Musical Storytelling: Create Your Own Adventure

Transcription

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Music Director
Inside the Music
The Philadelphia Orchestra
2013-14 School Concert Curriculum Guide
Musical Storytelling:
Create Your Own Adventure
The Philadelphia Orchestra Education
and Community Partnerships Department
The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world
through over a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings,
and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach. The programs
described below support the Orchestra’s mission to transform its relationship with Philadelphia and
reach new, young, and diverse audiences.
Visit www.philorch.org/education to learn more about the following programs.
Sound All Around
Presented by
Family Concerts Presented by
Ages 3-5 Held in the Academy of Music Ballroom, this
series of interactive programs features members of The
Philadelphia Orchestra and award-winning storyteller
Charlotte Blake Alston. Each concert introduces a member
of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families and
the final concert features all the musicians playing in an
ensemble. Concerts are 45 minutes long and are held on
Saturdays and Mondays at 10:00 and 11:15 AM.
Ages 6-12 Family Concerts are an essential first step
in introducing children to the lifelong pleasures of
music through a captivating blend of storytelling and
classical music.
November 9 and 11, 2013
Anthony Orlando Percussion
Christmas Kids Spectacular!
Saturday, December 14, 2013 11:30 AM
Cristian Măcelaru Conductor
Michael Boudewyns Actor
Sara Valentine Actor
January 11 and 13, 2014
Kerri Ryan Viola
February 8 and 10, 2014
Darin Kelly Trumpet
March 1 and 3, 2014
Loren Lind Flute
March 29 and 31, 2014
Ensemble
Magical Musical Halloween
Saturday, October 26, 2013 11:30 AM
Cirque de la Symphonie
Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
Saturday, February 1, 2014 11:30 AM
Michael Boudewyns Actor
Sara Valentine Actor
Pinocchio and Cartoon Classics
Saturday, March 22, 2014 11:30 AM
Charlotte Blake Alston Narrator
Mr. Mozart: Musical Genius
Saturday, April 26, 2014 11:30 AM
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Dan Zanes Host
Jan Lisiecki Piano
Open Rehearsals for Students
Cirque de la Symphonie
High School and College Students Go behind the
scenes and watch The Philadelphia Orchestra at work in
Verizon Hall. Students observe the artistic collaboration
between world-class musicians and conductors first-hand.
Friday, January 3, 2014 8:00 PM
Saturday, January 4, 2014 8:00 PM
French Masters
Thursday, October 24, 2013 10:30 AM
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Conductor
Augustin Hadelich Violin
Yannick and Yuja
Thursday, November 7, 2013 10:30 AM
Yuja Wang Piano
The Glorious Sound of Christmas
Thursday, December 19, 2013 10:30 AM
Sarah Hicks Conductor
Tchaikovsky Week 2
Thursday, January 16, 2014 10:30 AM
Hai-Ye Ni Cello
Yannick’s “Eroica”
Thursday, February 20, 2014 10:30 AM
Truls Mørk Cello
Two great art forms, both requiring agility, creativity,
and a lifetime of practice, come together in this thrilling
evening featuring Cirque de la Symphonie. Breathtaking
acrobatics fly above the Orchestra, accompanied by
stunning symphonic repertoire including Sibelius’s soaring
Finlandia, Wagner’s “The Ride of the Valkyries,” Chabrier’s
España, and selections from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake,
plus many new orchestral showpieces you will surely love.
The program features aerialists, contortionists, dancers,
strongmen, and special surprises. The high-wire acts of
stunning virtuosity on the stage and up in the air will be like
nothing you’ve seen before in Verizon Hall.
Philadelphia Orchestra
in the Community
The Philadelphia Orchestra extends its reach into the
community on an ongoing basis with the goal to be an
active, energetic, and musical participant in the lives of area
residents, students, organizations, and community partners.
“Philadelphia Orchestra in the Community” comprises a
number of programs that engage multiple constituencies
in the Greater Philadelphia area: Musicians in the Schools,
Neighborhood Concerts, the Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute
Concert, the School Partnership Program, and the College
Performance Series.
Photo: Pete Checchia
Inside the Music
2013-14 School Concert Curriculum Guide
Musical Storytelling: Create Your Own Adventure
Program to be selected from the following:
Badelt/arr. Ricketts
Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean
Beethoven
Excerpt from fourth movement from Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Beethoven
Excerpt from second movement from Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
Berlioz
“March to the Scaffold,” from Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
E. Bernstein
Theme from The Magnificent Seven
Dukas
Excerpt from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Holst
“Mars, the Bringer of War,” from The Planets
Mozart
Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Prokofiev
“Montagues and Capulets,” from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64
J. Strauss, Jr.“Tritsch-Tratsch” Polka, Op. 214
Stravinsky
“Infernal Dance of King Kastcheï,” from The Firebird
Wagner
“Ride of the Valkyries,” from Die Walküre
Williams
“Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
2013-14 Philadelphia Orchestra School Concerts
All performances in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Tuesday, February 4, 2014 12:15 PM
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 10:30 AM and 12:15 PM
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 10:30 AM and 12:15 PM
Tuesday, March 4, 2014 10:30 AM and 12:15 PM
Acknowledgements
The Philadelphia Orchestra is grateful to the area teachers who have collaborated with the Education
and Community Partnerships department on this year’s curriculum guide, Inside the Music.
2013-14 Philadelphia Orchestra School Concert Collaborative Group
Elizabeth McAnally, Choral/General Music Teacher, Woodrow Wilson Middle School, School District of Philadelphia, PA
Lead Teacher
Helene Furlong, Choral/General Music Teacher, Henry C. Lea School, School District of Philadelphia, PA
Lisa Tierney, Choral/General Music Teacher, James Dobson School, School District of Philadelphia, PA
The Philadelphia Orchestra is pleased to recognize the following major
donors who support the School Concert program.
Wells Fargo is proud to be the Lead Underwriter of the “Raising the Invisible Curtain” initiative. Additional funding
comes from the Annenberg Foundation, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development,
and the Presser Foundation.
School Concerts
School Concerts are funded in part by the Julius and Ray Charlestein Foundation in memory of Morton and Malvina
Charlestein, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, the Christian Humann Foundation, the Billy Joel Fund for Music
Education, the Rosenlund Family Foundation, the Volunteer Committees for The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Wells Fargo
Foundation, and the Zisman Family Foundation.
School Partnership Program
Major funding for the School Partnership Program is provided by the Annenberg Foundation, the Dorothy V. Cassard Fund
at the Philadelphia Foundation, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, the Hamilton Family Foundation,
Lincoln Financial Foundation, the Loeb Student Education Fund, the McLean Contributionship, the Presser Foundation, the
Rosenlund Family Foundation, Christa and Calvin Schmidt, the Target Corporation, the Verizon Foundation, and the
Wells Fargo Foundation.
©2013 The Philadelphia Orchestra Association. This
material is the property of The Philadelphia Orchestra
Association and may not be duplicated or reproduced
without written consent from the Department of
Education and Community Partnerships.
Cover photo: Jessica Griffin
Contents
8
Get the Most from Your Philadelphia Orchestra School Concert
About School Concerts, About the Program, Essential Questions, Learning Concepts, and Additional Resources
10
Curriculum Connections
National and State Standards for Music Education
Pennsylvania’s Standards Aligned System and this Curriculum Guide
12
Meet The Philadelphia Orchestra
Learn More about The Philadelphia Orchestra
18
Unit #1: Let’s Go to the Orchestra!
Two Introductory Lessons Designed to Introduce Students to the Orchestra
23
Unit #2: Musical Beginnings and Endings
Overture and Encore: Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492; J. Strauss, Jr.
