Kenneth Kiesler, 2011-2012 Music Advisor
PLAY ME A STORY
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert
April 2012
Donato Cabrera, Conductor
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert – Play Me A Story
Donato Cabrera, Conductor
April 19 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts
April 20 at Sangamon Auditorium, UIS
All concerts at 10am (Grades K-6 suggested)
Acknowledgements
This guide was prepared by educators, Brenda Azinger, Elaine Cousins, and
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert – Play Me A Story
Donato Cabrera, Conductor
April 19 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts
April 20 at Sangamon Auditorium, UIS
All concerts at 10am (Grades K-6 suggested)
This guide was prepared by educators, Brenda Azinger, Elaine Cousins, and Mary Anne
Elson. A very special thank you is due to the Education Department of the San Francisco
Symphony for allowing us to adopt and personalize major sections of their Concerts for
Kids Study Guide including pages 4, 6, 9, 10-12, 13-21, 22-27, 28-30, and 33.
This program is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency,
the Springfield Area Arts Council, the McLean County Arts Center, the Sangamon
County Community Foundation, and Target. The program is sponsored by PNC and State
Farm.
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra is proud to be a co-sponsor of the Share the Music
Program that, together with the Pratt Foundation and the Music Shoppe, provides musical
instruments to students who couldn’t otherwise afford them.
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert
Conducted by Donato Cabrera
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Guest Conductor, Resident Conductor of the San
Francisco Symphony, and Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Youth
Orchestra
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2
The Concert And Illinois Learning Standards ............................................................. 3
How to Use the Study Guide in Your Classroom ....................................................... 4
Meet the Illinois Symphony Orchestra ....................................................................... 5
A Short Biography of Conductor Donato Cabrera ...................................................... 6
Instruments of the Orchestra ..................................................................................... 7
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Seating Plan ................................................................. 8
Pre-Concert Preparation ............................................................................................ 9
The Family of Music: A Collaboration of Composer, Conductor, Musician, and
Audience .................................................................................................................. 10
Music Notes: Play Me A Story! ............................................................................... 13
Suggested Student Activities ................................................................................... 22
Glossary of Musical Terms ...................................................................................... 28
General Music Internet Resources........................................................................... 31
Books About Music for Children ............................................................................... 32
Teacher Bibliography ............................................................................................... 33
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Visual Art Project ........................................................ 34
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Introduction
Welcome to the Illinois Symphony’s Play Me A Story! Education Concert Teacher Guide.
This guide is designed to help teachers prepare their students for the concert experience.
The Play Me A Story! concert explores music’s ability to tell a story by creating moods,
expressing emotions, and communicating ideas. The works to be played include:
Sergei Prokofiev, March from Love for Three Oranges
Camille Saint-Saëns, The Elephant from Carnival of the Animals
Nicolai Rimsky Korsakov, Flight of the Bumblebee
Ottorino Respighi, The Hen from The Birds
Ferdinand van Grofé, On the Trail from Grand Canyon Suite
Maurice Ravel, Conversations of Beauty and the Beast from Mother Goose Suite
Sergei Prokofiev, Waltz and Midnight from Cinderella
John Williams, music from Star Wars
The materials in this guide will introduce you to the program and help you prepare your
students for the concert. Please feel free to augment these materials with library books,
pictures, and any audio materials you may already have in your school. The materials
provided are for elementary and middle schools. They are intended only as a guide, so
please adapt them for your grade level and in ways best suited for you and your students.
We welcome your feedback and hope you will let us know if our presentations and guide
books are effective and inspiring. Please direct all correspondence to: The Illinois
Symphony, 524 ½ E. Capitol Avenue, PO Box 5191, Springfield, IL 62705.
It is very important for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra to introduce young people to the
wonderful joys of symphonic music – a place where their imaginations and creative spirits
can learn to explore and soar. We think it will be an engaging and inspiring concert for your
students.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
The Concert And Illinois Learning Standards
We believe that your students’ upcoming concert experience will contribute toward their
understanding of the expressive and communicative role of music. This book has been
prepared to enhance your students’ experience. The worksheets and suggested activities are
designed for multi-aged levels. You are encouraged to select those that are appropriate for
your students.
These activities address the following Illinois Learning Standards:
State Goal 25: Know the Language of the Arts.
·
Understand the sensory elements, organizational principles and expressive qualities of
the arts.
·
Understand the similarities, distinctions and connections in and among the arts.
State Goal 26: Through creating and performing, understand how works of art are
produced.
·
Understand processes, traditional tools and modern technologies used in the arts
State Goal 27: Understand the role of the arts in civilizations, past and present.
·
Analyze how the arts function in history, society and everyday life.
State Goal 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
·
Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
How to Use the Study Guide in Your Classroom
Designed as a “teachers’ manual,” this booklet should be viewed as an instructional resource
to prepare children for the upcoming Education Concert experience. When students come to
the concert hall, they should have the opportunity to experience the program in a meaningful
way—one that builds upon some basic prior skills and knowledge. It is important that the
teacher provide a context for the concert by presenting the material provided in the Teacher
Guide.
Here are some suggestions:
•
It may be useful to divide the material into modules, setting aside time in the weeks
leading up to the concert for preparatory lessons. Ideally, the class should have a minimum of
five or six lessons prior to the concert, as well as a number of post-concert encounters. This
will create a sequence of activities revolving around the concert visit that will enhance the
students’ learning about music.
•
While some of the material may be read aloud to the class or duplicated and handed
out, other information may be better taught if the teacher absorbs the information in advance
and relays it to the class in her/his own words.
•
Specific activities are included to ensure the concert is experienced as part of an
extended and engaging set of activities, rather than an isolated event. Please be flexible in
using this material. It may be regarded as a springboard to meaningful experiences distinctive
to your own classroom situations.
•
Above all, have fun with these explorations. Children instinctively know that music—
listening to and learning about it—is a joyous experience. As students encounter diverse and
less familiar styles of music, we wish to preserve their innate curiosity and their enthusiastic
sense of discovery.
We look forward to seeing you at Play Me A Story!
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Meet the Illinois Symphony Orchestra
2011-2012 marks the 19th season of critically-acclaimed music making by the Illinois
Symphony Orchestra. The Illinois Symphony was formed in 1993 as a consolidation of two
well-established organizations: the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Association and the
Bloomington Normal Symphony Society.
Kenneth Kiesler, music director from 1980 to 1993 of the former Springfield Symphony,
served as its first music director until 2000. Under his artistic direction, the orchestra
performed for both communities, appeared at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and won
numerous national awards.
Over the past eleven seasons under the leadership of former music director Karen Lynne
Deal, the artistic level of the orchestra developed significantly. The orchestra performed
statewide at the Ravinia Festival, Millennium Park in Chicago, and in smaller communities
throughout central Illinois. The ISO also expanded its commitment to community service,
adding educational concerts for K-3 students, free public parks concerts, and the awardwinning Step-by-Step in-school program for K-6 students. In 2002 the Illinois Symphony
Orchestra won the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ award for Meritorious Service in
Outstanding Programming, in 2004 won its award for Community Service in recognition of
the orchestra’s overall service to the citizens of central Illinois, and in 2009 for the
Community Event of the Year for its Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration involving over 1,000
performers.
Each season, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra performs at multiple venues including
Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois at Springfield, St. Agnes
Catholic Church in Springfield, and at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts and
Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington. Outdoor performances take place at the Illinois
State Fairgrounds, the Old State Capitol in Springfield, and at the Corn Crib in Normal.
Having numerous performance locations enables the orchestra to bring diverse repertoire and
live musical experiences to audiences of all ages and backgrounds in both urban and rural
settings.
Recognizing that live music has the potential to transform and rejuvenate, to encourage and
inspire, the Illinois Symphony proudly serves as a vital cultural resource, an educational
partner, and an invaluable enhancement to the quality of life in Bloomington-Normal and
Springfield continuing to fulfill its mission of enriching lives through excellent orchestra
performances which inspire and educate. The ISO has a budget of approximately $1.1
million.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
A Short Biography of Conductor Donato Cabrera
Donato Cabrera joined the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) conducting staff in September
2009. As Resident Conductor he works closely with SFS Music Director Michael Tilson
Thomas and as Wattis Foundation Music Director leads the San Francisco Symphony Youth
Orchestra. During the 2011-2012 season he will conduct the San Francisco Symphony in the
Dia de los Muertos Family Concert as well as Concerts for Kids, Adventures in Music and
Music for Families concerts, which annually draw more than 60,000 young people and their
families from throughout the Bay Area to Davies Symphony Hall. The 2011-2012 season
also marks his first year as Music Director of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra.
