Fall 2016 Teacher’s Guide Knoxville Civic Auditorium: October 26, 27, 28, 2016

Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, TN: November 3, 2016

Aram Demirjian, Music Director

James Fellenbaum, Resident Conductor

America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee) Traditional Variations on America Charles Ives Introduction Theme Variation I: (woodwinds) Variation IV: (trombone, tuba, castanets) Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Benjamin Britten Theme: Allegro maestoso e largamente e tutti Variation A: Presto (piccolo and flutes) Variation B: Lento (oboes) Variation C: Moderato (clarinets) Variation D: Allegro alla marcia (bassoons) Variation E: Brillante: alle polacca (violins) Variation F: Meno mosso (violas) Variation G: Lusingando (cellos) Variation H: Cominciando lento ma poco a poco accel. al Allegro (double basses) Variation I: Maestoso (harp) Variation J: L’istesso tempo (horns) Variation K: Vivace (trumpets) Variation L: Allegro pomposo (trombones and bass tuba) Variation M: Moderato (percussion) Fugue: Allegro molto Bugler’s Dream Leo Arnaud

Olympic Fanfare and Theme John Williams

Program Notes: Our Composers and their Music 2, 5-7 Music: America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee) 3 The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra/Meet the Music Director 8 The Woodwinds 10 The Strings 12 The Brass 14 The Percussion 16 Lessons & Activities 18 Exploring Theme & Variations 19 Listening to Theme & Variations 20-21 Moving to Theme & Variations 22 Exploring Meter 23 Be a Conductor! 24 The British Connection 25 Additional Activities/Resources and Core Standards 26 Listening Map (Percussion Variation) 27 Student Program Template 29 What is a Conductor?/Maestro James Fellenbaum 31 My Concert Review/Audience Job Description 32 Concert Behavior/Acknowledgements 33

What is a Composer? A composer is a person who writes music. He or she can write music for groups as large as a symphony orchestra, or as small as a single instrument. Many times in orchestral works the composer tells a story. All of the different instruments of the orchestra are the actors in the story. A composer can write music based on many different things, such as a dream, a place, a person, or a poem. Sometimes composers even create music by mixing many different pieces. A composer has the ability to hear a tune in his head and write it down as notes for instruments.

This ear symbol will give students something to listen for in select pieces.

Table of Contents KSO Kids’ Guide to the Orchestra

Watch for the map to give you interesting facts or vocabulary words.

The following program notes were written for the students.

‘My Country, ‘Tis of Thee, also known as America, is an American patriotic song. It is known as the first American national anthem before the adoption of the Star Spangled Banner in 1931 and today is America’s national hymn. The lyrics were written by Reverend Samuel Francis Smith, when he was twenty-four years old, attending Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts, to become a minister. His friend Lowell Mason asked him to translate or write new lyrics (words) for music from a German school music book. (At that time in the United States there were no music teachers in public schools.) Samuel Francis Smith was struck by one tune, and not knowing that it was the same melody as the British national anthem, God Save the Queen, he wrote new lyrics in 30 minutes on a rainy day. Like many popular songs from that time, America took music from another song. (When writing our national anthem, Francis Scott Key used the melody from a theme song of the Anacreontic Society of London.)

This practice of “borrowing songs” to become other songs was very common at this time and in fact the same music was used for the former anthems of Russia, Switzerland and Germany and is still used in Britten, Liechtenstien, and Norway. America was first performed on July 4, 1831 at the Park Street Church in Boston and was sung by children in Lowell Mason’s children’s choir. Lowell Mason was one of this country’s first great champions of music education for children. He founded a children’s choir and started the first singing school for children in Boston. His choir sang for lectures given by a man very influential in education, William C. Woodbridge, and this helped to pave the way for public school music programs.

America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)

Lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith (1801-1895)

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Movement Ac vity:

Emphasize 3/4 meter with the following bean bag ac vity.

By Susan Ramsay

A To practice 3/4 meter, pass bean bags in a circle using the words “grab, touch, pass.” Grab the bean bag with one hand on beat 1, touch to the right knee on beat 2, and place in front of the person to the right on beat 3. B Working alone, touch the bag to the floor, toss and catch in one hand, and then the other. “Touch, catch, catch.”

Please prepare your students to sing along with the KSO at the very beginning of the concert!

Melody—The main theme or tune of a piece of music. The melody is the part of the music that is easy to remember and sing along with.

Smith wrote over 150 other hymns that were compiled into a Baptist hymnal, The Psalmist.

Aretha Franklin sang America on January 20, 2009 at the inauguration of President Barack Obama and Kelly Clarkson sang the song at the second inauguration on January 21, 2013.