“Tritsch-Tratsch” Polka, Op. 214
28
Unit #3: Musical Places
Soundtracks: Badelt/arr. Ricketts Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean; E. Bernstein Theme from
The Magnificent Seven; Williams “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
34
Unit #4: Musical Action
Dramatic Music: Prokofiev “Montagues and Capulets,” from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64; Stravinsky
“Infernal Dance of King Kastcheï,” from The Firebird; Wagner “Ride of the Valkyries,” from Die Walküre
40
Unit #5: Musical Stories
Program Music: Berlioz “March to the Scaffold,” from Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14; Dukas
Excerpt from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice; Holst “Mars, the Bringer of War,” from The Planets
46
Unit #6: Musical Moods
Emotional Music: Beethoven Excerpt from fourth movement from Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67;
Beethoven Excerpt from second movement from Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
50
Appendices
Appendix A: Academic Standards
Appendix B: Philadelphia Orchestra School Partnership Program
Appendix C: Recorder Fingering Chart
Appendix D: Conducting Patterns
Appendix E: Guide to Audience Behavior
55
Glossary of Terms
58
Credits
Get the Most from Your Philadelphia
Orchestra School Concert
Take full advantage of this curriculum guide, developed to accompany the School Concert program, and
prepare your students to get the most out of their concert experience with The Philadelphia Orchestra.
About School Concerts
Engagement with music challenges students to achieve their
full intellectual and social potential, and it empowers them to
become lifelong learners deeply invested in supporting the arts
in their communities. The Philadelphia Orchestra, considered one
of the best in the world, reaches nearly 12,000 elementary and
through several choices, asking them to vote on which storyline
to take and which music will be performed. The audience is in the
driver’s seat, and no two performances will be alike! Programs will
be created from the music listed below, with one piece from each
category being performed at each concert. However, all pieces
middle school students and teachers through the School Concert
have been included in this supplemental curriculum guide.
program. We are strongly committed to supporting both discipline-
Program Format
centered and arts-integrated learning in our local schools, and we
celebrate the dedicated teachers who shape our children’s futures.
One piece from each category will be performed at each concert.
School Concerts have been commended by the Pennsylvania
Introduction
Department of Education as a model program in alignment with
Mozart Excerpt from Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
the state’s Standards Aligned System.
Setting and Exposition
Research and experience tells us that the arts are crucial to
Badelt Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean
developing effective learners. We know that the nature of arts
E. Bernstein Theme from The Magnificent Seven
learning both directly and indirectly develops qualities of mind
Williams “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and
and character essential to success such as self-discipline, selfarticulation, critical thinking, and creativity. The value found in the
connections between the arts and other subject areas has led to
the encouragement of an arts-integrated approach to learning in
the Sorcerer’s Stone
Conflict
Prokofiev “Montagues and Capulets,” from
Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64
all classrooms.
Stravinsky “Infernal Dance of King Kastcheï,” from The Firebird
In a report released in May 2011, Reinvesting in Arts Education:
Wagner “Ride of the Valkyries,” from Die Walküre
Winning America’s Future through Creative Schools, the
President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities powerfully
states that “experiences in the arts are valuable on their own,
but they also enliven learning of other subjects, making them
indispensable for a complete education in the 21st Century” (p. 2).
The Philadelphia Orchestra School Concert program embraces
this philosophy and incorporates a focus on arts-integrated
Turning Point
Berlioz “March to the Scaffold,” from Symphonie fantastique,
Op. 14
Dukas Excerpt from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Holst “Mars, the Bringer of War,” from The Planets
Resolution
learning in this curriculum guide.
Beethoven Excerpt from fourth movement from
About the Program
Beethoven Excerpt from second movement from
Storytelling exists not only in literary forms but also through
means of musical expression. In this interactive program,
students direct the action by designing their own concert
experience and choosing what music is performed and how the
story is told. They’ll use elements of a story—like setting, conflict,
and resolution—to create an adventure while exploring key
8
Students become the hero as the program’s host leads them
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
Conclusion
J. Strauss, Jr. “Tritsch-Tratsch” Polka, Op. 214
About this Curriculum Guide
Created in collaboration with area teachers, Inside the Music
categories of orchestral music designed to communicate stories,
and its resource materials are intended for use in many different
such as program music, soundtracks, and music written for ballet
instructional settings. Whether you are a fourth-grade teacher,
and opera.
middle school orchestra director, general music teacher, or home
school leader, the information and activities in this guide are
designed to be integrated as part of a comprehensive education
for your students that includes the understanding and appreciation
of orchestral music. Lessons have been designed for use in
grades four and five with adaptations and extensions to meet the
learning needs of grades two through eight, as well as special
learners.
Learning Concepts as a
Framework for Instruction
Instruction in music engages students in many forms of learning—
broadening a foundation of knowledge, encouraging practical
and collaborative behaviors, and shaping analytical thinking
and aesthetic attitudes. The School Concert program and
supplemental resources support these fundamental domains of
In addition to a lesson unit designed to introduce students to the
learning and provide a framework to achieve specific learning
orchestra, this curriculum guide contains six units that correspond
objectives. The following learning concepts outline what your
with the music that will be performed at the School Concert.
students should know and be able to do as a result of their
These units include the following components:
concert experience and exposure to the instructional materials
1. Correlation with national and Pennsylvania state standards
and strategies contained in this guide.
2. Introduction describing connections between the integrated
Through their participation in the Philadelphia Orchestra School
musical category and literary element
Concert program Musical Storytelling, students will be able to:
3. Background information about the composers and the music
1.Identify key categories of orchestral music designed to
4. Listening guides for each of the pieces
5. Arts-integrated lesson with objectives focused on exploring the
connections between the music and another content area in a
way that is mutually reinforcing and leads to greater
understanding in both
What’s the Big Idea?: Essential
Questions for Integrated Instruction
communicate stories, such as program music, soundtracks, and
dramatic music that accompanies ballet and opera
2.Recognize specific musical characteristics that create
meaning, convey emotion, and/or tell a story and describe at
least two examples from the music presented in the program
3.Apply knowledge of literary elements, specifically the elements
of a story, to build understanding of the methods composers
use to communicate musical stories (e.g. conflict and
As an inseparable part of the human experience, music provides
use of dissonance)
an ideal opportunity to explore connections between various
4.Discover and develop various strategies to listen and respond
disciplines and examine a range of diverse experiences and
knowledge. The Philadelphia Orchestra School Concert program
and this accompanying guide have been designed to encourage
the use of orchestral music in your existing curriculum through
interdisciplinary study. To this end, three essential questions
connected to the theme of the School Concert have been
established to support the integration of music with various
subject areas across different grade levels.
critically to musical excerpts, cultivating positive inquiry and
thoughtful individual choice
5.Demonstrate understanding of rhythm, melody,
dynamics, tempo, texture, and sound colors through
singing, playing classroom instruments, composing,
conducting, moving, analyzing aural examples, and using
appropriate music vocabulary
To maximize the benefit of the concert experience for your
students, use the following questions to frame student inquiry,
guide open-ended discussion, and promote critical thinking in your
classroom.
1. In what ways do composers tell stories and convey messages
in their music?
2. How can various elements of music (e.g. rhythm, melody,
dynamics, tempo, and texture) be used to communicate
specific themes and ideas, particularly when telling stories?
3. Does your listening experience change when you know the
music’s story? Can music have more than one story?
9
Additional Resources from The Philadelphia Orchestra
Resource Materials Online
Visit www.philorch.org/resources to access additional instructional resource materials referenced in this guide.
Professional Development
Deepen your understanding of the music presented at the School Concert and investigate specific strategies for integrating orchestral
music into your classroom at a Teacher Workshop. View workshop dates and learn more at www.philorch.org/schoolconcerts under the
Professional Development tab.
Orchestra Docent Program
Enhance the quality of the School Concert experience with a classroom visit from an Orchestra Docent. These enthusiastic volunteers
help prepare students to attend the concert with a presentation designed to increase their knowledge and understanding of the music,
musicians, and the concert hall. Docent visits are free of charge and available to school groups who purchase 25 tickets or more. Send
an e-mail request to [email protected] if you did not indicate your interest when ordering your tickets.
Curriculum Connections
The Philadelphia Orchestra works to align its School Concert program and supplemental materials
with national and state academic content standards, especially those outlined by Pennsylvania’s
Standards Aligned System.
