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This blog post is for my fellow Middle Tennessee friends that may be attending the Young People's Concert this week! I wish I had thought of putting together something sooner!!! We LOVED the program last week and I introduced these songs to my kids with a little bit of background before we attended and I felt that it made the experience even that much richer!
First of all, there are wonderful lesson plans posted by the symphony - you can download the current file here
The Nashville Symphony also has a great introduction video to watch about concert etiquette and instrument families!
The program on Friday moves quickly from one piece to the next so there's not a lot of background information on the piece or the composer - if you can take the time to review highlights before you go I think it makes the experience so much more fun!!! Here's the order, a little tidbit to share with your kids, and a video of the song to listen before you go!
Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein is one of my favorite composers and conductors because he just exudes music and a passion for music! If you've never watched him talk about music to a group of kids you need to look up the old recordings from his YPC in the 1950s! (Don't do it now, but when you have extra time you can check them out here!) What you need to know about Bernstein, is that he was an amazing conductor as well as composer. He was born and raised in America and his music reflects many American themes.
The Candide overture is filled with excitement and a lot of dynamic changes (loud to soft) and there are a few instruments that stand out! When I played the recording I asked my kids to listen for any changes in dynamics (loud and soft) and moods. When it sounds like you're at a circus, have fun pretending to be a clown! When the music gets smooth and softer, pretend to be a trapeze artist flying gracefully through the air! Point out the piccolo instrument (minute 1:15-1:18) - listen to the high notes it makes! It is a member of the woodwind family and is smaller than a flute.
Sousa
John Philip Sousa is best known for all his marches!!! Personally, I can only handle 1 or 2 of his marches at a time! LOL! Sousa is not my favorite composer but his music is fun! A fun fact for your kids to know is that he came up with an idea for a portable tuba and had an inventor create a tuba that wrapped around the body! It's named after him - called the Sousaphone! It was so his musicians could easily play their tubas at all the outdoor events and marches!
The Liberty Bell March is what you'll hear this week. The instrument to look out for is the Tubular Bells - also in the percussion section!
Copland
Aaron Copland is one of the most recognized composers of American sounding music - especially music that sounds like it's from the wild west! Rodeo is a ballet in 5 sections. Buckaroo Holiday is the first section and the one you'll hear performed! What you need to know about Copland is that he studied under Rubin Goldmark who was a student of Antonin Dvorak. American classical music was VERRRYY new at this time! Most classical music was composed and performed by Europeans. America truly has a voice now in symphonic music with the work by Copland!
When I played this song for the kids I had them pretend they were cowboys. During fast sections they rode their horses, during slow sections they got off their saddles for a nap! Pay attention to the percussion section when you're at the symphony and look for the slapstick (time around 2:20)!
My son pretended that was the cowboy firing off his shots! (The ballet is actually the cowgirl in this movement!)
Gershwin
George Gershwin is also known for having a very American sound in his compositions. He used a lot of jazz influences in his pieces. The NSO will do a few selections from Porgy and Bess - starting with Summertime. What you should know about George, is that he and his brother Ira worked close together for many compositions!
The other piece is Cuban Overture - with this song I had my kids try to tap out the rhythm that the claves play (ONE and two AND three and FOUR and one and TWO and THREE and four and)
Reich
Steve Reich is a minimalist American composer. Clapping Music is a simple rhythm that is performed in two groups, where each group starts together and then they move apart and eventually circle around back to unison. This video is a great visual!
The last song is by John Williams - I'm not going to spoil it for you!!! I know your kids will have a super fun time!!!
Community dancing is such a wonderful activity for all ages! I have seen the question pop up in many homeschool groups about suggestions for resources to teach folk dances so I want to share some of my favorites from teaching music and dance to elementary students in public school and our homeschool groups! If you have the opportunity to find a group already in place to attend and learn dances and observe how they teach you will have a better understanding of how to approach this in a group setting! You may feel like at the beginning like you are herding a bunch of cats but that's ok!!! Practice and consistency will improve the process! Cited Material First, I want to just say how blessed I am that I have been fortunate to have training under the most talented folk dance and movement specialists. I feel like my education and experience has been in the "golden" age through first hand workshops by the following professionals. New England Dancing Mast
While planning and working on preparations for Year 1 Ambleside , I have found some amazing resources for study guides. Unfortunately, one of the resources is no longer free so I came up with my own document that you are welcome to download and use! CLICK HERE to download the coloring pages I also wanted to have a resource to see the color versions of the birds so I created a photo guide to each bird. CLICK HERE to download the photo companion. Here are some other helpful resources! Burgess Bird Study Guide Burgess Bird Images and more links
Our family enjoys a "December Term" each year. I've also heard homeschooler refer to this time as "Christmas School!" Basically, we hold off on our regular curriculum studies and spend a quiet and peaceful month at home with poetry, music, literature, and activities that bring us into a spirit of Christmas! You can find a post about our first December Term in 2018 here! While looking through the website archive.org (my favorite public domain library!) I found adorable Christmas stories published by Dana Estes & Co. out of Boston in the early 1900s. I read each story in the collection and knew they would be perfect for our December Term so I spent the weekend writing lesson plans with links and ideas to make the most out of a cultural holiday experience! The age range for these stories is 6-12 years old. In Christmas in Austria , the children in the story include an 11 year old boy and a 9 year old girl! That's exactly the ages of my children in Decemb
My son pretended that was the cowboy firing off his shots! (The ballet is actually the cowgirl in this movement!)
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