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MUSIC: AMERICA (MY COUNTRY ‘TIS OF THEE) Please have your students learn America. They will have an opportunity to sing along with this piece at the concert. Tell them that this tune will be the theme for Variations on America written by Charles Ives, an American composer.

KSO Kids’ Guide to the Orchestra, Track No. 1

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Variations on America

Charles Ives

(1874 –1954)

Charles Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut, in 1874. His father played flute, violin, piano and cornet and became the youngest band leader in the Union Army during the Civil War. Charles was a pianist, organist and composer. He also played drums in his father’s band and much of his inspiration for composing music probably came from listening to his father’s bands, orchestras and choirs. Ives’ first piece that was performed in public was his Holiday Quickstep which was played when Ives was only 13 years old. At 14, Ives was hired as the youngest church organist in Connecticut. Growing up he was captain of his high-school baseball and football teams, he attended Yale University and played on the Yale football team.

Ives did not work as a composer full-time. He owned an insurance company where he worked for 30 years and composed music in his spare time. Ives worked on several different pieces at the same time and often “borrowed” music from himself and from other composers to put in his pieces.

One day in 1927, Ives told his wife, Harmony, that he could not compose anymore because “nothing sounds right.” After that he did not write any new music, but worked on pieces he had already written to make them better.

Variations on America was originally composed for organ when Ives was only 17 years old. He prepared it for a Fourth of July celebration in 1892 at the Methodist church where he was organist in Brewster, New York.

Variations on America was orchestrated in 1962 by William Schuman and premiered by the New York Philharmonic in

1964.

At the concert, you will hear an introduction, that starts with “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” in the brass, but the melody is changed a bit from the song. Then you will hear America in its traditional version.

Listen for two more variations, one played by the woodwinds with the theme that you will recognize in the strings and one that has a little bit of a Spanish sound played by the trombones, tuba and

castanets? What gives this variation its Spanish sound?

After years of health problems, Ives was eventually diagnosed with

diabetes and was one of the first patients to receive insulin treatments.

Premiere– the first time that a new piece of music is played or presented.

Theme—A theme is the main melody of a piece of music. It can be thought of as the subject of a piece of music. Variations—The theme of a piece of music is repeated so that it can still be recognized, but is changed in some important way.

Ives wrote other patriotic pieces including Washington’s Birthday and The Fourth of July.

Benjamin Britten was born in a fishing town in England beside the North Sea. He was the youngest of four children in his family—two boys and two girls. His father was a dentist and his

mother encouraged him in music

because she was a singer. When he was three months old, Britten

contracted pneumonia and almost died. The illness damaged his heart and his parents were afraid that Britten might not lead a normal life. He wrote plays as a young man, studied the

piano and was also very good at sports, especially cricket.

Benjamin Britten began writing music at age six (he would compose before breakfast so that he would have enough time to get to school), began learn-ing the viola at the age of ten and by the time he was fourteen he had com-posed over 100 works. After college, Britten traveled to the United States to escape the beginnings of World War II. He lived in the U.S. for four years and during this time he wrote his first opera and a piece called War Requiem which was a tribute to soldiers in World War II.

Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Benjamin Britten

(1913 - 1976)

Britten was very interested in teaching young people about classical music. His Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra was written in 1946

as part of the score to a documentary film for children.

For his theme, Britten borrowed a theme that the Baroque English composer Henry Purcell wrote for a play in 1695. The piece uses three kinds of music, Theme, Variation (like Ives’ Variations on America) and Fugue. The piece begins with the full orchestra playing and then brief-ly introduces each section of the orchestra: woodwinds, brass, strings and percussion all playing the same theme. Then there is a more in-depth look at the different instrument families as each instrument plays a variation that shows its own characteristics and how it is usu-ally used within the orchestra. Finally the piccolo

introduces a fugue. Britten uses the fugue to add each instrument back together into the full orchestra.

Purcell’s Theme

Cricket—is an English team sport a little bit like baseball.

“Composing is like driving down a foggy road toward a house. Slowly you see more details of the house—the colour of the slates and bricks, the shape of the win-dows. The notes are the bricks and the mortar of the house.”

—Benjamin Britten

Britten did not like television and didn’t own a set until he received one as a gift for his 60th birthday.

Score—A special print of music that shows how all the instruments of the orchestra play at the same time. A complete copy of a musical work. Scores contain music for each instrument that is playing in the piece. Scores are generally large enough for the conductor to read as they are conducting.