Cabrera made his San Francisco Symphony debut in April 2009 when he conducted the
Orchestra with 24 hours notice, in a program of Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, the Overture to Le
Nozze di Figaro, and Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. In 2002,
Cabrera was a Herbert von Karajan conducting fellow at the Salzburg Festival. From 2005 to
2008, he was Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Opera, participating in the world
premiere of John Adams Doctor Atomic and conducting performances of Die Fledermaus, Don
Giovanni, Tannhaueser, and The Magic Flute. While at the San Francisco Opera, he was also
assistant conductor for The Rakes Progress, La Rondine, La Forza del destino, Madama
Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Das Rheingold, Der Rosenkavalier, and Tristan und Isolde.
Donato Cabrera has also served as Assistant Conductor at the Ravinia, Spoleto (Italy), and
Aspen Music Festivals, and as Resident Conductor at the Music Academy of the West.
Cabrera has assisted in productions at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and
Los Angeles Philharmonic. He made his South American debut in the summer of 2008
conducting Madama Butterfly with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Concepcion in Chile and
returns regularly to conduct both symphonic and operatic repertoire.
A champion of new music, Cabrera was Music Director and co-founder of the American
Contemporary Music Ensemble and has conducted ACME in works by John Adams, Jacob
Druckman, Donald Martino, Frederic Rzewski, and Elliott Carter. He is dedicated to music
education and has worked with members of the young artist programs of the San Francisco
Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Portland Opera. He was also a frequent conductor of
Young Peoples Concerts with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In March 2009, Cabrera
was asked to be one of eight participants in the biennial 2009 Bruno Walter National
Conductor Preview, leading the Nashville Symphony over two days in a variety of works. In
December 2009, he made his debut with the San Francisco Ballet, conducting performances
of The Nutcracker.
In February 2010, Cabrera was recognized as a Luminary by the Friends of Mexico Honorary
Committee, a group led by San Francisco’s Consul General of Mexico Carlos Felix and
dedicated to celebrating Mexico’s bicentennial in San Francisco. Cabrera was recognized for
his contributions to promoting and developing the presence of the Mexican community in the
Bay Area. Cabrera holds degrees from the University of Nevada and the University of
Illinois, and has also pursued graduate studies in conducting at Indiana University and the
Manhattan School of Music.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Instruments of the Orchestra
Brass Family:
made of metal; played by buzzing your lips and blowing air into a tube
Percussion Family: made of various materials; played by hitting, shaking, scraping, or rubbing
with your hand or a mallet
String Family:
made of wood with strings stretched across the top; played by moving a
bow across the strings or plucking the strings with your finger
Woodwind Family:
made of wood or metal (flutes); played by blowing air into a tube
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Seating Plan
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Pre-Concert Preparation
Attending an Education Concert performance is very exciting! The purpose of this Teacher
Guide is to provide information and ideas for you to use in preparing children for this event.
When children come to the concert hall knowing what to look and listen for, the trip becomes a
learning experience and not just another day away from the classroom. Knowing what is about
to happen and what is expected of them, students are more comfortable, better able to listen,
and can be a more focused audience.
The Audience - Pre-Concert Sequence of Events
Being an audience is an important role. A review of the sequence of events prior to the start of
the concert will enable the class to understand concert behavior better. Certain things to watch
for:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Orchestra members assemble on stage.
The concertmaster (first violinist) will enter and begin the tuning. Have the children
listen and watch carefully as the concertmaster signals for the oboe to play the note
“A.” The orchestra will make a wonderful sound as they all tune to this note. This
tuning to the oboe’s “A” happens in orchestras all over the world! It is most
appropriate for the audience to applaud the entrance of the concertmaster.
After the tuning is finished, the conductor will enter and take his place on the podium.
Both the concertmaster and conductor are greeted by the audience with applause.
The conductor begins the concert.
The Audience – The Good Listener During the Concert
Students should be encouraged to suggest some guidelines to observe during a performance.
You are encouraged to make sure the following points are covered:
A.
Listen carefully and intently. What do you hear? How do you feel? What images
come to mind?
B.
Watch the conductor. Observe how the conductor gestures to the musicians to play
fast, slow, loud, or softly.
C.
Watch the musicians as they respond to the conductor and watch how they play their
instruments.
D.
Look for favorite instruments.
E.
Clap after the music has stopped (wait until the conductor drops both arms to his sides).
Students should be encouraged not to:
A.
Talk or make noise because they might miss an important piece of the music.
B.
Chew gum or eat because this might be distracting to others watching and listening
to the performance.
C.
Leave their seats because this is also very distracting to their neighbors.
D.
Bring cameras, cell phones, or recording devices to the concert because this is
distracting to the musicians.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
The Family of Music: A Collaboration of Composer, Conductor,
Musician, and Audience
The experience of music is a combination of four creative forces, merging to communicate
ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Those forces are: the composer, the conductor, the musician,
and the audience. Each element, like the links in a chain, is dependent upon the others for
success.
Composer
A Composer is a creator of music—a writer of new music that has never existed before. The
composer is the initial creative force. The composer arranges the various elements of
music—melody, harmony, rhythm, tone, form, texture, tempo, pitch, and timbre—to
communicate with the listener. In the process of composing, a composer may create music
for specific instruments. The composer writes music as an expression of feelings, to
communicate a message, to create an atmosphere or mood, to conjure visual images, and to
evoke memories, places, people, or events. A composer can be thought of as a storyteller—
sharing an idea or feeling, a funny story or a sad story, or a picture in the imagination that is
told with musical notes. A composer is always a musician.
In many cultures around the world the composer may be wearing the triple crown—a single
person fulfilling the roles of composer, musician, and conductor. This is certainly true in
jazz, as well as rap, country and western, blues, rock, etc. In Western classical music, the
composer Ludwig van Beethoven (LOOD-vig fahn BAY-toe-ven) is an example of someone
who served as a composer, musician, and conductor. Beethoven played piano for his
audiences, performing his original scores. He also conducted some of his own symphonies.
There are many other examples like Beethoven in Western classical music. All the music you
hear at concerts—or anywhere for that matter—was composed by someone.
Conductor
A Conductor is one who conducts or leads the orchestra. Using hand and arm movements,
the conductor directs the musicians in the playing of the music. Generally, a conductor does
not write does not write the music being conducted. The conductor interprets the music of a
composer, just as a reader will interpret a poem to find meaning. A conductor is something
like a jack-of-all-trades in the music world. To be a conductor it is not necessary to be able to
play every instrument, but it is essential to have a complete understanding of all the
instruments and the techniques involved in playing.
Within the Western tradition of music, the conductor’s job is to study the written product of
the composer’s creative efforts, known as a “score.” The score consists of music written on
lined paper and containing the notes, rests, pauses, and all the instructions for loudness or
softness which are understandable to any musician in the world who can read a score. The
language in which the score is written is referred to as “musical notation.” Like Spanish or
French, German or Swahili, musical notation can be taught and becomes a universal
communication for all musicians who know the language of musical notation in addition to
their native tongues. The conductor must be able to read music and to communicate the
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
music to the orchestra and the audience. The conductor guides the musicians in
understanding what the composer is asking of them. When the composer indicates that a
section of music is to be played forte (loudly), there is always this question: “How loud is
loud?” When the composer indicates a section of the music is to be played allegro (fast)—
just how fast is fast? It is the job of the conductor to interpret the composer’s written
instructions as well as the notes, so that the musicians and the audience are able to hear
exactly what the composer heard in his or her head.
How does the conductor communicate? By using the tools of the conductor’s trade: the ear
and the power to communicate through hand gestures and facial expressions. The conductor
must hear the slightest error in the playing of the notes, know which instrument made the
error, and give instruction for correcting it. The musicians and the conductor have a special
relationship. The conductor watches the musicians, and the musicians watch the conductor
for cues, gestures, and direction.
