music, it will always be an important and enjoyable part of your life.

4. how did you get interested in music? I wanted to play the violin like my big brother, but my parents talked me into playing the cello. My sister played the piano, so we ended up with a very fine trio!

5. how did you learn to conduct?Anyone can learn the patterns that a conductor uses to keep the beat. Conducting a lot of people in an orchestra takes other important skills, such as knowledge of the different instruments, reading musical scores, studying the various musical styles of the centuries, and presenting a great live orchestra performance for people like you.

Meet the Conductor


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Instruments and Orchestra


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There is something uniquely powerful about music. It has the ability to touch the very core of who we are as people. At the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra we believe every citizen deserves the opportunity to explore their world and realize their fullest potential through the power of music. This conviction is the foundation of our work through the Education and Community Engagement department.

Each year, the lives of thousands of participating students and community members are touched through music programs offered by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In fact, one-third of our programming is devoted to education and community, and almost all Atlanta Symphony Orchestra musicians devote time to these efforts. As an institution we bravely lead the conversation on arts education and community access, and then we back our words with strong.

We are delighted that your child will have an opportunity to visit Symphony Hall to hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. This student guide is part of the extensive preparation materials provided for educators to use in preparing young people for the concert. The teacher materials are available for your perusal on the Internet at www.atlantasymphony.org.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra provides other opportunities for you to share the joy of music with your child. The Sunday afternoon Family Concert series is designed to be an entertaining learning experience for the whole family. Also on Sunday afternoons, you and your children may enjoy concerts performed by the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. This talented group of student musicians ranging in age from 13-18 performs three subscription concerts a year. Or you may want to attend the Spring Recital of our extraordinary Talent Development Program students. We hope you’ll take advantage of these and other concerts to instill in your child a love of orchestral music – a lifelong gift that your child will treasure.

Whether you play, hear, explore, share, or teach music… your life is opened to new possibilities. We invite you to discover yourself through the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

A Note to PAreNts:

Music Makes Us Better

www.atlantasymphony.org


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Documents

11-12 World of MusicTeacher Guide Preview