Fugue — The word fugue originally meant a chase. In a fugue the subjects follow each other in a sort of “chase.” A fugue begins with the theme played by one instrument alone. A second instrument then enters and plays the same theme while the first instrument continues with an accompaniment. Remaining instruments enter one by one, each beginning with the theme. 6

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John Williams is an American composer, arranger, conductor and pianist. He was born on Long Island, New York, and began his musical studies at the age of eight. His father was a jazz percussionist and the family moved to Los Angeles in 1948, when Williams was 16. John Williams later attended The Juilliard School as well as UCLA. After school he served in

the U.S. Air Force where he wrote music and conducted the Armed Forces Band. He then made his way into Hollywood as a studio pianist. Throughout his life John Williams has composed music and served as the music director for almost eighty films including: Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Hook, the Indiana Jones series, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Superman, the original Star Wars trilogy, Jaws, the first three Harry Potter movies and War Horse. Williams usually writes two film scores a year and often blends traditional musical elements with popular music. He has also written music for the concert hall, including a symphony and several concertos. In 1980, Williams became the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a position he held until 1993. In addition, Williams composed the NBC news theme “The Mission,” the “Liberty Fanfare” for the re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty and the themes for the 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2002 Olympic Games. Williams has won five Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes and 22 Grammys, and was honored by the Kennedy Center in 2004. In 2003, the

Olympic Fanfare and Theme

John Williams

(1932-present)

International Olympic Committee awarded Williams with its highest individual honor, the Olympic Order and he received a National Medal of Arts in the White House in 2009 for his achievements in symphonic music for films. The only person nominated for more awards is Walt Disney. Williams uses a technique in this music called Leitmotif (used by the classical composer Richard Wagner). A leitmotif is a phrase or melody of music that represents a character, place, mood, idea, relationship, or another specific part of the film.

Olympic Fanfare and Theme was commissioned by the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee specifically for the 1984 Olympic Games. Most Americans recognize this piece because Williams used themes from Leo Arnaud’s Fanfare (from the Bugler’s Dream suite, written in the 1930s), a piece associated with ABC’s television

coverage of the Olympics dating back to 1968. Since Americans had an attachment to Arnaud’s piece, Williams decided to use the same sounds and instruments in his new piece. He also had to break the piece up into chunks so the music could be used as “bumpers” by ABC before and after commercial breaks. Williams conducted the premiere of the work at the opening ceremonies of the 23rd Olympic Games on July 28, 1984 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. According to the United States Olympic Committee spokesman, Mike Moran, many athletes

include this piece in the music they listen to while preparing for

competition.

In 1992 John Williams said that his music for the Olympic games was intended to musically represent “ the spirit of cooperation, of heroic achievement, all the striving and preparation that go before the events and all the applause that comes after them.”

THE KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

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Meet the KSO’s new Music Director, Aram Demirjian! Maestro Demirjian moved to Knoxville from Kansas City where he was the Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony. He was born into a musical family in Lexington, Massachusetts where he learned to play the cello and sing. Aram was 7 years old when his mother first taught him how to conduct a 4/4 pattern, and he always enjoyed being the line-leader in elementary school. His desire to be a conductor began as he played cello in his high school orchestra. The first orchestra he ever conducted was the Lexington High School Orchestra, on his 18th birthday, one week before he graduated from high school. He attended Harvard University, where he first studied government, but switched to music after two seasons conducting the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra. He then attended the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Aram loves sports especially football, baseball and basketball! His favorite teams are the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics.

Today’s symphony orchestra varies in size from city to city, but usually has about 100 players. Orchestras are different from bands because they include string instruments. The string section is the largest section of players in the orchestra, with about 60 people. The woodwind section is made up of approximately twelve or more players, and the brass section typically has ten players. Finally, the percussion section ranges in numbers, depending on the amount of percussion parts used in a piece.

The seating chart below shows how you will see the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra seated when you come to the Young People’s Concert. The players are seated in a semicircle facing the conductor. Look at the following pages for more information on each section of the orchestra.

THE WOODWINDS Jill Bartine has played Second Flute with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra since 2000. She studied flute performance at Northwestern University, where she studied with flute players from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Jill has taught flute at Carson-Newman University and Maryville College, and also teaches middle and high school flute students. As second flute, Jill also sometimes plays piccolo with the KSO. The piccolo has a very important role in Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, as the instrument that begins the fugue. When not playing or teaching music, Jill is busy pursuing her other passion, yoga. She became a certified

instructor in 2011, and currently teaches classes several times a week. Jill’s free time is spent with her husband Mac and twin boys, Owen and Noah.

One of the newer members of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is Aaron Apaza, who plays Principal Bassoon. Aaron grew up in South Dakota but has lived in several cities in the United States to study or perform as a profes-sional musician. Before coming to Knoxville he was a member of several other symphony orchestras. The bassoon that Aaron plays is the same bassoon used in the Sesame Street band for years, played by Wally Kane (h p://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Wally_Kane).  If 

you've ever heard bassoon on Sesame Street, it's Aaron’s                   instrument!