Musician
A Musician is one skilled in producing musical sounds with instruments. There are many,
many instruments in the world, including the human voice. A singer is a musician. A
musician can play alone—or with many other musicians. When you have two or more
musicians playing together, it takes cooperation to be successful. Just like a sports team,
musicians have to practice and work together if they want to be successful. In an ensemble
(which can be as few as two or as many as 100 or more musicians), the task of the musician
is to perform successfully as a collective. Following the direction of the conductor (or
leader), the musicians integrate the various elements of the music through their instruments’
sounds. Musicians bring the individual expertise of playing their instruments, as well as their
knowledge of music, to the interpretation of a musical composition. Their interpretation is
then molded through the vision of the conductor.
Just like the conductor, orchestral musicians learn to read music. Learning to read music is
much like learning to read a book. The notes in music are like the letters of the alphabet. A
composer uses the notes to communicate his or her musical ideas. The language used by a
composer is called “notation,” a written code representing musical sounds that can be
“translated” and interpreted by other musicians. Notation includes the musical notes, rests,
stops, length of sound, intensity of sound, time, and key of a musical piece. When you think
of musical notes as a kind of alphabet, the other components of music notation are the
punctuation and grammar. Together, these components comprise the special music-language
tools that a composer needs to communicate. In Western classical music, the “language” or
notation of the composer is universal; therefore, it can be played by any musician of any
nationality who understands that language. An orchestra can be comprised of a hundred
musicians—all of different ethnicities, all who speak a different native language, and all who
may eat something quite different for lunch. But because all one hundred musicians can read
the language of notation, they can perform great music together. Learning to read music
makes musicians multilingual!
A composer relies on the talents of the musician to communicate with the audience. To do
this, a musician must be in control of his/her instrument. The musician communicates with
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
the listener through the instrument. Professional musicians are experts. They have practiced
long hours for many years on their instruments to become expert musical communicators.
Musicians have been an important part of human culture through the ages. Musicians play a
special role in all cultures. Important ceremonies—religious, festive, and somber—use the
skills of musicians to enhance and interpret the feelings and purpose of the occasion. It is the
musician playing the music of the composer that lets you know, in a movie, that something
scary is about to happen, or communicates that a spaceship is about to land on earth.
Musicians! What would life be like without musicians? They are the makers of music!
Audience
The role of the Audience in this chain is the most magical. Through the inspiration of the
composer, the knowledgeable interpretation of the conductor, and the creative expression of
the musician, the collective hope is for the audience to receive the composer’s original
thoughts, ideas, feelings, and moods, and to have the composer’s intentions convey meaning
and purpose to the listener.
Audiences around the world respond to music in many different ways. Some music—like
jazz, blues, country and western, and Latin salsa—elicits responses from the audience
throughout the performance. The composer, through the conductor and the musicians (and
their instruments), has a conversation with the audience, inviting the audience to become a
part of the sound experience. Listeners may demonstrate understanding of that
communication by tapping their feet, clapping their hands, dancing, snapping their fingers,
moving their bodies, and offering verbal encouragement.
Other styles and forms of music, such as Western classical, may elicit a different kind of
engagement with music. Listeners may close their eyes, allow their imaginations to dance,
feel the power of the music as it sweeps through the room, wait in anticipation for themes or
melodies to recur—these are all part of the conversation the composer is having with the
audience. As with every other component of the family of music, the audience members
bring individual experiences that enable them to interpret the composer’s intent.
It is always appropriate for the audience to applaud at the end of the piece. Since music
speaks to the spirit of mankind, the listener—in all cases—draws upon his or her own
unique experiences to participate actively in the “family of music,” responding appropriately
to show understanding and appreciation.
The truly successful production of music reflects the collaborative effort of the composer, the
conductor, the musicians, and the audience.
Listeners may close their eyes, allow their imaginations to dance, and feel the power of the
music as it sweeps through the room.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Music Notes: Play Me A Story!
The Play Me A Story! program will explore music’s ability to create moods, express emotions,
and communicate ideas—all of which are important elements of storytelling. Music’s suggestive
and mimetic power can relate stories in the most vivid way, especially when listeners are
engaged and their imaginations are active. Students will become aware that music is a powerful
communicator, one which communicates to us in a way that goes beyond speech or sight.
Conductor Donato Cabrera has selected a variety of colorful orchestral works to illustrate music
as a communicative and expressive tool. These works will serve to “set the scene” of a story
(Prokofiev, Grofé); introduce and develop characters (Saint-Saëns, Rimsky-Korsakov, Respighi);
and evoke action and emotion (Ravel, Prokofiev, Williams).
The notes that follow are provided as part of your class’s pre-concert preparation. Each note
consists of a brief commentary that places the selection in a broad cultural and historical
context, followed by a general description of the music. Familiarizing your students with this
background will enhance the concert experience, allowing your young concertgoers to
engage their imaginations more fully during the concert, as the Illinois Symphony Orchestra
heeds the innate call of every child to “Play Me A Story!”
Sergei Prokofiev
March from Love for Three Oranges
(Prokofiev = prah-KO-fee-ehv)
b. Sontsovka, Russian Ukraine, 1891
d. Moscow, Russia, 1953
“I abhor imitation and I abhor the familiar.”
Sergei Prokofiev was one of the greatest Russian composers of the 20th century. His earliest
music studies were piano lessons with his mother, and at age five, the young pianist
presented his first compositions to her. By age nine, he had written his first opera, and at age
thirteen, he began formal music studies at the Conservatory in Saint Petersburg. He studied
piano and composition at the Conservatory, and it was in the dual role of pianist and
composer that he attained his early successes. The outbreak of war in Russia in 1917
prompted Prokofiev to leave his homeland, and in 1918 he embarked on the first of a number
of concert tours in America. As part of a later concert tour of America, in 1930, Prokofiev
visited San Francisco to perform as a piano soloist with the San Francisco Symphony and to
conduct the Orchestra in a program of works by Russian composers.
During one of his American tours, Prokofiev was asked to write an opera for the Chicago
Opera Company. He responded by setting to music a fairytale called “The Love for Three
Oranges,” by the eighteenth-century Venetian writer Carlo Gozzi. The fairytale takes place in
a magic kingdom ruled by the King of Clubs. The king has a son—the Prince—who is
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
always sad and never laughs. Clowns and comedians throughout the kingdom visit the prince
in attempts to cheer him, but their jokes and antics are in vain: The Prince still does not
laugh. The court jester devises a plan, and announces that he will stage a grand festival to
which the entire kingdom is invited. Surely the spectacle of so many clowns, comedians, and
acrobats performing all at once, and the sight of so many people enjoying themselves will
make the Prince happy. The jester leads the prince and the rest of the court in a royal
procession to observe the festivities. The procession music is the March that begins our
concert.
The prince watches the hilarious entertainments, but even they do not succeed in cheering him. It
appears the jester’s plan has failed, when suddenly the Prince spots in the crowd Fata Morgana,
an evil and very funny-looking witch who lives in the kingdom. The Prince is so amused by her
ridiculous appearance that he bursts into uncontrollable laughter. Fata Morgana, however, is not
at all amused, and she takes revenge by placing a curse on the Prince: The Prince will never be
happy until he falls in love with three magic oranges that are hidden in a castle three thousand
miles away.
As the story continues, the Prince and the court jester embark on a search for the magic oranges.
They eventually find them, and they transport the oranges—which keep growing—back to the
kingdom. One day during the return journey, the jester decides to open one of the oranges, which
has grown by now to a height of six feet. While the Prince is asleep, the jester peels the first
gigantic orange. To his amazement, a beautiful princess steps out, but she immediately dies of
thirst. The jester opens the second orange with the same result—out steps a princess who says
she is thirsty and then dies. The Prince has awakened by this time, and he decides to open the
third magic orange himself. It, too, contains a princess—the most beautiful of all—and when the
Prince sees her he falls in love. She is immediately given water to drink, and happily, she does
not die. The story ends as the Prince and Princess, madly in love with each other, decide to
marry. The whole kingdom joins in a celebration to honor the wedding of their future King and
Queen.