National Standards
for Music Education
Pennsylvania Academic
Content Standards for Music
Published in 1994 by the National Association for Music
Like the national standards for music education, Pennsylvania’s
Education, the national standards for music education offer a
Arts and Humanities Standards, which include music, were
valuable framework for what students should know and be able to
generated by what students should know and be able to do at the
do in music at various levels in their education. Nine content areas,
end of different grade levels (in this case, grades 3, 5, 8, and 12).
listed below, and their subsequent achievement standards define
Because the arts and humanities are interconnected through the
specific competencies students should reach at three educational
inclusion of history, criticism, and aesthetics, they are divided into
levels: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Each lesson in this curriculum guide
the same four standards categories, shown below:
lists the corresponding national content and achievement
9.1 Production, Performance, and Exhibition of
standards .
Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music
9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts
2.Performing on instruments, alone and with others,
9.3 Critical Response
a varied repertoire of music
9.4 Aesthetic Response
3.Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments
4.Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines
5. Reading and notating music
6.Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
7. Evaluating music and music performances
8.Understanding relationships between music, the other arts,
and disciplines outside the arts
9.Understanding music in relation to history and culture
View a complete list of achievement standards for each
educational level by visiting the Teacher Resources
Page at www.philorch.org/resources.
10
As with the national standards, each of the categories also
contains a set of achievement standards that provide a basis of
learning for sustained study in the arts. View the complete list of
Pennsylvania academic standards for the arts and humanities by
visiting the Department of Education website at
www.pdesas.org/Standard/StandardsBrowser.
Pennsylvania Standards
Aligned System:
Curriculum Framework
SAS Curriculum Framework Components
Big Ideas: Declarative statements that describe concepts that
transcend grade levels and are essential to provide focus on
The Department of Education recognizes that great school
specific content for all students
systems tend to have common characteristics, including clear
Concepts: Describe what students should know, key knowledge,
standards for student achievement (outlined previously) and a
as a result of instruction, specific to grade level
framework for curricular activities built around those standards.
As an extension of the already-established academic content
standards, the Standards Aligned System (SAS) contains these
components as well as several others. Visit www.pdesas.org
to become more familiar with this comprehensive approach to
support student achievement in Pennsylvania.
The curriculum framework of the SAS specifies the topics in each
subject area and at each grade level that should be taught to
provide a sequential foundation of learning for students. Various
Competencies: Describe what students should be able to do,
key skills and behaviors, as a result of instruction, specific to
grade level
Essential Questions: Questions connected to the SAS
framework that are specifically linked to the big ideas; they
should assist in learning transfer
Vocabulary: Key terminology linked to the standards, big ideas,
concepts, and competencies in a specific content area and
elements form the structure of this framework and are defined
grade level
below. Each of the lesson units in this curriculum guide outline
Exemplars: Performance tasks that can be used for assessment,
the SAS components (and corresponding academic standards)
instruction, and professional development; exemplars provide
satisfied by the information and activities in that section.
educators with concrete examples of assessing student
understanding of the big ideas, concepts, and competencies
11
Meet The Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra has been entertaining and educating youth audiences for generations,
beginning in 1921 when conductor Leopold Stokowski began his series of Children’s Concerts. The
tradition continues with this year’s School Concert series and the talented musicians and guest artists
who will inspire your imagination.
Artistic Leadership
Longwood Gardens, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Many of
Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his
these performances are part of the ensemble’s free Neighborhood
inaugural season as the eighth artistic leader of The Philadelphia
Concert Series as well as its educational and community partnership
Orchestra in the fall of 2012. He follows an extraordinary history
programs—all of which create greater access and engagement with
of artistic leaders in the Orchestra’s 113 seasons, including music
classical music as an art form.
directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene
Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph
Eschenbach, and Charles Dutoit, who served as chief conductor
from 2008 to 2012. Under such extraordinary guidance The
Philadelphia Orchestra has served as an unwavering standard of
excellence in the world of classical music—and it continues to
do so today.
Yannick’s highly collaborative style, deeply-rooted musical
curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach
to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and
audiences alike. The New York Times has called Nézet-Séguin
“phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble … has
never sounded better.” He is embraced by the musicians of the
Orchestra, audiences, and the community itself. His concerts of
diverse repertoire attract sold-out houses, and he has established
a regular forum for connecting with concert-goers through PostConcert Conversations.
Philadelphia is Home
Philadelphia is home and the Orchestra continues to discover new
Commitment to Education
The Philadelphia Orchestra continues its decades-long tradition of
presenting learning and community engagement opportunities for
listeners of all ages across the Delaware Valley—a tradition dating
back to 1921 when Leopold Stokowski initiated concerts exclusively
for children. Today the Orchestra introduces orchestral music to
a new generation of listeners through programs for children and
adults, from Sound All Around (designed for children ages 3-5) to
Family Concerts (aimed at children ages 6-12 and their families) to
eZseatU (allowing full-time college students to attend an unlimited
number of Orchestra concerts for a $25 annual membership
fee). The Orchestra engages adult audiences more deeply in its
performances through learning programs, including free PreConcert
Conversations, which occur before every subscription concert, and
Lecture/Luncheons with guest speakers. Musician-led initiatives,
including recent highly-successful Cello and Violin Play-Ins, shine a
spotlight on the Orchestra’s musicians, as they spread out from the
stage into the community, and serve a key role in growing young
musician talent and a love of classical music in their own dedicated
and inventive ways to nurture its relationship with its loyal patrons
roles as teachers, coaches, and mentors.
who support the main season (September-May) in Verizon Hall at
The Orchestra connects with the youth of Philadelphia through its
the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The Kimmel Center, for
Billy Joel School Concert Program, which improves access to the
which the Orchestra serves as the founding resident company, has
Orchestra’s School Concerts for underserved city schoolchildren
been the ensemble’s performance hall since 2001. The Philadelphia
and serves elementary and middle schools chosen from within the
Orchestra Association also owns the Academy of Music—a National
School District of Philadelphia. The Orchestra’s School Partnership
Historic Landmark and the oldest operating opera house in the
Program also offers students incomparable exposure and access to
nation—as it has since 1957. Each year the Orchestra returns
The Philadelphia Orchestra and its musicians inside the classrooms
to the “Grand Old Lady of Locust Street”—where it performed
of five selected schools in the Philadelphia region. The program’s
for 101 seasons before moving to the Kimmel Center—for the
teaching artists work side-by-side with classroom teachers using
Academy Anniversary Concert and Ball, one of the city’s most highly
curriculum and materials created by the Orchestra’s education
anticipated and attended events.
department. Finally, The Philadelphia Orchestra collaborates with
Beyond its robust concert offerings at the Kimmel Center, the
schools interested in having Orchestra musicians work with their
Orchestra also performs for Philadelphia audiences during the
summer months at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, as
well as in venues across the region, including Penn’s Landing,
12 Meet the Philadelphia Orchestra
students through the Musicians in the Schools program. These
school visits take the form of assembly programs, performances or
demonstrations, clinics, and master classes or sectionals.
A Cultural Ambassador Abroad
As part of its commitment to bringing classical music to audiences
Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings,
where they are listening, the Orchestra returns to recording under
the Orchestra is a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the
Yannick’s leadership with a newly-released CD on the prestigious
United States. Outside of Philadelphia, the Orchestra performs
Deutsche Grammophon label of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and
annually at Carnegie Hall and enjoys a three-week summer
Leopold Stokowski transcriptions of three of Bach’s most famous
residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New York—a
organ works—his Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, Fugue in
venue that was built for the Orchestra—as well as a strong
G minor (“Little”), and Toccata and Fugue in D minor—as well as
partnership with the Bravo! Vail music festival, which brings the
his transcription of Stravinsky’s “Pastorale.” This continues the
world’s finest orchestras to Colorado each summer.