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THE WOODWINDS WHAT: Wooden or metal tubes with holes in the tubing, to be covered or uncovered by the fingers to change the pitch.

WHERE: Find this family in the middle of the orchestra.

HOW: Sound is made by blowing across an open hole (flute, piccolo) or against a reed (clarinet, oboe, bassoon). This causes the column of air in the instrument to vibrate, and the musician can change the pitch by covering or uncovering certain holes on the body of the instrument. WHY: Composers use this family for color and sparkle. Each woodwind has a unique and distinct timbre.

HOW MANY: There are four main members: flute, clarinet, oboe and bassoon. Eight to twelve of these are used in a full symphony. However, other wind instruments like the piccolo or English horn may be added for additional colors. The woodwind family sits together in the middle of the orchestra, behind the violins and violas. The name “woodwind” originated because the instruments were once made of wood and are played using wind (by blowing). The flute is now made of silver or sometimes gold. The flute has a cousin, very short and small, called the piccolo. This instrument plays the highest notes in the orchestra. The clarinet is long and black. It is descended from an instrument called the chalumeau. The oboe is black in color, and has a wider opening at the end called the bell. The oboe is an ancient instrument, once called the hautboy, in French. The oboe’s big brother is the English horn. The largest instrument of the woodwind family is the bassoon, a very long wooden tube that has been folded in half, so you can see the bell from the audience.

How they work:

The instruments in the Woodwind family used to be made of wood, which gives them their name. Today, they are made of wood, metal, plastic or some combination. They are all narrow cylinders or pipes with holes and a mouthpiece at the top. You play them by blowing air through the mouthpiece (the “wind” in woodwind) and opening or closing the holes with your fingers to change the pitch. The mouthpieces for some woodwinds, including the clarinet, oboe and bassoon, use a thin piece of wood called a reed, which vibrates when you blow across it. The clarinet uses a single reed made of one piece of wood, while the oboe and bassoon use a double reed made of two pieces joined together. The smaller woodwinds play higher pitches while the longer and larger instruments play the lower pitches.

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THE STRINGS Principal Harpist Cindy Hicks has been with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for fifteen years. During the summer, she travels with her harp to the Bear Valley Music Festival in California, and plays for the Assisi Music Festival in Assisi, Italy. In 1994, Cindy was one of only two US citizens to compete in the International Harp Contest in Israel held in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Principal Cellist Andy Bryenton has played with the KSO for thirty years. He lived and studied in the northeastern U.S. before moving to Knoxville. Besides his duties with the orchestra, he gives private cello lessons in his home studio and teaches at Carson New-man University. He also plays with a local gypsy jazz ensemble. Andy is also well known by the KSO staff for the delicious tomatoes he grows in the summer!

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THE STRINGS WHAT: Wooden, hollow-bodied instruments strung with metal strings across a bridge. WHERE: Find this family in the front of the orchestra and along the sides. HOW: Sound is produced by a vibrating string that is bowed with a bow made of horse tail hair. The air then resonates in the hollow body. Other playing techniques include pizzicato (plucking the strings), collegno (playing with the wooden part of the bow), and double- stopping (bowing two strings at once). WHY: Composers use these instruments for their singing quality and depth of sound. HOW MANY: There are four sizes of stringed instruments: violin, viola, cello and bass. A total of forty- four are used in full orchestra. The string family is the largest family in the orchestra, accounting for over half of the total number of musicians on stage. The string instruments all have carved, hollow, wooden bodies with four strings running from top to bottom. The instruments have basically the same shape but vary in size, from the smaller violins and violas, which are played by being held firmly under the chin and either bowed or plucked, to the larger cellos and basses, which stand on the floor, supported by a long rod called an end pin. The cello is always played in a seated position, while the bass is so large that a musician must stand or sit on a very high stool in order to play it. These stringed instruments developed from an older instrument called the viol, which had six strings. The violin as we know it today was developed by master-craftsmen in 16th-century Italy.

There is one more member of the string family: the harp. It is found at the end of the violin section, and its forty-seven strings are plucked, not bowed.

How they work:

The bodies of the stringed instruments, which are hollow inside allow sound to vibrate within them are made of different kinds of wood. The part of the instrument that vibrates to make sound is the strings, which are made of nylon or steel.

The stringed instruments are played most often by drawing a bow across them, the handle of the bow is made of wood and the strings of the bow are actually horsehair from horses’ tails! Sometimes the musicians will use their fingers to pluck the strings.