Camille Saint-Saëns
The Elephant from Carnival of the
Animals
(Saint-Saëns = sass-SAWNS)
b. Paris, France, 1835
d. Algiers, 1921
“There is nothing more difficult than
talking about music.”
When Camille Saint-Saëns was only a few months old, his father died, so he was raised by
his mother and by a great-aunt who taught him to play the piano. At age five, young Camille
was already playing for audiences. Two years later, he began lessons on the organ and in
composition. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatory at age thirteen. As an adult, he
became a famous pianist and organist, and during his long life—he lived to be almost
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
ninety—he composed a great many works with rapidity and ease. He loved to travel, and in
1915, he visited San Francisco as a French representative to the Panama-Pacific Exposition.
For the occasion, he composed a work called “Hail California!” which was first performed in
San Francisco on June 19, 1915.
Saint-Saëns wrote Carnival of the Animals in 1886 while on vacation. He had not planned to
write a work for the concert hall—he merely wished to compose a set of humorous pieces
that he could perform in private with his friends. As a result, Carnival of the Animals did not
receive its first public performance until many years later, after Saint-Saëns’s death. Since
that time, the work has delighted countless audiences of children and adults alike, and it has
become the composer’s most popular and beloved score. The fourteen humorous short pieces
that comprise Carnival of the Animals: A Grand Zoological Fantasy (its full title!) are
musical sketches of animals that one might see at a zoo or on a farm. Among the inhabitants
of this melodic menagerie are a lion, hens and roosters, donkeys, a tortoise, kangaroos, fish in
an aquarium, birds in large cage, a cuckoo, and a swan. There is also an elephant, and it is the
music that Saint-Saëns wrote to characterize this mighty beast that we will play at our
concert.
The American humorist Ogden Nash, in 1950, wrote verses to accompany each of SaintSaëns’s musical sketches. His poem for “The Elephant” begins:
Elephants are useful friends
Equipped with handles at both ends.
The handles are, of course, the elephant’s tail and trunk!
The Elephant uses only two instruments—the piano and the double bass. The bass is a very
large instrument that produces a low sound—so low, in fact, that basses rarely get a chance to
play full-fledged melodies. But here, the bass does play the melody, accompanied by heavy
chords on the piano. Listening to this music, it is easy to imagine an elephant at the zoo,
plodding its great bulk along. Does the bass’s deep, lumbering solo make you want to
pretend that you are an elephant, swinging your trunk back and forth in time to Saint-Saëns’s
music?
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Flight of the Bumblebee
(Rimsky-Korsakov = RIM-skee COREsah-kahv)
b. Tikhivin, Russia, 1844
d. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1908
“I wanted to become a sailor.”
In a book Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote about his life, he tells us that he was surrounded
by music as a boy. “My mother and father often sang to me, as did my uncle. We always had
music in our home. I started studying the piano at the age of six.” He goes on to add,
however, that “I never thought of making music my life’s work; instead, I wanted to become
a sailor.” Rimsky-Korsakov’s great-grandfather had been an admiral, his uncle was an
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
admiral, and his older brother was a naval officer. So when Rimsky-Korsakov turned twelve,
his parents enrolled him in the Russian Corps of Naval Cadets.
As a sailor, Rimsky-Korsakov had the opportunity to sail to many lands. On one voyage—
which lasted almost two years, from 1863-1865—he sailed to America aboard a clipper ship
called the Almaz. In America he visited New York, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Niagara
Falls. From there the Almaz sailed to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and to Montevideo, Uruguay, en
route to Cape Horn at the very southern tip of South America. Near Cape Horn, the ship
sprang a leak, forcing the crew to stop and make repairs before heading back to Europe. Once
back in Russia, Rimsky-Korsakov decided to give up the adventurous life of a sailor and to
devote himself entirely to music.
Composers are fond of writing music about animals. In this short and energetic piece,
Rimsky-Korsakov writes about a bumblebee. The Flight of the Bumblebee is part of a
fairytale opera called Czar Saltan that Rimsky-Korsakov wrote in 1900. In the story, the
young and handsome ruler of a magical kingdom rescues a swan from the clutches of an evil
sorcerer disguised as a falcon. To show its gratitude, the swan—who is really a beautiful
princess—changes the young prince into a bumblebee, enabling him to escape the sorcerer
and to travel a great distance very quickly in order to return to his kingdom. This short piece
depicts the bumblebee-prince at the start of his journey, and you will hear him buzz around
and fly into the distance.
Bees buzz, and Rimsky-Korsakov knew that the best way to represent a bumblebee musically
would be to have the orchestra imitate that insect’s buzz. He was an expert at orchestration
(deciding which instruments and instrument combinations to use in a piece of music and
when to use them); he had even written a book on orchestration to teach other composers. So
he knew exactly how to make the orchestra sound like a bumblebee. How does he do it? He
creates the buzzing sound by having the flutes and violins of the orchestra play a scurrying
theme of very rapid notes that continuously rise and fall in pitch (the highness or lowness of
a musical sound). The result is pure magic as the orchestra conjures up a busy little bee,
buzzing happily, darting back and forth.
Ottorino Respighi
The Hen from The Birds
(Respighi = reh-SPEEG-ee)
b. Bologna, Italy, 1879
d. Rome, Italy, 1936
“Music, a cathedral of sound.”
Ottorino Respighi’s first music teacher was his father, who was a pianist. When Respighi was
twelve, he entered a special music school in his hometown, where he learned to play violin
and viola, and where he began to study composition. At age twenty-one, he traveled to
Russia and later to Germany. During these years of travel, he made his living by playing
viola. While in Russia, he became the principal violist in the Saint Petersburg Opera
orchestra. It was not until some years later, when he returned to Italy, that he began to
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concentrate on composition. In 1921, Respighi visited San Francisco and conducted the San
Francisco Symphony in a pair of concerts.
Respighi was a great student of music, and during his studies of older music he came across a
delightful piece called “The Hen,” written almost two hundred years earlier by the French
composer Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). Rameau’s piece was written for harpsichord,
an ancestor to the modern piano. Respighi’s adaptation of the work for orchestra is part of a
suite of similar pieces, all of which depict birds. In addition to The Hen, Respighi’s suite,
called The Birds, presents musical portrayals of a dove, a nightingale, and a cuckoo.
Respighi’s hen behaves as all hens do. She busies herself around the barnyard, clucking and
pecking, looking after her little chicks. That last note of the piece is a loud squawk, perhaps
because the hen has just laid an egg!
Ferdinand van Grofé
On the Trail from Grand Canyon Suite
(Grofé = gro-FAY)
b. New York City, New York, 1892
d. Santa Monica, California, 1972
“I’m going to try to describe America in
music.”
Composer, arranger, and pianist Ferdinand van Grofé was born into a musical family. His
father was an opera singer, his mother a professional cellist, his grandfather was a cellist with
the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York, and his uncle was the concertmaster of the
Los Angeles Symphony. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Los Angeles, CA. His
mother was his first music teacher who taught young Ferdinand to play the violin and piano.
When his father suddenly died in 1899, Ferdinand and his mother moved to Leipzig,
Germany for a few years where he studied music and composition. In 1903, the pair returned
to Los Angeles where Grofé attended public middle school, and where his mother devoted
herself to her son’s music education. Grofé’s musical talents blossomed as he became
proficient on the piano, violin, viola, baritone horn, alto horn, and the cornet. During his
early professional life he was engaged as a viola player with the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestra. He also played his original compositions and arrangements of popular tunes of the
day on piano on film sets, in cabarets, vaudeville houses, dance clubs, ragtime bands, and
film theaters in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
In the early 1920s, the band leader Paul Whiteman heard Grofé performing in a night club
and hired him to be the pianist and arranger for his famous Paul Whiteman Band, an early
popular dance band during the Jazz Age. Grofé returned to New York with Whiteman’s
group where he wrote many tunes that the band made extraordinarily popular with the radio
listening and night club attending public, selling millions of records.