Orchestra’s remarkable history in this area, having made its first
The Orchestra also has a long history of touring, having first
recording in 1917 and having amassed an enormous discography
performed outside of Philadelphia in the earliest days of its
founding. The Philadelphia Orchestra was the first American
orchestra to perform in the People’s Republic of China in 1973. In
2012 the ensemble reconnected with its historical roots in China
in the intervening years. The Orchestra also currently makes live
recordings available on popular digital music services such as
iTunes and Amazon, among others. In Yannick’s inaugural season
the Orchestra has also returned to the radio airwaves, with weekly
and more deeply embraced its role as a cultural ambassador by
Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM.
launching a new partnership with the National Centre for the
These recent initiatives carry on a legacy that boasts an
Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, a pilot residency that united the
extraordinary record of media firsts, including being the first
Orchestra with talented young Chinese musicians and composers
symphonic orchestra to make electrical recordings (in 1925), the
to further develop their orchestral skills. The residency also served
first to perform its own commercially sponsored radio broadcast (in
to bring orchestral music, through performances and master
1929, on NBC), the first to perform on the soundtrack of a feature
classes, not only to China’s major cities but also further into the
film (Paramount’s The Big Broadcast of 1937), the first to appear
provinces, and to connect through the hearts of local musicians
on a national television broadcast (in 1948, on CBS), and the first
to their supporting communities, through the sharing of musical
major orchestra to give a live cybercast of a concert on the internet
talents between its own musicians and Chinese musicians,
(in 1997). The Orchestra also became the first major orchestra to
engaging in music education, and spreading the joy of classical
multi-cast a concert to large-screen venues through the Internet2
music with citizens in residential neighborhoods and at landmark
network.
historic sites. The success of this pilot program was confirmed
when the Orchestra and the NCPA signed a long-term agreement
to extend this partnership into future residency programs, and
For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit
www.philorch.org.
in May-June 2013 the Orchestra triumphantly returned for its
Residency and Fortieth Anniversary Tour of China—with over 50
activities in 15 days.
An Orchestra that Understands the
Power of Innovation in its Art Form
The Philadelphia Orchestra has long pushed the boundaries
of convention in the classical music realm. Signature to such a
reputation are world or American premieres of such important
works as Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”),
Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, and
Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. The Orchestra maintains a
strong commitment to collaborations with cultural and community
organizations on a regional and national level. Since Orchestra
President and CEO Allison Vulgamore’s arrival in 2010, The
Philadelphia Orchestra has reinvigorated and launched new
partnerships with Pennsylvania Ballet, Philadelphia Live Arts
(Fringe Festival), Philadanco, Opera Philadelphia, the Curtis Institute
of Music, Ridge Theater Company, and stage director James
Alexander, among others.
Meet the Philadelphia Orchestra 13
The Homes of
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts hosts the
Orchestra’s home subscription concerts, as well as its concerts
devoted to youth and family audiences. The Center includes two
performance spaces, the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall, designed and
built especially for the Orchestra, and the 650-seat Perelman
Theater for chamber music concerts. Designed by architect
Rafael Viñoly along with acoustician Russell Johnson of Artec
Consultants Inc., the Kimmel Center provides the Orchestra
with a state-of-the-art facility for concerts, recordings, and
education activities.
The Academy of Music opened in 1857 and is the oldest grand
opera house in the United States still used for its original purpose.
Modeled on Italy’s famous La Scala in Milan, the Academy quickly
became America’s most prestigious opera house, for a time
rivaling New York’s competing offerings. Designated a National
Historic Landmark in 1963, the Academy of Music has benefited
from millions of dollars raised by the Restoration Fund for the
Academy of Music for various renovations and restorations during
the past 50 years.
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the historic
Academy of Music (where the Orchestra performed for 101
seasons) are operated together as a single cultural facility by
Kimmel Center, Inc. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association
continues to own the Academy of Music, as it has since 1957, and
the Orchestra performs there at the highly anticipated Academy
Anniversary Concert and Ball every January.
Meet the Artists
Charlotte Blake Alston Writer and Host on February 4 and 11
Michael Boudewyns Host on February 26 and March 4
Charlotte Blake Alston is a
Michael Boudewyns made his
nationally acclaimed storyteller,
Philadelphia Orchestra debut
narrator, instrumentalist, and
in 2000, and since 2004 has
singer who performs in venues
been a frequent guest artist with
throughout North America
the Orchestra’s popular Family
and abroad, breathing life into
Concerts and Beyond the Score
traditional and contemporary
presentations. This season Mr.
stories from African and
Boudewyns is excited to debut two
African-American oral and
new performances: ’Twas the Night
cultural traditions. She has made multiple appearances at the
before Christmas (December 2013) and The Remarkable Farkle
Smithsonian Institution, the John F. Kennedy Center for the
McBride (February 2014).
Performing Arts, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts,
the National Storytelling Festival, and the National Festival of
Black Storytelling. In September 2010 she was the sole
American invited to perform at the Cape Clear Island
Storytelling Festival in Ireland.
Mr. Boudewyns regularly performs family concerts with other
orchestras across North America, including Winnipeg, Des
Moines, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Richmond, Princeton, Illinois,
Annapolis, Lincoln, New Haven, Richmond, Harrisburg, Kennett,
Newark, Tulane University, the University of Delaware, and the
Ms. Alston is the host of Sound All Around, The Philadelphia
Westchester Philharmonic. Several upcoming orchestra debuts
Orchestra’s concert series for preschool children, and has
include the Singapore Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphony,
appeared as host or narrator on the Orchestra’s Family and
the Victoria Symphony in British Columbia, and the Richardson
School Concerts since 1991. She has also been a featured host,
Symphony.
storyteller, and narrator on the Carnegie Hall Family and School
Concert series since 1995. Ms. Alston has worked with the Opera
Company of Philadelphia (now Opera Philadelphia), Singing City
Choir, and has appeared as a narrator for several other orchestras
around the country, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Saint
Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, and the Indianapolis
Symphony. Her latest libretto, The Children’s March, commissioned
by Singing City Choir for the 2013 Philadelphia International
Festival of the Arts, premiered on April 26, 2013.
In the 2013-14 season Mr. Boudewyns will present Dr. Seuss’s
Green Eggs and Ham with soprano Kimberly Schroeder (Kansas
City Symphony, Delaware Theatre Company, Texarkana Symphony,
Victoria Symphony); Peter and the Wolf (National Symphony,
Indianapolis Symphony, Richardson Symphony, Symphony in C);
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant (Singapore Symphony,
Delaware Theatre Company, James Madison University);
Carnival of the Animals (Symphony in C); Tubby the Tuba (Victoria
Symphony); and Mozart’s Toy Symphony (Kansas City Symphony,
In recognition of her work, Ms. Alston has received numerous
Texarkana Symphony, James Madison University). Mr. Boudewyns
honors including a prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the
is a graduate of the Professional Theatre Training Program at the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s “Artist of the Year” award, which
University of Delaware and is cofounder of
recognizes individual artists for their excellence. She holds two
www.ReallyInventiveStuff.com.
honorary Ph.D.’s and received the Circle of Excellence Award from
the National Storytelling Association. In 2009 Ms. Alston was
named recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston Award, the highest
award bestowed by the National Association of Black Storytellers.
Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra
Season 2013-14
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Davyd Booth
Basses
Music Director
Paul Arnold
Harold Robinson, Principal
Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair
Lorraine and David Popowich Chair
Carole and Emilio Gravagno Chair
Yumi Ninomiya Scott
Michael Shahan, Associate Principal
Dmitri Levin
Joseph Conyers, Assistant Principal
Boris Balter
John Hood
William Polk
Henry G. Scott
Amy Oshiro-Morales
David Fay
Charles Dutoit
Conductor Laureate
Cristian Măcelaru
Associate Conductor
First Violins
David Kim, Concertmaster
Dr. Benjamin Rush Chair
Juliette Kang, First Associate
Concertmaster
Joseph and Marie Field Chair
Ying Fu, Associate Concertmaster
Marc Rovetti, Assistant Concertmaster
Herbert Light
Larry A. Grika Chair
Barbara Govatos
Wilson H. and Barbara B. Taylor Chair
Jonathan Beiler
Hirono Oka
Richard Amoroso
Robert and Lynne Pollack Chair
Violas
Choong-Jin Chang, Principal
Duane Rosengard
Robert Kesselman
Ruth and A. Morris Williams Chair
Some members of the string sections
Kirsten Johnson, Associate Principal
voluntarily rotate seating on a periodic basis.