The smaller instruments, the violin and viola, make higher pitched sounds, while the larger cello and double bass produce low rich sounds. 13 

THE BRASS Sande MacMorran plays Principal Tuba with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. He was a founding

member of the Army Brass Quintet while serving with the United States Army Band in Washington, D.C. from 1971—1974. Sande recently retired from teaching tuba and euphonium at the University of Tennessee. He is also Music Director Emeritus of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra and serves as the Music Director of the Appalachian Ballet.

Phillip Chase Hawkins plays Principal Trumpet with the KSO. He also regularly teaches and plays with ensembles in Kentucky, but he has performed in concert halls all over the world. Chase plays many styles of music besides classical: bluegrass, jazz, salsa, funk, soul and other popular music. Chase started playing the trumpet at age 10, but before working on music pieces, he spent over a month making sounds on the mouthpiece because it was weird and made funny sounds, like a horse. These sounds are actually his favorite thing about the trumpet along with using mutes (like a plunger placed in the end of the trumpet bell) and other objects to change the sound.

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THE BRASS WHAT: Long brass tubes that are curled around, ending in bells.

WHERE: Find this family in the back of the orchestra.

HOW: Sound is made by buzzing the lips into a cup-shaped mouthpiece. The valves are used to change the length of the tubing and alter the pitch. The musician can also control the pitch using lip pressure.

WHY: Composers use the brass family for big themes and brilliant passages.

HOW MANY: There are four main members of this family: trumpet, French horn, trombone and tuba. Eleven to fourteen brass instruments will be found in the orchestra.

The brass family usually sits across the back of the orchestra. The French horn is a very long brass tube wrapped around in a circle several times. If you unwound a horn’s tubing, it would be twenty-two feet long! The trumpet is the smallest member of the family and therefore plays the highest pitches. The trombone is an ancient instrument that has not changed much since the early times. Part of the trombone’s tube, called a slide, is movable, sliding in and out to change the pitch. The last and largest member of the brass family is the tuba. The tuba was first used in a symphony orchestra by Richard Wager.

How they work:

How do you think the brass family got its name? If you think it’s because the instruments are made of brass—you’re right! This family of instruments can play louder than any other in the orchestra and can be heard from far away. Early brass instruments were made of wood, tusks, animal horns or shells, but today’s modern instruments are made entirely of brass. They are very long pipes that widen at their ends into a bell-like shape. The pipes have been curved and twisted into different shapes to make them easier to hold and play. Like the woodwind family, brass players use their breath to produce sound, but instead of blowing into a reed, they vibrate their own lips by buzzing them against a metal cup-shaped mouthpiece. The mouthpiece amplifies the buzzing lips, which creates the sound. Brass players change pitch by pressing different valves which open and close different parts of the pipe and by buzzing their lips harder/faster or softer/slower. To change pitch on the trombone you push or pull the slide into one of seven different positions.

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THE PERCUSSION

Bob Adamcik has played with the KSO for over 25 seasons. He is Co-Principal Percussionist and Principal Timpanist for the KSO. Bob is originally from Texas and played with many sym-phonies there before coming to Tennessee. Bob enjoys playing racquetball, canoeing, hiking and spending time with his two children and his wife Barbara, who plays the French Horn.

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THE PERCUSSION WHAT: Various instruments of wood or metal that are usually struck with mallets.

WHERE: Find this family in the back of the orchestra, mostly on the left side.

HOW: Sound made by striking the instruments.

WHY: Composers use percussion instruments to give style and flair to a piece. This family provides the most noticeable rhythm to a piece.

HOW MANY: There are many instruments in this family. In orchestras, one musician is assigned to play the timpani, and then two to four additional musicians cover the remaining instruments. The percussion family of the orchestra is found on the far left side of the orchestra. Most of the percussion instruments are struck with mallets or sticks. One group of instruments in this family is the drums. Timpani, the pitched drums, stand alone and have one designated player. Other drums are the bass drum, the field drum, the snare drum, and even the drum set. You can hear other percussion sounds created by cymbals, triangles, wood blocks, tambourines, sleigh bells and many others. Sometimes a composer uses tuned percus-sion instruments such as xylophones (tuned metal bars) and the glockenspiel (very high-pitched metal bars). The piano is also a member of the percussion family because its strings are struck with felt-covered hammers.

How they work:

The percussion family is the largest in the orchestra. Percussion instruments include any instrument that makes a sound when it is struck, shaken or scraped. Some percussion instruments are tuned and can sound different notes (xylophone, timpani or piano) and some are untuned with no definite pitch (bass drum, cymbals or castanets). Percussion instruments are important because they help keep the rhythm and create sounds that add excitement and color. Unlike most of the other players in the orchestra, a percussionist will usually play many different instruments in one piece of music. They also use different kinds of mallets, sticks or brushes to change the sound when playing an instrument.