Grofé’s love of America is evident in the many pieces he wrote honoring our country’s cities
and various regions. He wrote a Mississippi Suite, a Grand Canyon Suite, a Hudson River
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Suite, a Death Valley Suite, a Hollywood Suite, and even a San Francisco Suite which
musically depicts a cable car ride, a visit to Chinatown, and the great earthquake and fire of
1906. In 1941, he conducted the San Francisco Symphony in a special program for a radio
show. In 1944, he won an Academy Award for his film score Minstrel Man. Posthumously,
he had the special honor of having his picture represented on a set of eight 32¢ US
commemorative postage stamps in the Legends of American Music series, issued in 1997,
celebrating “Classical Composers & Conductors.”
Ferdinand von Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite is the most popular and best known of his
compositions. It has been performed and recorded by nearly every orchestra in the United
States. It has also been recorded by numerous jazz artists, and used in countless Hollywood
western movies and at Disneyland. On the Trail, the most popular part of the Grand Canyon
Suite, appears in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. Most recently the music was heard in
the Ken Burns PBS documentary The National Parks.
In the late 1920s, Grofé and a few friends took a leisurely vacation driving to Arizona to
witness the grandeur of Grand Canyon National Park. The majesty and spectacle of the
Grand Canyon made a profound and humbling impression on Grofé, as it does on most
people who visit the park. Everything he heard and witnessed, he felt he must capture
musically. The Grand Canyon Suite consists of five movements, or sections. The five
movements in Grofé’s symphony are vividly entitled for the wonders he experienced during
his trip in the Grand Canyon: Sunrise, The Painted Desert, On the Trail, Sunset, and
Cloudburst. Each movement is its own beautiful story, told musically.
The movement your students will hear at the concert is On the Trail. When you visit the
Grand Canyon, you stand on the rim of a large gorge that is very long, wide, and deep. At the
bottom of the gorge—many thousands of feet below—you can see the Colorado River. The
gorge was slowly carved out by the river over the course of thousands of years, and the rocks
that make up the walls of the gorge are shaped in large fantastical forms in a rainbow of
colors. This humorous story of On the Trail musically depicts an imaginary ride into the
Canyon on the backs of patient donkeys, descending from the top of the Canyon towards the
powerfully raging waters of the Colorado River at the bottom.
When the music starts, you can imagine the donkey making its way down the narrow, steep
trail—you’ll know because you’ll hear the “clip-clop” sounds of the donkey’s hooves, and
the gentle swaying from side to side of the rider on the donkey’s back. The orchestra plays a
broad melody as you take in the sights and colors of your journey.
You’ll also hear the donkey’s braying, and the stubborn animal stopping and starting up
again. At one especially peaceful moment, you’ll hear another solo instrument—the
celesta—playing silvery, sparkling music that lets you know you are visiting one of the most
amazing places on earth!
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Maurice Ravel
Conversations of Beauty and the Beast
from Mother Goose
b. Ciboure, France, 1875
d. Paris, 1937
“I think and feel in sounds.”
Maurice Ravel began piano lessons at age twelve, and shortly thereafter he entered the
preparatory division of the Paris Conservatory. He was soon advanced to the senior division,
and during these years he began to make a name for himself as a pianist and composer. In
1928, after Ravel had become internationally famous, he embarked on a concert tour of
America, which included a stop in San Francisco to conduct the San Francisco Symphony in
a program of his compositions.
Ravel was fond of children, and he composed his Mother Goose suite for two little friends—
a boy and girl named Jean and Mimi Godebski—to play as a piano duet. The work was first
performed in 1910, not by the Godebskis, but by two talented girls who were six and seven
years old. A year later, Ravel arranged the music for orchestra. Ravel’s Suite, based on
several fairy tales from the beloved Mother Goose collection, includes Sleeping Beauty,
Beauty and the Beast, Tom Thumb, Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas, and The Fairy
Garden.
The music you will hear is a short musical “conversation” from Beauty and the Beast—the
same story re-popularized in Disney’s wonderful cartoon film. Ravel assigns an instrument to
each character: For Beauty, he uses the clarinet; for the ugly Beast, he uses the deepest of all
woodwind instruments, the contrabassoon. When the piece begins, we hear Beauty teasing
the Beast with a cute little waltz tune. It is slow and dreamy, and as in all waltzes, one can
hear an underlying rhythmic pattern of ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. The Beast, sounding
gross and somewhat crude, courts Beauty with a marriage proposal—“Beauty, be my wife.”
In spite of his devotions, the conversations seem to get nowhere—until the magical moment
toward the end, when Beauty finally realizes she loves the Beast and says, “Yes, Beast, I will
marry you.” In the orchestra, the harpist sweeps his fingers across the harp’s strings, playing
a beautiful glissando. This signals the transformation of the Beast into a handsome Prince,
who now is portrayed musically with a lovely solo violin melody. The piece ends quietly, in
stillness and wonder.
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Sergei Prokofiev—
Waltz and Midnight from Cinderella
Prokofiev wrote many kinds of music, including music for ballets—a form of theater where
dance and music are combined, frequently to enact a story. Two of his most popular ballets
are based on well-known stories: Romeo and Juliet and the fairytale Cinderella. Cinderella is
the story of a girl who is treated cruelly by her stepmother and her two stepsisters. When the
household is invited to a ball at the king’s palace in honor of the Prince, Cinderella is not
allowed to attend. When the family leaves for the ball, Cinderella is visited by her Fairy
Godmother, who magically transforms Cinderella’s tattered dress into a glittering ball gown,
and who provides Cinderella with a splendid coach drawn by horses, these magically created
from a pumpkin and mice. Cinderella’s worn shoes are turned into an exquisite pair of
slippers made of glass.
The Fairy Godmother tells Cinderella to go to the ball and to have a wonderful time, but she
must return home by midnight. For when the clock strikes twelve, the magic will end, and
Cinderella’s ball gown will again become her usual ragged clothing. When Cinderella arrives
at the ball, she is the most beautiful of all the ladies there, and she immediately attracts the
attention of the Prince. The two fall in love and dance together. Cinderella is enjoying the
ball so much that she loses track of time. In the middle of one of dances with the Prince, the
clock suddenly strikes twelve—midnight! Cinderella breaks away from the Prince and flees
the palace. In her haste, she loses one of her glass slippers, which the Prince finds on the
palace steps. The Prince vows to search high and low to find his lovely dance partner, trying
the tiny glass shoe on every maiden in the land until he finds the one whose foot will fit
properly. Later, when he arrives at Cinderella’s house, her stepmother and stepsisters try to
force their feet into the show, to no avail. The Prince, noticing Cinderella standing in the
corner, asks her to try on the slipper. As she does, the Fairy Godmother reappears and, with
her magic, transforms Cinderella back into the beautiful maiden who had attended the ball.
The Prince asks Cinderella to be his Princess, and the two marry and live happily ever after.
The piece your students will hear from Prokofiev’s Cinderella ballet is called Waltz and
Midnight. It’s the part of the story where Cinderella is at the ball, dancing with the Prince.
They dance to elegant music called a waltz, the steps of which are performed in a pattern to
the rhythm ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. In a waltz, the couple sweeps gracefully around
the dance floor in a circular pattern. Listen to the orchestra, and you will hear the ONE-twothree rhythm, over and over, as well as a soaring melody that evokes the splendor and
elegance of the royal ball. The music builds and suddenly stops. At that point, you will hear
what sounds like the ticking of a giant clock. This sound is made by a member of the
percussion section of the orchestra, who alternately strikes two pieces of wood—an
instrument called the woodblock. The ticking becomes louder and more intense, stops for a
moment, and starts again. This happens three times. (Be sure to warn your students not to
clap during these silences, because the piece is not yet over!) The giant clock begins to
chime, each stroke sounding more and more frightening. In the ballet, each time the clock
strikes, an ugly gnome appears until there are twelve in all cavorting about the ballroom. You
will hear the clock toll eleven times—count them!—and for the twelfth strike, a piccolo plays
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
a high, fast whistle. The final music portrays Cinderella fleeing the ball with the Prince
running after her, finding only her glass slipper on the steps.
John Williams
Music from Star Wars
b. New York, 1948
“I’m a very lucky man. If it weren’t for the
movies, no one would be able to write this
kind of music anymore.”