Kerri Ryan, Assistant Principal
Judy Geist
Renard Edwards
Anna Marie Ahn Petersen
Piasecki Family Chair
David Nicastro
Burchard Tang
Che-Hung Chen
Flutes
Jeffrey Khaner, Principal
Paul and Barbara Henkels Chair
David Cramer, Associate Principal
Rachelle and Ronald Kaiserman Chair
Loren N. Lind
Kazuo Tokito, Piccolo
Rachel Ku
Oboes
Marvin Moon
Richard Woodhams, Principal
Jonathan Chu*
Samuel S. Fels Chair
Peter Smith, Associate Principal
Yayoi Numazawa
Cellos
Jason DePue
Hai-Ye Ni, Principal
Lisa-Beth Lambert
Albert and Mildred Switky Chair
Jennifer Haas
Yumi Kendall, Acting Associate Principal
Miyo Curnow
Wendy and Derek Pew Foundation Chair
Elina Kalendarova
John Koen, Acting Assistant Principal
Clarinets
Daniel Han
Richard Harlow
Ricardo Morales, Principal
Gloria dePasquale
Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Chair
Orton P. and Noël S. Jackson Chair
Samuel Caviezel, Associate Principal
Kathryn Picht Read
Sarah and Frank Coulson Chair
Winifred and Samuel Mayes Chair
Paul R. Demers, Bass Clarinet
Robert Cafaro
Peter M. Joseph and Susan Rittenhouse
Second Violins
Kimberly Fisher, Principal
Peter A. Benoliel Chair
Paul Roby, Associate Principal
Sandra and David Marshall Chair
Dara Morales, Assistant Principal
Anne M. Buxton Chair
Philip Kates
Mitchell and Hilarie Morgan Family
Foundation Chair
Booker Rowe
Volunteer Committees Chair
Ohad Bar-David
Catherine R. and Anthony A. Clifton Chair
Derek Barnes
Mollie and Frank Slattery Chair
Alex Veltman
Jonathan Blumenfeld
Edwin Tuttle Chair
Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English Horn
Joanne T. Greenspun Chair
Joseph Chair
Bassoons
Trombones
Piano and Celesta
Daniel Matsukawa, Principal
Matthew Vaughn, Acting Principal
Kiyoko Takeuti
Richard M. Klein Chair
Neubauer Family Foundation Chair
Mark Gigliotti, Co-Principal
Eric Carlson
Angela Anderson
Blair Bollinger, Bass Trombone
Holly Blake, Contrabassoon
Drs. Bong and Mi Wha Lee Chair
Horns
Tuba
Jennifer Montone, Principal
Carol Jantsch, Principal
Gray Charitable Trust Chair
Lyn and George M. Ross Chair
Jeffrey Lang, Associate Principal
Jeffry Kirschen
Daniel Williams
Denise Tryon
Shelley Showers
Trumpets
Timpani
Don S. Liuzzi, Principal
Dwight V. Dowley Chair
Angela Zator Nelson, Associate Principal
Patrick and Evelyn Gage Chair
Keyboards
Davyd Booth
Michael Stairs, Organ**
Harps
Elizabeth Hainen, Principal
Patricia and John Imbesi Chair
Margarita Csonka Montanaro,
Co-Principal
Librarians
Robert M. Grossman, Principal
Steven K. Glanzmann
Stage Personnel
David Bilger, Principal
Percussion
Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest Chair
Christopher Deviney, Principal
Jeffrey Curnow, Associate Principal
Mrs. Francis W. De Serio Chair
Gary and Ruthanne Schlarbaum Chair
Anthony Orlando, Associate Principal
Anthony Prisk
Ann R. and Harold A. Sorgenti Chair
* On leave
Robert W. Earley
Angela Zator Nelson
** Regularly engaged musician
Edward Barnes, Manager
James J. Sweeney, Jr.
James P. Barnes
Unit #1: Let’s Go to the Orchestra!
Before your students visit The Philadelphia Orchestra in person, introduce them to the instruments
of the orchestra, essential elements of music, and proper concert etiquette with the lessons and
activities in this unit.
Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System for Music Education
The lessons and activities in this unit satisfy the following components of the SAS music education curriculum
framework for the following grades (Gr.):
Big Ideas
Concepts
• The skills, techniques, elements, and principles of the arts
• Musicians use the process of creating/recreating,
can be learned, studied, refined, and practiced (Gr. 2-8)
• Artists use tools and resources as well as their own
experiences and skills to create art (Gr. 2-8)
Essential Questions
• How do people talk about music? (Gr. 2)
• Who can create music? (Gr. 3)
• How can music tell a story? (Gr. 4)
• How can music communicate themes and ideas? (Gr. 5)
rehearsing, reflecting, and revising to improve their
skills (Gr. 3)
• Many different groups of voices and/or instruments can
create music (Gr. 3)
• Different groups of voices and/or instruments have
different sounds (Gr. 4)
• People use the elements and principles of music as tools
for artistic expression (Gr. 6)
Competencies
• Articulate personal opinions of musical works using
appropriate vocabulary (Gr. 2-3)
• Students will describe themes and ideas through
listening and performance of a variety of musical
styles (Gr. 5)
18 Lesson Unit #1: Let’s Go to the Orchestra!
Orchestra Family Portrait
Lisa Tierney, Choral/General Music Teacher, James Dobson School,
School District of Philadelphia, PA
Duration of Lesson
Lesson Materials
30 minutes
•Chalk/white board or chart paper
Lesson Objectives
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
• Name and describe the four instrument families of the
orchestra and at least two instruments from each family
•Choose accurate adjectives to describe the timbre of
instrument families
•Paper (or music journal) and pencil for every student
•Recordings of School Concert repertoire
•CD/mp3 playback device
See www.philorch.org/resources:
•Orchestra Instrument Cards
•Instrument Family Signs (optional)
•Analyze how composers can use instrument families to
Academic Standards
create different characters or moods
National Content Standards for Music
•Use music as inspiration for a story
K-4: 6 b, c, d
Pennsylvania Content Standards
Arts: 9.1.5 a, c, e / 9.3.5 a, b, d / 9.4.5 d
Other Disciplines: 1.4.5 a / 1.5.5 a / 1.6.5 d, e
Introduction
1. Prior to the start of class, draw a tree on the chalk/white board
or chart paper with four large branches and label it, “Orchestra
6. Once in their groups, ask students to discuss with each
other what they think makes their instrument family unique.
Is it a special feature? A material from which they are made?
Family Tree.” Then as they enter the classroom, have each
Or something else?
student take a randomly-selected picture of an orchestral
7. Allow each group a few minutes to share their conclusions
instrument.
with the class. Students should identify the following
2. Once everyone is seated, ask the students, “What makes
characteristics of each family:
a family? We know that there are many different types of
families and each is unique.” Record student responses on
the board. Answers may include physical appearance, shared
•Strings: Made of wood, strings are bowed or plucked
•Woodwinds: Uses air blown into a reed or mouthpiece
•Brass: All made of metal, player buzzes lips into a mouthpiece
character traits, similar ways of speaking, etc.
•Percussion: Instruments are either struck, scraped, or shaken
3. Have the class work together to create a definition of a family.
Help students determine if they are seated with the correct
A simplified answer might be: A group of adults and children in
instrument family and make any necessary adjustments.
a household that share something in common. (Sometimes
they live all together; sometimes they don’t.)
4. Then, tell students to look at the instrument on their card.
Share that each of these instruments belongs to one of
four instrument families on the Orchestra Family Tree: strings,
woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Label each branch of the
tree on the chalk/whiteboard with these terms.
5. Designate four different areas of the room for each family
(signs optional) and ask students to sit with the family to which
they feel their instrument belongs.