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LESSONS &ACTIVITIES: WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY TRACY WARD, SEQUOYAH ELEMENTARY

The following pages are available in clean copy for projection and as an activboard link on the KSO website: http://www.knoxvillesymphony.com/education-community/young-peoples-concerts/

Page 18: Exploring Theme and Variations—Explain that composers often create their music in a form called theme and variations. To illustrate theme and variations, the teacher will designate the theme by decorating the first T-shirt (polka dots, stripes, etc.) Ask individual students to come up to the board and decorate each of the variation shirts in a way that elaborates on the theme (diagonal, larger/smaller, etc.) Tell them that theme and variations works the same way—different versions of the same tune.

Page 19 & 20: Listening to Theme and Variations*-See directions for the listening map, discuss with students what they will hear, and play the piece, helping students to follow the map. *This requires an uncut recording of the piece. There is one attached to the ActivBoard flipchart. If you are not able to use the flipchart, follow this link for a complete version of the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki5OneF3Y7I. If you can not access YouTube at school, you may need to download it ahead of time, or purchase a recording from iTunes.

Page 21: Moving to Theme and Variations-Have students create a parachute* routine to show the different variations in the Ives piece. Encourage them to choose a movement that fits the character of each particular variation. Here are some possibilities: Walk slowly in a circle, change directions Skip or gallop in a circle Inflate parachute Sway right and left Do “the wave” Slow, gentle waves Shake the parachute quickly *If you don’t have access to a parachute, substitute something else such as scarves, paper plates, beanbags, etc.

Page 22: Exploring Meter-Lead students in experimenting with the movements indicated as they sing different patriotic songs. Be sure that they are listening for the strong beat to land in the right place. Then draw a line from the title of the song to its appropriate movement.

Page 23: Be a Conductor-Now that they know the meters for the songs, let students try conducting as they sing, using the conducting patterns illustrated.

Page 24: The British Connection-The song we know as “America” actually comes from England. In England this song is “God Save the Queen.” Have students sing these words to discover that the two tunes are the same.

Follow the link below to watch Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra performed by the New York Philharmonic way back in 1961, with Leonard Bernstein conducting. If you are not able to use the ActivBoard flipchart, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJjjzuK1Svg, and start at 33:25. You may need to download the video to your computer ahead of time.

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR VARIATIONS ON AMERICA LISTENING MAP

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Additional Activities/Resources for Teachers:

1. Have students memorize America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee) and be prepared to sing it at the concert. 2. Benjamin Britten often felt like an outsider. He went away to boarding school, but hated being separated from his family and was upset by the bullying he saw in other boys. He lived in a foreign country four years and he was a conscientious objector during wartime (someone who refuses to fight because he/she believes fighting is very wrong). Discuss what it feels like to be different and how we treat people with differences. 3. To learn more about Benjamin Britten, check out www.britten100.org, a website filled with media, games, and links to resources. Watch a video about Britten’s life—click “New to Britten?” and then the tab “THE MAN.” 4. Discuss the four families of the orchestra and have students tell what they know about them. How can they tell them apart? What does each family do best? Have students divide a piece of paper into four sections and write a family name (woodwinds, brass, percussion, strings) in each section. Listen to each family play the theme from Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (Tracks: 4, 5, 6, 7) Have students draw an instrument they hear prominently and write down adjectives to describe the family’s sound. Encourage students to think beyond “high/low, loud/soft, happy/sad” For example: Brass: strong, regal, bold or Woodwinds: delicate, bright, airy. 5. Remind your students that every instrument they learn about is played by a per-son—someone with a family, hobbies, and a great passion for orchestral music. Learn more about Knoxville Symphony Musicians at www.knoxvillesymphony.com/meet-the-orchestra 6. With multiple listenings, encourage your students to sing or hum along with Pur-cell’s theme used in Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. 7. Discuss the difference between Purcell’s orchestration for strings only and a modern orchestra which includes woodwinds, brass, and percussion along with more strings. How do the two themes compare? How do the added instruments make Britten’s music sound different almost 250 years later? 8. Visit http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/music/kamien9e/part01/chapter02/youngpersonsguide/brittenguideinteractive.htm for an interactive listening experi-ence of Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra which shows the instruments as they are playing. 9. As a class, choose one common theme for creating a collage (e.g. seasons, food, sports, etc.). Provide materials and time for students to create their collages. Com-pare the final products and discuss how the common theme was represented by a variety of responses. How is this similar/different from Britten’s “theme and varia-tions?” 10. In small groups or as individuals, have students create “fractured fairy tales,” where students choose a familiar story, like Goldilocks, and change one of the fol-lowing: setting, characters, time or outcome in such a way that the original story can still be recognized. For example: the bears could come to Goldilocks’ home and do what she did in their home in the original story. Following, engage students in a discussion of how their stories can be related to the idea of theme and variations. 11. Lead students to create variations on a familiar tune. You can keep this simple and just do faster/slower, louder/softer, major/minor, or if your students are more advanced they may suggest rhythmic, metric or stylistic changes.