John Williams is a true musical force, and is possibly the most widely known name in the
history of movie music. The son of a movie studio musician, John Williams studied music at
UCLA, with an emphasis on composition. After a stint with the Air Force, he returned to
New York to attend the Juilliard School of Music where he studied piano. Williams worked
as a jazz pianist under the name Johnny Williams for a time before moving back to Los
Angeles to begin his career in television and film. He began his career writing music for
television, most notably for the popular Peter Gunn series. In the 1960s, he turned his genius
to film, and from that point forward, there has been no stopping him. Williams has composed
the music for close to eighty films, receiving nearly forty Academy Award nominations, six
Oscars, seven British Academy Awards, twenty-one Grammies and four Golden Globes.
More Americans have heard the music of John Williams than any other American composer,
even if they don’t know his name. He has composed the music for many of the most famous
films of the twentieth century: Jaws, E.T.—The Extraterrestrial, the six Star Wars films,
Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Home Alone,
the four Indiana Jones films, the first three Harry Potter films…and the list goes on and on.
Writing music for movies is a special skill. The composer needs to understand not only what
will sound good, but what will enhance the action on the screen.
In Star Wars, Williams produced one of his most memorable themes. It is bold and heroic,
and simple enough to be memorable. But its secret is that it’s not too simple. The rhythm is
not exactly “square” (to demonstrate, try clapping and counting “one-two” along with the
music and you may get lost!), so that the melody seems to be pushing forward, continually
striving. It really says something important about the message of the movie.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Suggested Student Activities
Provided below are suggestions for classroom activities designed to enhance students’
understanding of concepts and ideas relating to the Illinois Symphony Education Concert
experience. This is a general outline of suggestions that you may use as a point of departure
for developing additional activities—ones that can be tailored to suit your specific classroom
situation and curricular needs. The suggestions below are grouped by subject area to
encourage and facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to music education. The subject areas
included are not a complete list of potential interdisciplinary explorations. Many additional
areas of childhood learning can be profitably allied with music awareness projects. Some of
the exercises listed below lend themselves more readily to post-concert follow-up; others
may be more suitable as preparatory studies. We urge you to amplify these Suggested
Activities into learning experiences that will prove most meaningful to your class.
Music
 Have the class discuss why careful listening is important. The answers should be written
on the chalkboard. It is important to channel the students’ answers to their experience.
Careful listening is important for the enjoyment of music for all the same reasons
listening is important in life (for example, learning to pronounce the letters of the
alphabet, learning the rules of a new game to be played on the playground, enjoying a
good joke, or listening to the songs of birds).

Review the instruments of the orchestra with your class. Photocopy the Instruments of
the Orchestra section of this guide and distribute to the class, or show them on a screen
using a projector. Discuss the different instrument families and the names and shapes of
instruments. Scramble names of instruments on the chalkboard for the class to solve and
match with pictures of instruments. Or utilizing crayons, paints, or colored pencils, have
students color in the shapes of the instruments and instrument families. It is important
for students to be able to recognize instruments visually and to identify them by name.

It is important for students to be able to identify the instruments of the orchestra on stage
before coming to the concert. Review the instruments of the orchestra with your class.
Photocopy the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Seating chart in this guide for each student.
Starting with the violins and moving through each instrument, to pronounce each
instrument name and discuss the characteristics of each instrument family.

Timbre (pronounced “TAM-ber”) is the quality, personality, or color of a sound unique
to an instrument or voice. The quality of sound is determined by the sound source: the
material, shape, size, and means of sound production—in other words, the way an
instrument makes its sound. Students can learn to describe the sounds they hear by using
colors. For instance, some sounds can be “fiery red,” “cool blue,” or “sunny yellow.”
Assemble various kinds of materials including tin foil, plastic wrap, paper, cardboard,
bubble wrap, etc. and experiment with creating and describing timbres or sound colors
for each. Each student should suggest a sound quality (timbre) for each sound that is
produced (i.e., “crinkly,” “sizzling,” “bright,” “dark,” etc.). Ask students to identify their
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
favorite kinds of timbre and describe them in detail. (What are they? Why are they your
favorite? What colors do they suggest? etc.)

To reinforce students’ ability to identify instruments aurally, play a recording of
Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. (Be sure to use the version with
narration.) Have students suggest what objects or animals different instruments might be
used to portray. What instruments could effectively portray an elephant? (Bass, tuba, or
contrabassoon.) This activity can be further enhanced by listening to narrated recordings
of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals.

Rhythm is the pulse that is present in all music. Rhythm is also present in our everyday
lives. Some rhythms are loose and free (a casual walk down the street), and some are
very tightly structured (a marching band, the ticking of a clock, etc.). Share with
students that they all carry a rhythm inside of their bodies (heartbeat, breathing, pulse,
etc.). Have students answer the question, “What activities do they do to the pulse of
rhythm?” Answer: dancing, jumping rope, running, sports, etc. Using recorded music,
play different musical examples and have students make a circle and walk around the
room to the rhythm or beat of the music. Or have students sit in a circle and try to feel
the pulse of the music, clapping their hands in unison to the musical pulse.

Create a stringed instrument: Cut a two-inch hole in the top of a shoebox. Select three or
four rubber bands of various sizes and stretch them lengthwise around the box. Make
sure they pass across the hole. Place a pencil at one end of the top of the box, near the
hole, to create a bridge. Strum and pluck the rubber bands. Moving the pencil up and
down will produce different tones. Pass your stringed instrument around the classroom,
allowing students the joy of making musical sounds.

Create a cardboard flute: Get a cardboard tube from paper towels, waxed paper, plastic
wrap, or toilet paper. Cut four small holes, about one inch apart, on one side of the
cardboard tube. Cover one end of the tube with waxed paper and secure with a rubber
band. Blow into the open end of the tube, and move fingers over the holes to obtain
various tones. You might also ask students to bring in cardboard tubes, fashioning a
cardboard flute for each student, and creating your own flute ensemble.

Percussion instruments are the most accessible instruments of all for students. Build
some percussion instruments, from everyday materials found around the house, that can
be used in your classroom:
COFFEE CAN DRUM:
Get a large coffee can that has a plastic lid. Use a wooden beater, like a pencil. Or
students can play it with fingers like a bongo drum.
MARGARINE TUB MARACAS:
Place dried beans, pebbles, or seeds inside a plastic margarine tub, and tape the lid on
tightly. Students can produce sound by shaking rhythmically.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
JELLY JAR BELLS:
Assemble a number of jelly jars or glasses of the same size. Fill them with different
levels of water. Tap jars with a wooden pencil. Allow students to experience the
different sounds produced when tapping the glasses. More water creates a deeper bell
sound. Less water creates a higher bell sound. Students will also be able to visually
experience vibration, as they observe the water moving from the tapping of the pencil on
the jar.
If you create several of these instruments described above for your students, you’ll have
the makings of an orchestra.

Have the class discuss why careful listening is important

Have the class remain silent for 60 seconds while listening very carefully to sounds in
the classroom environment. Encourage students to discuss what they heard. Examples
may include the low hum of the ventilation system, the buzz of electric lighting,
footsteps in the hallway, motor traffic outside, the sound of the wind, or the high pitch
of a suppressed giggle. Did the sound of the car increase in volume as it approached
the building and decrease after it passed? Did the footsteps produce a regular or
irregular sound pattern?

Have students learning to play instruments bring them to class and demonstrate them.
Language Arts
 Have students create a special notebook or “journal” to record their responses to these
Education Concert Suggested Activities.
 Have students write a letter to the conductor and musicians telling them what they
thought of the concert. (Letters may be sent to Illinois Symphony Orchestra, 524 ½ E.
Capitol, PO Box 5191, Springfield, IL 62705.)
 Have students write a poem about a musical instrument, and have them read their
poems out loud to the class.
 •Sound is all around us. Students can create a sound/symbol Pictionary to document
their own system of sounds.
a) Tell students to listen carefully to the sounds they hear on the way to and from
school. Have them make a list of these sounds in their “special” Education
Concert notebook. Students should categorize the sounds by those they liked and
didn’t like.
b) Next, have students create a symbol for each sound. Encourage students to utilize
the elements of color, shape, form, texture, line, and size.