Lesson Unit #1: Let’s Go to the Orchestra! 19
Development
Ideas for Differentiated Instruction
8. Explain that composers use the instrument families to portray
Adaptations:
different characters and moods throughout all kinds of music.
Have students listen to the short excerpts below that feature
each family, and instruct them to do the following:
• Stand if they think their group’s instrument family is
being featured
• Choose an adjective to describe the character or mood of
the music
9. Play the following excerpts for the students:
• Brass: Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean, 1:04-1:16,
sample adjectives: triumphant, adventurous
• Strings: “Montagues and Capulets,” from Romeo and Juliet,
2:59-3:17, sample adjectives: dark, gloomy, threatening
• Percussion (also brass): Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean,
2:24-2:43, sample adjectives: urgent, frantic, angry
• Brass (also woodwinds): “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1:13-1:52, sample
adjectives: mysterious, hurried
• Woodwinds: Fourth movement from Symphony No. 5 in
C major, 3:45-4:05, sample adjectives: sad, sorrowful, weeping
• Strings: Theme from The Magnificent Seven, 0:08-0:45,
sample adjectives: heroic, daring
• Woodwinds: Excerpt from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,
0:00-0:46, sample adjectives: mischievous, playful
• Percussion: “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1:52-2:05, sample adjectives:
magical, enchanted
Discuss and record the appropriate adjectives on the board under
the corresponding family on the tree.
Reflection/Conclusion
10. Have students return to their seats, and using paper and
pencil (or in their music journals), ask them to complete
the following:
• Label their paper with their name and the instrument family
of their group
• Using three adjectives from the Orchestra Family Tree for
their chosen family, create a short story (4 or 5 sentences)
with two instruments from that family as the main characters
• Possible topics: family argument, where the family might have
come from, celebration
11. Encourage volunteers to share their stories with the class, and
following selected stories, play corresponding excerpts again.
Ask students to consider how well the story fits the character
that the composer tried to create.
• Designate specific students to be the “recorders” and
allow students with special needs to be their partner during
writing tasks.
• Allow students to provide answers in multiple formats, such
as writing a sentence, writing a list of keywords, or drawing
images/diagrams.
Extensions:
• Allow students to turn their stories into short skits to
be performed for the class and use the recording as “end
titles” music.
• Create a bulletin board display using pictures of instrument
families and stories created by the students.
• Encourage students to draw a “family portrait” of the
members of their instrument family (e.g. Mama Flute, Papa
Clarinet, etc.) and display them next to the stories.
A Virtual Trip to the Orchestra
Elizabeth McAnally, Choral/General Music Teacher, Woodrow Wilson Middle School,
Lesson Objectives
Academic Standards
•Demonstrate and describe appropriate audience behavior
K-4: 6 c / 9 d, e
for an orchestral concert
•Define vocabulary such as concert etiquette, conductor,
Arts: 9.1.5 c, i / 9.2.5 h, k / 9.4.5 c
concertmaster, usher, tuning
Lesson Materials
Introduction
1. Explain to students they will soon be attending a field trip
to hear The Philadelphia Orchestra present its School
Concert. Remind students the date of their trip and the
6. Choose a volunteer to be the conductor (person who leads
a performing ensemble) and another to be the concertmaster
(leader of the first violin section). Ask those students to stand
offstage. Select one or two other students to be ushers and
deadline for returning permission slips.
have them stand at the door.
2. Allow students to work in pairs to make predictions about
7. Ask the audience to line up at the door and imagine they have
one or more of the following questions about the concert
they’re attending: A. What will you see? B. What will you hear?
C. What will you do? Using the board/chart paper, record the
just left their school bus and have arrived at the Kimmel
Center. Have the ushers show the audience to their seats.
Remind the audience they may only whisper or speak very
responses and save for the end of the lesson.
quietly while waiting for the concert to begin.
3. Help students create a list of questions they have about the
8. Explain that before the concert begins, the orchestra members
Orchestra and/or the concert. Post the questions in the
classroom so students can add the answers they discover
will be onstage, warming up on their instruments. Encourage
the orchestra to choose an instrument and pantomime
during preparatory and follow-up lessons.
playing it.
Development
9. Ask the ushers to turn the classroom lights off and on,
4. Discuss with students that different events and locations have
different standards and expectations of behavior. Ask students
to pantomime or describe appropriate behavior for the
lunchroom, the schoolyard, a football or baseball stadium, and
their own living room.
5. Explain to students that they will be acting out proper concert
etiquette, or appropriate behavior, for an orchestra concert.
Divide the class into two equal groups and assign the role of
audience to one group and orchestra to the other group.
Arrange desks/chairs so that the audience and orchestra are
and remind students that when the lights in the concert hall
are lowered, the concert is about to begin. Talking is no
longer appropriate.
10. Direct the concertmaster to enter the stage and bow, while
the audience applauds politely. Explain that the concertmaster
will give the signal to the first chair, or principal, oboe player
to begin the tuning process, so that all of the notes of the
orchestra will match and sound good when they play together.
The musicians need to be able to hear each other while
tuning, so it’s important for the audience to be very quiet.
facing each other.
Lesson Unit #1: Let’s Go to the Orchestra! 21
11. Have the conductor enter the stage and bow, while the
audience again applauds respectfully. Remind students that
a conductor uses gestures to lead the orchestra, and the
music is not completely finished until the conductor lowers
his/her arms.
12. Ask the conductor to pantomime leading the orchestra while
students listen to a short excerpt from the end of a piece
from the School Concert playlist. Challenge the audience not
to be tricked into applauding before the conductor lowers his/
her arms.
13. Remind students when the concert is over, they should remain
quietly in their seats and wait for instructions about exiting the
concert hall to find the bus.
14. Congratulate students for learning appropriate behavior for
an orchestra concert and remind them they will demonstrate
their knowledge during the field trip.
15. After returning desk/chairs to their places, choose students
to read aloud the predictions generated to questions A, B,
and C at the beginning of the lesson. Ask the class to
determine if their predictions were accurate and help them
make any corrections or additions as needed.
16. Ask another student to read aloud the list of questions they
created. Write in any answers they discovered during
the lesson. Tell students they can add answers during other
preparatory lessons and after they return from the concert.
You may also decide to challenge students to find the answers
to questions by asking parents, going to the library, or
researching on the internet.
Adaptation:
• Pair struggling students with a partner while answering
questions A, B, and C.
Extensions:
• Using a computer and projector OR interactive whiteboard,
help students become familiar with The Kimmel Center for
the Performing Arts by taking a virtual tour:
www.kimmelcenter.org/facilities/tour/. If appropriate, allow
volunteers to choose an area of the Kimmel Center and use
the mouse to explore.
• Encourage students to write a short story or draw a picture
that describes a trip to the orchestra and display their work in
the classroom.
• Help students apply concert etiquette to assembly programs
or performances at your school.