Additional Resources Available:

www.knoxvillesymphony.com

Core Standards addressed by the concert and/or the activities in this Teacher’s Guide:

Creating MU:Cr2-5.a

MU:Cr3-5.a MU:Cr2-3.a

MU:CR3-3.a

MU:CR2-4.a

MUCR3-4.a

MU:Re7-e.a

MU:Re7-3.b

MU:Re8-3.a

MU:Re8-3.b

MU:Re9-3.a

MU:Re7-4.a

MU:Re7-4.b

MU:Re8-4.a

MU:Re8-4.b

MU:Re9-4.a

MU:Re7-5.a

MU:Re7-5.b

MU:Re8-5.a

MU:Re8-5.b

MU:Re9-5.a

Responding

MU:Cn11-3.a

MU:Cn11-3.b Connecting

Performing

MU:Pr4-3.a

MU:Pr4-3.b

MU:Pr4-3.c

MU:Pr5-3.a

MU:Pr5-3.b

MU:Pr6-3.a

MU:Pr6-3.b

MU:Pr4-4.a

MU:Pr4-4.b

MU:Pr4.4-c

MU:Pr5-4.a

MU:Pr5-4.b

MU:Pr6-4.a

MU:Pr6-4.b

MU:Pr4-5.a

MU:Pr4-5.b

MU:Pr4-5.c

MU:Pr5-5.a

MU:Pr5-5.b

MU:Pr6-5.a

MU:Pr6-5.b

MU:Cn11-4.a

MU:Cn11-4.b MU:Cn11-5.a

MU:Cn11-5.b

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Activities from Music Textbooks

For Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Music Teacher’s Almanac by Loretta Mitchell: ppg. 57, 3-8 (Theme & Variations section only) Spotlight on Music, Grade 2: ppg. 228-229 (excerpt), also page 162 in Teacher’s Resource Masters Spotlight on Music, Grade 2: Interactive Listening Maps CD_ROM Music and You, Grade 5: biography of Benjamin Britten, Percussion Match Game, listening map for per-cussion variation For Variations on America: Share the Music, Grade 4: ppg. 302-303 (excerpt played on the organ with listening map)

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For their generous support of our Young People’s Concerts,

the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges:

SHEENA McCALL

NISWONGER FOUNDATION

ROTARY CLUB OF KNOXVILLE

Akima Club

Knoxville Symphony League

Tennessee Arts Commission

Turkey Creek Land Partners

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

IN EDUCATION:

Sarah Cummings, Knox County Schools Elementary Professional Development

Tracy Ward, Sequoyah Elementary School, Teacher’s Guide

KSO Education Advisory Council

October 26, 27 & 28, 2016 Knoxville Civic Auditorium

November 3, 2016

Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greeneville, TN

Aram Demirjian, Music Director

James Fellenbaum, Resident Conductor

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America (My Country ’Tis of Thee) Traditional Variations on America Charles Ives Introduction Theme Variation I (woodwinds) Variation IV (trombone, tuba, castanets) Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Benjamin Britten Theme: Allegro maestoso e largamente e tutti Variation A: Presto (piccolo and flutes) Variation B: Lento (oboes) Variation C: Moderato (clarinets) Variation D: Allegro alla Marcia (bassoons) Variation E: Brillante: alle polacca (violins) Variation F: Meno mosso (violas) Variation G: Lusingando (cellos) Variation H: Cominciando lento ma poco a poco accel. al Allegro (double basses) Variation I: Maestoso (harp) Variation J: L’istesso tempo (horns) Variation K: Vivace (trumpets) Variation L: Allegro pomposo (trombones and bass tuba) Variation M: Moderato (percussion) Fugue: Allegro molto Bugler’s Dream Leo Arnaud

Olympic Fanfare and Theme John Williams

The conductor of an orchestra is the leader. Conductors must know a great deal about music, the great composers, and their works. Also, conductors must have the personality and skill to direct many players at once and help them work as a team. Often a conductor holds a baton that is used to mark the beats of the music for the orchestra to follow. Conductors may sometimes know how to play more than one instrument, but they do not need to know every instrument in depth. Instead, they understand how each instrument works and the special qualities of each instrument. Most importantly, the conductor learns each piece of music well enough to guide all the players in an exciting performance.