Examples:
Sounds I Liked
birds chirping
ocean
laughing voices
My Symbol
smiling face
color blue
warm blanket
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Sounds I Didn’t Like
car horn blowing
siren
screeching car brakes
My Symbol
jagged line
color red
big eyes
•
Have students act as newspaper reporters whose assignment is to write an article about a
newly discovered instrument. The article should include a description of the instrument,
the sound it produces, and how it produces that sound. An account of where and how the
instrument was discovered, and where it might have originated (teleported from a distant
planet, from pre-historic times, etc.) should also be included. Encourage students to be as
creative and “far-fetched” as possible.
•
Have students research the meaning of the word “music.” As part of this research project,
encourage the students to ask their families and friends how they would define “music.”
After students have written their definition, have a class discussion through the reading of
several written reports. One of the natural outcomes of this exercise will be for the class
to recognize that answering “what is music” is a difficult question that has no simple
answer. There are many “right” answers to “what is music” depending on one’s age,
cultural background, sound preference, etc.
Fine Arts
• In order for an audience to experience the many sounds and sensations in music, students
must concentrate on listening beyond hearing, and seeing beyond looking. Students must
develop special skills as an audience. Ask students to practice maintaining complete
silence for one minute. Before the minute of silence, tell students they will be listening
for any sound they hear. (The sounds might include a truck, birds, kids laughing, the
ticking of the classroom clock, school bell, etc.) After the minute of silence is over, ask
students to draw a picture of the things they heard. Ask for a show of hands, and select
students to share what they heard during the minute of silence. Hang the students’
drawings around the room so that all can see.
•
Have students draw pictures to illustrate different pieces of music from the program.
•
Explain to students that “ears” come in many shapes and sizes. Other animals have still
different shapes to their ears. Using a blank sheet of paper, have students draw pictures of
as many different kinds of “ears” as come to mind. Example: ears of a cat, dog, deer,
mouse, elephant, squirrel, rabbit, etc. Have students write the different kinds of sounds
their favorite animal’s ears would hear.
•
To imagine means to see a picture in your mind. Tell students the imagination is like a
muscle in the arm or the leg. You have to exercise the imagination if you want it to be in
top shape.
Ask students to imagine they are a banana, with arms and hands. Which of the
instruments in the orchestra would they like to learn how to play—a string instrument, a
wind instrument, a brass instrument, or a percussion instrument? Now ask students to
draw a picture of themselves, as a banana, playing their instrument of choice. Remind
•
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
students to give their “banana-self” a face and ears! Musicians always need a face and
ears!
•
Review with students the instruments of the orchestra, and the characteristics of each
instrument family. Keeping these concepts in mind, students should draw a picture of an
original, made-up instrument. Students should be allowed to use their full imaginations in
the creation of their instrument. It can be a “new” string, wind, brass, or percussion
instrument. The only restriction is that it must be clear in the drawing how the instrument
is to be played.
•
As a class project, have students produce a poster promoting their upcoming trip to hear
the Illinois Symphony. Remind students to include the name of the orchestra, the date and
time of their concert, location, etc. The poster should be as colorful as your classroom
resources will allow, and should also include lots of adjectives.
•
Have students create a musical play by selecting a folktale or story. Members of the class
should dramatize the story, while an “orchestra” of homemade instruments provides
music. Dance or pantomime portions may also be included, and sets and costumes may
be constructed.
Social Studies
•
Have students read children’s stories/folk tales from various parts of the world, and tell
those stories to the class. Does the story include any references to music or dance?
•
Lead students in a discussion of the richness that exists right in their classroom—
classmates born in different places, who may speak more than one language, who eat
different kinds of foods, who listen to different types of music—and that this richness
can be shared with each other!
•
Have students create a chronological chart of the composers on the program. Add other
important dates in history, science, and the arts.
•
Have students select a country or region of the world to research for a report. Reports
should focus on the indigenous instruments of the region, and on how music is used
culturally (celebrations, worship, entertainment, etc.).
•
Have students consult an atlas to locate places where composers lived or where stories
took place.
•
Have students select a composer represented on the program and prepare a biographical
report. Select reports to be read aloud in class.
•
Have students discuss sounds heard in their everyday environments, emphasizing what
the sounds signify and what cultural associations they carry. (For example, when we
hear a siren, what does that sound tell us? What cultural connotations does the sound of
fireworks evoke?)
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
•
Using one of the music books in your school library as a reference, explore with your
students instruments that have come to this country with immigrating cultures, such as
the violin, the guitar, the harmonica, the banjo, and both the Irish and Scottish bagpipes.
Physical Science
•
Music is the special organization of sound that is constructed by using special musical
tools. Sounds are made by vibrating objects. Students can feel sound vibrations by
performing the following experiments. Having them exaggerate the sounds will make
them easier to feel:
1) Have students place the forefinger lightly on the lips and say “mmm”
2) Have students place the forefinger of each hand on each side of the nose and say
“nnn”
3) Have students place a hand on the chest and say “ahh”
4) Have students place a hand on the back of the neck and say “ing”
•
Explore different sounds that can be produced in the classroom. For example, students
clapping their hands, marching in place, hitting two chalkboard erasers together, or
tapping pencils on desks can produce percussion sounds. Whistling produces wind
sounds, and don’t forget about the human voice. Have students compare and contrast the
characteristics of the sounds.
•
The heart is the body’s percussion instrument. For a classroom participation activity,
have students place their hands on their hearts and count silently while you time them
for 30 seconds. Now help students identify that they have other percussion spots on their
bodies—places where they can feel their pulse. Assist students in finding their pulse on
either the left or right wrist. Tell students that this throbbing—or steady constant beat—
also comes from the pumping of the heart. Identifying the pulse may be a new
experience for the students; do allow them to revel in the recognition of it. Because the
pulse, like the heart, produces a steady beat, students can use many rhythm patterns to
count it. Lead students in counting each pulse: 1,2,1,2, or 1,2,3,4, etc.
Before students go out for recess, remind them to feel for their pulse while on the
playground. During or after a lot of physical activity such as running, skipping, or
jumping, the heart beats faster. It will still produce a steady rhythm, but the beat will be
faster. Students should feel their pulse again while at recess or before returning to the
classroom to experience the change in their internal percussion instrument. You might
want to lead students in a short discussion on the differences between their pulse while
sitting quietly in class and their pulse while they were at play.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Glossary of Musical Terms
acoustics (ah-COO-sticks)
Can have two meanings. First, the science of
sound. Second, the properties of a concert
hall or other buildings as they affect the
sounds produced in it.
accelerando (ak-cheh-leh-RON-doe)
Getting faster. The word accelerate comes
from this term.
adagio (ah-DAH-zhee-oh)
Slow, relaxed tempo.
allegro (ah-LEG-grow)
Fast, brisk tempo.
ballet
A form of theater where dance and music
are combined, frequently to enact a story.
bass (BASE)
The lowest part of the music, such as string
bass or bass singer.
beat
A pulse.
blues
An African-American musical form,
originating in the work songs and spirituals
of the rural American South in the late 19th
century.
chord
A combination of tones sounded together.
concertmaster
The first violinist in an orchestra.
concerto (con-CHAIR-toe)
A composition for orchestra and solo
instrument.
crescendo (cre-SHEN-doe)
Making a sound move from soft to loud.
decrescendo (day-cre-SHEN-doe)
Making a sound move from loud to soft.
diminuendo (dee-men-you-EN-doe)
Getting softer.
dynamics
Variations of volume, from loud to soft, and
soft to loud.
ensemble
Two or more musicians playing at the same
time.
fanfare
A flourish of trumpets.
forte (FOR-tay)
Loud.
fortissimo (for-TIS-see-mo)
Very loud.
harmony
A combination of musical sounds that is
musically significant.
improvise
To make up and perform music on the spur
of the moment, without playing music that is
written down or from memory.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
jazz
An African-American musical form
developed from the blues and ragtime.
largo
Slowly.
melody
A succession of pitches over time with
direction and rhythm.
movement
Like chapters in a book, a movement is a
distinct unit or division within a big piece of
music like a symphony.
notation
The language (a series of symbols) in which
music is written.
note
A musical sound.
opera
A form of theater where the words are set to
music. Combines drama, music, and dance
to tell a story.
orchestra
A large body of instrumentalists including
strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
orchestration
The art of using instruments in different
combinations and deciding the various parts
of music each instrument is to play.