Unit #2: Musical Beginnings and Endings
Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
The lessons and activities in this unit satisfy the following components of the SAS music education curriculum
framework for the following grades (Gr.):
Big Ideas
Competencies
•Artists use tools and resources as well as their own
•Students will use appropriate music vocabulary to describe
musical works (Gr. 2)
•The arts provide a medium to understand and exchange
•Students will categorize musical works based on the
ideas (Gr. 2-8)
works’ historical and cultural context (Gr. 4)
•Art is created for a variety of purposes; artists create for a
•Students will experience music written to communicate
variety of reasons (Gr. 2-8)
different themes and ideas and explain how these themes
Essential Questions
•Where do we experience music? (Gr. 2-3)
•How do people use music? (Gr. 2-3)
•Why do people create music? (Gr. 2-5)
•How can music communicate a theme? (Gr. 4-5)
•How do artists tell stories and/or convey messages in
their work? (Gr. 4-5)
•What factors inspire or influence an artist’s work? (Gr. 6-8)
•How do people express meaning through music? (Gr. 6-8)
and ideas affect an audience’s perception of the works
(Gr. 4)
•Students will describe themes and ideas through listening
and performance of a variety of musical styles, e.g.
program music, theatrical music (Gr. 5)
•Students will analyze the role of music in their own culture
(Gr. 5)
•Students will identify artists’ choices and explain how those
choices affect a person’s response to musical works (Gr. 6)
•How do people interpret meaning in music? (Gr. 6-8)
Concepts
•Musicians use the elements and principles of music as
tools for artistic expression (Gr. 2)
•An artist’s use of themes and/or ideas can affect the way
an audience perceives the work (Gr. 4)
•Music can communicate moods or emotions (Gr. 5)
•There are styles of music that are specifically written to
communicate themes and ideas (Gr. 5)
•The choices that an artist makes can affect the way an
audience perceives the work (Gr. 6)
•Music may be performed as a singular art form or in
combination with dance, theater, or the visual arts (Gr. 7)
Lesson Unit #2:Musical Beginnings and Endings 23
Overture and Encore
Just as stories have a beginning (an introduction) and an ending
(a conclusion), orchestra concerts often feature music that
serves a similar purpose. Overtures first appeared as instrumental
openings to operas and ballets, and these pieces—like the overture
from Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro—are now often heard
at the beginning of an orchestra’s performance. Conversely, an
encore (French for “again”) occurs at the end of a concert after
an audience ovation, is typically not printed in the program, and is
usually high-spirited with a quick and lively tempo. Johann Strauss,
Jr.’s “Tritsch-Tratsch” Polka, Op. 214, serves as an excellent ending
to the School Concert especially for this last reason. We challenge
you to stay still in your seat as the Orchestra ends the program with
this animated and enthusiastic dance.
About the Composers and Music
Wolfgang Amadè Mozart and His Operas
the audience for the frantic, conspiratorial story that follows. The
Overture is an especially famous work for orchestra and is played
often as a separate concert piece.
Johann Strauss, Jr., and His Dances
Composing dance music was in
the blood of Austrian composer
Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-99),
as his father, Johann, Sr., was also
famous for his waltzes—dances
written in 3/4 time, where each
measure of music has three beats
and the first beat is accented.
However, Johann the elder wanted
his son to become a banker, not a musician, so Johann the
younger was forced to study the violin in secret. Once his passion
for music was revealed (and his father abandoned the family for a
Wolfgang Amadè Mozart
mistress), Johann, Jr. went on to study composition privately, and
(1756-91) was no ordinary kid.
an intense rivalry grew between the two.
By the age of 11 he had toured
Europe playing for royalty,
composed his first six symphonies,
and written his first opera. A
boy prodigy and musical genius,
Mozart (“MOAT-zart”) became one
of the world’s master composers
of Western music, writing an incredible amount during his short
lifetime of 35 years. But, for all his talent, Mozart had a difficult life,
struggling with financial worries and illness during his later years.
To support the extravagant life Mozart and his wife attempted to
live, success in the court opera house of Austrian ruler Joseph
II was important. Mozart partnered with Lorenzo Da Ponte, a
talented poet and librettist, to create several operas, including
The Marriage of Figaro (1786), a comic opera in four acts. Based
on a revolutionary play by Pierre Beaumarchais, Mozart’s Figaro
removes much of the criticism of aristocratic privilege from the
original. However, Mozart’s music makes the social distinctions
between the characters clear, especially as Count Almaviva’s
personal servant Figaro learns that his master is pursuing the favor
of his bride-to-be, Susanna.
The atmosphere at the outset of the opera is filled with
expectation and excitement, as Figaro and Susanna prepare for
their wedding. The presto Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
successfully sets the stage for the comic (mis)adventures to come,
including blundering eavesdropping, mistaken identity, and sneaky
deception. Even though there are no direct musical connections
between the Overture and the opera itself, the flurry of motion
from beginning to end—heard first in the strings, then in the
woodwinds and horns, and then including the brass—prepares
24 Lesson Unit #2:Musical Beginnings and Endings
Although Strauss, Jr. (“STROUSE”), overshadowed his father in
popularity as the “Waltz King,” he also helped develop other kinds
of dance music, particularly polkas, of which he composed over
100. The title of the “Tritsch-Tratsch” Polka can be translated as
“Chit-Chat” and may refer to the Viennese people’s fondness
for gossip. Often added to the end of a concert as an encore,
this jaunty and high-spirited polka has also been used in popular
culture, including video games, Tom and Jerry cartoons, and the
films Moonraker and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Listening Guides
Underlined terms can be found in the glossary at the back of
this guide.
Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
0:00
Exposition: Bassoons and strings begin with a quiet,
agitated melody with unbalanced phrases (Theme 1a)
0:07
Woodwinds and horns play a broad melody that comprises
the second part of the theme (Theme 1b)
0:28
Transitional passage, with rapidly-moving notes
0:47
Static melody in the violin and viola, with accented,
uneven rhythms
1:07
Closing theme (first part) in the lower voices, a motive that
0:00
Introduction
0:02
A section, first theme
0:13
A section, second theme
0:27
A section, first theme returns
0:48
B section (“trio”), first theme
1:12
B section (“trio”), second theme
1:24
B section (“trio”), first theme returns
1:37
A section returns, first theme
1:49
A section, second theme
2:13
A section, first theme returns
2:23
Coda
rises and then turns downward
1:25
Closing theme (second part) in bassoons and first violins,
a lyrical melody
1:49
Skipping the traditional development section,
Mozart moves right to the recapitulation and the first
theme returns
2:15
The second theme returns
2:36
The first part of the closing theme returns
2:54
The second part of the closing theme returns
3:26
Coda: Descending scale passages and forceful
chords lead to the end
Once Upon a Time They
Lived Happily Ever After
Duration of Lesson
Lesson Materials
45 minutes
Lesson Objectives
• Discuss the role of beginnings and endings in establishing
boundaries to both musical and non-musical events
•Demonstrate understanding of steady beat, rhythm, and
dynamics through movement to music
•Compare and contrast two pieces of music
•Express and defend a musical opinion using appropriate
musical and non-musical vocabulary
•3” x 5” index cards
•Pens or thin markers
•Clear or masking tape
• Recordings of School Concert repertoire
•Space for movement
•Venn diagram handout (optional for extension)
Academic Standards
K-4: 6 b, c, d, e / 7 b / 8 b
Arts: 9.1.5 a, c, e, f, I / 9.2.5 k / 9.3.5 a, d / 9.4.5 b
Other Disciplines: 1.6.5 d
Introduction
1. Before the lesson, post two pieces of chart paper, one labeled
“Beginning” and one labeled “Ending.” (Or, create two columns on the board.)
2. Divide students into partners or small groups and provide each
group with six 3” x 5” index cards and a pen or thin marker.
3. Ask students to think of three words, phrases, or images that
are associated with the beginning of something, e.g. the
beginning of a story, a movie, an essay, the school year, or a
football game. Record each idea on an index card. Responses
might include: introduction, once upon a time, theme song,
September, or kick-off.
4. Next, ask students to think of three words, phrases, or images
that are associated with the end of something, and record
each of those ideas on an index card. Responses might
include: conclusion, end credits, take a bow, happily ever after,
or final buzzer.
5. Ask each group to send one person to the front of the room
to tape their three beginning cards to the chart paper labeled
“Beginning.” Then, each group should send a different person
to tape their ending cards to the chart paper labeled “Ending.”
26 Lesson Unit #2:Musical Beginnings and Endings
6. Choose a student to read aloud the responses posted under
“Beginning.” Discuss how the answers are the same and
different. Ask students if there is anything they feel should be
added, and write those responses on the chart paper. Repeat
this step with the responses posted under “Ending.”
7. Share with students that the beginnings and endings show
the boundaries of that event, separating the special nature of
the event from the ordinary nature of life. Remind students that
the theme of this year’s Philadelphia Orchestra School Concert
is Musical Storytelling: Create Your Own Adventure. An
adventure has a beginning and an ending, and since this is
a musical adventure, the beginning and ending will be music
carefully chosen to separate the imaginary world of the story
from the real world outside the concert hall.