James Fellenbaum was born in Alexandria, Virginia. His father and mother could play piano a little bit, but weren’t very musical. James started to play the guitar and piano at an early age, but did not continue those instruments. When he was in fourth grade, he decided he wanted to learn to play the cello. He originally wanted to play the double bass, but the string teacher told him he was too short! (The famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma also wanted to play the double bass when he started, but he was too short too!!) In middle school and high school James played soccer, wrote interesting English papers, enjoyed learning about psychology and kept practicing the cello. He liked the cello so much that he went to college to study music.

He got a degree in cello performance, but meanwhile he discovered that he liked conducting. He began to study conducting and went to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, to earn a masters degree in conducting. While in Evanston he continued to play the cello, conducted an orchestra at a Chicago university and was music director of a youth symphony for high school and middle school orchestra players. After living in Evanston for many years (and in Texas for a few years), he moved to Knoxville in 2003.

James is the resident conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, for which he assists the music director and conducts community concerts, Young People’s Concerts, and has conducted the annual Fourth of July concert. He is also the music director of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra and director of orchestras at The University of Tennessee. He enjoys working with performers of all ages, and conducting the students in the Youth Orchestra and at UT allows him to work with young musicians. James conducts the UT Symphony Orchestra and UT Chamber Orchestra, as well as UT Opera performances, which he really enjoys.

Besides the KSO and UT, James has conducted in many places around the world. Some places are close by like Johnson City, TN and Kingsport, TN. Other places in the U.S.A. include Waukegan, IL, and Fort Wayne, IN. And, he has also conducted overseas in Russia, Bulgaria and Satu-Mare, Romania.

James likes watching sports and sports programs on TV and visiting interesting websites on his computer. He really likes science-fiction movies, like The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and the Star Wars movies. He also has a cat named Scherzo (named after a kind of music), a cat named Pirate (not named after anything musical), a giant white dog named Zubin (named after a famous conductor) and a daughter, Kiri (named after a famous singer).

Meet the Conductor

James Fellenbaum

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Baton - A wooden stick, approximately 1 foot in length, that the conductor uses to communicate with the orchestra. The baton helps the musicians see the conductor’s motions so that they can play better together.

Please help make this a good performance by showing how to be a good audience.

Be quiet as the lights dim and the concert begins.

Clap when the concertmaster enters at the beginning of the concert.

Clap again when the conductor enters at the beginning of the concert.

Clap to welcome any soloists during the concert.

During the performance watch the conductor. When the conductor puts his hands down and turns to face the audience the piece is completed.

At the end of a piece, clap to let the musicians know you like what you hear.

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra

P.O. Box 360

Knoxville, TN 37901

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Job Description: Audience

MY CONCERT REVIEW: KSO KIDS’ GUIDE TO THE ORCHESTRA

1. Think about your recent visit with your class to hear the KSO Kids’ Guide to the Orchestra. In your own words, write about the performance: 2. Think about the music you heard. Choose one piece and describe the theme and your favorite variation on that theme.

3. Describe the instruments in your favorite family of the orchestra. What role did they play in the

concert?

4. What was your favorite part of the concert?

5. If you could change something about the concert, what would it be?

6. Write a sentence you would say to your parents to ask them to take you and your friend to hear the symphony again. Remember students get in free!

Use the following prompts to have your students write a concert review and send it to the KSO!

Attn: Jennifer Harrell, P.O. Box 360, Knoxville, TN 37901-0360

SPONSORS:

SHEENA MCCALL NISWONGER FOUNDATION

ROTARY CLUB OF KNOXVILLE AKIMA CLUB

Knoxville Symphony League Tennessee Arts Commission

Turkey Creek Land Partners SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN EDUCATION:

Knox County Schools’ Board of Education

Tracy Ward, Sequoyah Elementary, Teacher’s Guide

Andy Adzima, Inskip Elementary, Education Advisory Council Sheree Beeler, Shannondale Elementary, Education Advisory Council

Liz Britt, Webb School of Knoxville, Education Advisory Council Sarah Cummings, Knox County Elementary Professional Development, Advisory Council

Allison Hendrix, Northshore Elementary, Education Advisory Council Kristin Luttrell, Gibbs Elementary, Education Advisory Council

Lee Ann Parker, Bearden Elementary, Education Advisory Council Mary Beth Townsend, Sacred Heart Cathedral School, Education Advisory Council

Concert

Behavior

The musicians who are performing for

you would like to have your help in

making this a wonderful concert. It

is important to remember that the

orchestra is in the same room with

you, not in a movie or on TV. If you

talk or make other noises, they can

hear you. If you get up and leave in

the middle of the performance, they

can see you. These things could

make the musicians take their minds

off their music and they may not be

able to perform at their best. These

things can also be distracting to

those around you.

Connect with us!

865-291-3310

www.knoxvillesymphony.com