overture
A piece of music designed to be played as
an introduction to an opera or a ballet.
piano
Soft. (The piano gets its name from the term
pianoforte [pea-ah-no-FOR-tay], which
means it was an instrument that could play
both soft and loud. The word was later
shortened to piano.)
pitch
The highness or lowness of a musical sound.
presto
Very fast.
program music
Music based on something non-musical,
such as a story, legend, historical event,
place, painting, etc.
ragtime
An African-American musical form that
combines 19th century piano music of
Europe (minuets, waltzes, polkas) with
African rhythmic patterns.
rest
Space in the music when an instrument or
group of instruments is silent.
rhythm
A basic element of music. The organization
of sound over time.
rhapsody
An instrumental composition without a
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
particular structural musical form, and
usually suggesting music that is imaginative
and vivid.
ritardando (ree-tar-DON-doe)
Slowing down the music.
scale
A sequence of notes going up or coming
down in order.
soprano
In Italian, it means “upper.” This is the name
of the highest female voice.
suite
A group of musical pieces that belong
together.
symphony
A composition for orchestra, often
containing four movements that fit together.
syncopation
When a beat or beats of a rhythmic pattern
are unexpectedly accented or emphasized.
tempo
A term that indicates the pace of the music.
theme
A musical idea that can be varied or
transformed in a number of ways.
variation
The altering of a theme, from a simple
embellishment to more complex changes.
vivace (vee-VA-cheh)
Lively, quick.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
General Music Internet Resources

Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures
http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/explore_and_learn/art_multimedia.html
This site contains interactive activities related to the instruments of the
orchestra, musical structure, and the history of Carnegie Hall in New
York City.
 Children's Music Web - http://www.childrensmusic.org
The Children's Music Web, a "non-profit organization dedicated to music for
kids” The site has listings of "best music" for kids; a "Pipsqueaks" page
featuring words to songs, and creative musical games.
 Dallas Symphony Orchestra - http://www.dsokids.com
This site contains a variety of resources for music educators, including
lesson plans, as well as interactive music education materials.
 Kidzone, New York Philharmonic - http://www.newyorkphilharmonic.org
Kidzone, the colorful, whimsical site linked to the New York Philharmonic
home page, offers child-focused information about composers and individual
instruments in the orchestra. The home page includes a teacher resource center.
 Making Music Fun.net
A wealth of resources for elementary music classroom teachers, private music
instructors, and parents of homeschoolers, for the purpose of building kids up
in positive ways and enriching their lives with an appreciation for music and
learning.
MENC: Can You Match the Sound?
http://www.menc.org/guides/charguid/match/matgamel.htm
This site offers an interactive game for children in grades k-3. The game
involves listening to and learning the sounds of different musical instruments.
Try Teachers and Charlie Horse Music Pizza, Contests and Name that
Instrument.
 Naxos Classical Music Label. http://www.naxos.com
This website has excerpts from their library of recordings to listen to at no
cost. They also have extensive educational resources including composer
biographies, a musical glossary, a musical encyclopedia, and many other
helpful offerings.
 SFSKids.com
A wonderful highly interactive website for children where they can explore
and learn about instruments of the orchestra, the language and elements of
music, listen to classical favorites, and compose their own tunes
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Books About Music for Children
About the Orchestra
Guy, Susan and Donna Lacy. The Orchestra,. Live Wire Press, 2002.
This book introduces children to the sights and sounds of the symphony orchestra.
Artwork for the book was created using multi-layered tissue paper and adhesive,
adding a colorful accent to the book’s rhyming text.*
Hayes, Ann. Meet the Orchestra. Illustrated by Karmen Thompson. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1991.
Kraus, Robert, Musical Max. Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. Simon and
Schuster, 1990.
Kuskin, Karla. The Philharmonic Gets Dressed. Illustrated by Marc Simont. Harper & Row,
1982.
Lithgow, John. The Remarkable Farkle McBride. Illustrated by C.F. Payne. Simon and
Schuster, 2000.
McMillan, Bruce, The Alphabet Symphony: An ABC Book. Greenville Books, 1977.
McMillan finds alphabet letters in varied photographic angles of the Portland
Symphony Orchestra.
Rubin, Mark. The Orchestra. Illustrated by Alan Daniel. Firefly Books, 1984.
About Individual Instruments
Bottner, Barbara. Charlene Loves to Make Noise. Illustrated by Alexander Stadler. Running
Press. 2002.
Celender, Donald: Musical Instruments in Art, Lerner Publications
Coveleski, Sally and Peter Goodrich. Henry the Steinway and the Piano Recital. Illustrated
by Laura Friedman. Yorkville Press. 2002.
Coveleski, Sally and Peter Goodrich. Henry the Steinway: A Star is Born. Illustrated by
Laura Friedman. Yorkville Press. 2004.
Moss, Lloyd, Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin. Simon & Schuster, 1995.
About Music (general) and Musicians
Bernstein, Leonard: Young People’s Concerts, Simon and Schuster
Britten, Benjamin; and Holst, Imogen: The Wonderful World of Music, Doubleday and Co.
Dunleavy, Deborah; and Phillips, Louise: Jumbo Book of Music, Kids Can Press
Krull, Kathleen, Lives of the Musicians, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Krull, Kathleen, M is for Music, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
McHenry, Ellen J., Music Activity Book, Dover Publications
McHenry, Ellen J., Musical Instruments, Dover Publications
McPhail, David, Mole Music, Henry Holt and Company
Spence, keith, The Young People’s Book of Music, Millbrook PressVenezia, Mike, numerous
biographies of composers, Children’s Press Group
Wargin, Kathy-Jo, M is for Melody: A Musical Alphabet. Illustrated by Katherine Larson.
Sleeping Bear Press, 2004.
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Teacher Bibliography
Aliki: Ah, Music!. HarperCollins Publishers
Bernstein, Leonard: Young People’s Concerts. Simon and Schuster
Chase, Gilbert: America’s Music, from the Pilgrims to the Present. McGraw-Hill
Chroninger, Ruby: Teach Your Kids About Music. Walker and Company
Koch, Kenneth: Wishes, Lies, and Dreams. Vintage Press
Krull, Kathleen: Lives of the Musicians. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Luttrell, Guy: The Instruments of Music. Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Machlis, Joseph: American Composers of Our Time. Thomas Crowell Company
Machlis, Joseph: The Enjoyment of Music. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc.
Marsalis, Wynton: Marsalis on Music. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc.
Sabbeth, Alex: Rubber-Band Banjos and a Java Jive Bass/Projects & Activities on the
Science of Music and Sound, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Schafer, R. Murray: Creative Music Education. Schirmer Press
Spence, Keith: Living Music. Gloucester
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Illinois Symphony Orchestra Education Concert Teacher Guide
Illinois Symphony Orchestra Visual Art Project
Purpose: To encourage further student engagement with the concert experience by creating
an original visual art work.
Eligibility: All students who have attended the Play Me A Story Education Concert.
Project Themes: A visual representation of one aspect of the concert experience including
the orchestra, the music, the concert hall, or the audience.
Project Media: crayon, felt-tip pen, magic marker, pencil, water color, finger painting,
collage or any combination of the above.
Size of Entry: No larger than 16” height by 18” width
All pieces must be clearly labeled in the upper right hand corner on the back as follows:
Student Name, Home Address, and Home Phone Number
Student Age and Grade
Name and Address of School (or indicate if home-schooled)
Name of Teacher (or parent if home-schooled)
School Phone Number
Title of Work
No artwork will be considered without the above information.
Send artwork to:
Illinois Symphony Orchestra
514 ½ E. Capitol Ave.
Springfield, IL 62705
Deadline for Receipt of Entries: June 1, 2012
Selection of Finalists: Judging will be done by members of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra
Guild and local artists
All submissions will become the property of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and cannot be
returned to the school, the student, or their parents.
Recognition: All student entries will be publicly displayed at a yet to be chosen venue in
Springfield or Bloomington and up to 3 entries from each of the grade groupings K-2, 3-4,
and 5-6 will be chosen for special recognition. These students will receive Illinois
Symphony Orchestra tickets for their family and their artwork will be considered for
reproduction on note cards, an Illinois Symphony Orchestra calendar, or published in a
concert program book.
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