8. Ask students to consider how the music used at the beginning
and ending of a movie, television show, musical, or opera could
be similar to the descriptions of beginnings and endings
posted on the chart pages.
Development
9. Introduce students to Johann Strauss, Jr.’s “Tritsch-Tratsch”
12. Provide two more index cards for each partnership or small
Polka, Op. 214. Have students engage with the music by
group and have students label the cards with the titles of the
choosing one or more of the following movement activities to
pieces. Ask each group to decide which piece seems more like
accompany multiple listenings:
a beginning and which seems more like an ending. Have
• Keep the steady beat through a follow-the-leader game,
students post their cards on the “Beginning” and “Ending”
with students taking turns choosing a motion or action to
chart pages from earlier in the lesson.
show the beat
13. Provide each group an opportunity to share and defend their
• Teach students the basic “hand jive”: pat knees twice, clap
twice, slice right hand over left twice, slice left hand over right
twice, tap right fist on left fist twice, tap left fist on right fist
twice, right thumb over right shoulder twice, and left thumb
over left shoulder twice. Then, have students work in pairs to
create and demonstrate their own hand jive pattern
• Teach this adaptation of the polka step:
1. Stand in a circle around the classroom
2. Step forward on the right foot, bring the left foot partway
up to the right, step on the right foot again. Step forward
on the left foot, bring the right foot partway up to the left,
step on the left foot again. (Feet will move to the rhythm
two eighths-quarter, two eighths-quarter)
3.Repeat this step toward the center of the circle for four
measures, raise arms, and shout, “Hey!”
4.Reverse direction, moving backward toward the outside of
the circle for four measures, raise arms, and shout, “Hey!”
5.You may wish to perform the steps in half-time since the
choice, and then add up the votes to see how the class votes
as a whole.
14. Explain that the word “overture” refers to music played at the
beginning of an opera, ballet, or concert, and that for this
reason, Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro will be
performed first at the School Concert, and the Polka will be
played last.
Adaptations:
• Pair/group students so that special learners can benefit from
the assistance of other students.
• For students with limited mobility, the polka rhythm from
step 9 may be demonstrated as follows:
1. Tap right hand on right knee while holding left hand above it
2. Lift right hand and tap top of right hand on the palm of the
left hand
3. Tap right hand on right knee again
4. Tap left hand on left knee while holding right hand above it
10. Next, introduce the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro by
5. Lift left hand and tap top of left hand on the palm of the
Wolfgang Mozart, with one or more movement activities
right hand
during repeated listenings:
tempo of the “Tritsch-Tratsch” Polka is very quick.
• Help students discover the duple meter and teach them how
to conduct it (see Appendix D)
• Encourage students to respond to the changing dynamics
by crouching down for pianissimo and standing tall with
arms raised for fortissimo
• Have students experience the melodic rhythm by standing
in place and “putting the rhythm in your feet.” For a lower energy alternative, use two fingers to tap the rhythm on
a desktop
11. Draw a large Venn diagram on the board/chart paper. Help
students compare and contrast the two pieces, and choose
a student to record the class’s observations on the diagram.
Encourage students to use appropriate musical vocabulary in
6. Tap left hand on left knee again
Extensions:
• If time allows, have each students create a Venn diagram
comparison of the two pieces on their own, and then share
answers to create a class version.
• Provide pencil and paper for students to create a
listening map of one or both pieces, and display them
in the classroom.
• Experience other musical beginnings and endings by
listening to the opening and closing pieces from a
movie soundtrack.
• Allow students to conduct an internet search for overtures
and finales, and choose one of each to explore together.
their discussions.
Unit #3: Musical Places
Badelt/arr. Ricketts Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean
Williams “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The lessons and activities in this unit satisfy the following components of the SAS music education curriculum framework
for the following grades (Gr.):
Big Ideas
• Artists use tools and resources as well as their own
ideas (Gr. 2-8)
Competencies
Essential Questions
•Students will categorize musical works based on the works’
historical and cultural context (Gr. 4)
•In what ways are people consumers of music? (Gr. 4-5)
and ideas affect an audience’s perception of the works (Gr. 4)
•How do artists tell stories and/or convey messages in their
and performance of a variety of musical styles, e.g. program
work? (Gr. 4-5)
music, theatrical music (Gr. 5)
•In what ways do the elements and principles of music
•Students will analyze the role of music in their own culture
influence what we see, hear, and touch every day? (Gr. 6-8)
(Gr. 5)
•How does music reflect the time and place in which it was
created? (Gr. 6-8)
Concepts
•Musicians use the elements and principles of music as tools
•People can use music to express details of their lives (Gr. 4)
•Music plays an important role in culture (Gr. 5)
•The setting of a musical work can affect an audience’s
response to that work (Gr. 5)
•Musicians can use music to influence the way people view
the world (Gr. 6)
28 Lesson Unit #3: Musical Places
Soundtracks
Elmer Bernstein and Music of the Western
Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004)
Imagine what it would be like to watch a movie or television
composed music for more than
show that didn’t have any music. Could the writer and/or director
200 major film and television
tell the story as well without a soundtrack to establish the
scores, and although the two were
story’s setting? For instance, what is it about the sound of an
friends, he was not related to
accordion that instinctively takes us to a café along the Avenue
famed conductor and composer
des Champs-Élysées in Paris? Film soundtracks are excellent
Leonard Bernstein. Born in
examples of how composers tell stories with musical sounds
New York City, Elmer Bernstein
that describe particular places and situations. When we hear
John Williams’s “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone, we are taken instantly to a magical world filled
with adventure and excitement. The themes from The Magnificent
Seven and Pirates of the Caribbean achieve a similar effect by
transporting us to specific locations in our imaginations. Which
soundtrack would provide the best setting for our School Concert
(“BURN-steen”) was a gifted
pianist who, at the age of 12, had the chance to perform several
of his improvisations for revered composer Aaron Copland. Upon
the recommendation of Copland, Bernstein began studying with
renowned teacher Israel Citkowitz, and spent his life as a concert
pianist, conductor, and composer around the world. He received
adventure?
14 Academy-Award nominations, including for The Magnificent
Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Klaus Badelt and Music of the Pirates
Born in Frankfurt, Germany, Klaus
Badelt (b. 1967) moved to the
United States in 1998 when
Academy Award-winning film
composer Hans Zimmer (The Lion
King) invited Klaus Badelt (“clouse
BAH-delt”) to work at his studios
in Santa Monica, California. He has
composed music for more than
70 films and is best known for writing the score to Pirates of the
Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Telling a beautiful story
matters a lot to Badelt, and he believes, “If you come out of the
Seven, and he won the coveted Oscar in 1967 for his score to
As a film genre, westerns arose from an oft-fictionalized history
of the expansion of the American West in the 1800s, with lore
that included gambling, gun fighting, cattle driving, and bank
robberies. The music that accompanied early westerns was
considered grandiose and colorful, but it was written mostly in
a classical European style. With the score to The Magnificent
Seven (1960), Elmer Bernstein is credited with bringing vibrant,
wide-open melodies driven by thundering, syncopated percussion
to the western and influencing the work of other composers. The
definitive score to this movie was named number eight on the
American Film Institute’s Top 25 Film Scores of all time in 2005.
John Williams and Music of the Magical World
theater moved and inspired, I couldn’t have done better.” In 2008
Best known for his film scores
Badelt was the only Western composer invited to write music for
and ceremonial music, John
the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Williams (b. 1932) was born in
Originally film composers Alan Silvestri and then Hans Zimmer
were asked to compose the score to Pirates, and unable to do so,
Zimmer recommended Badelt for the assignment. Due to a tight
three-week schedule, eight other composers—including Zimmer—
helped orchestrate the music and create additional material.
When the soundtrack album was released, Badelt was credited
as the composer. Within the suite arranged by Ted Ricketts for
symphony orchestra, portions of six of the album’s tracks are
included: Fog Bound, The Medallion Calls, To the Pirates’ Cave!,
The Black Pearl, One Last Shot, and He’s a Pirate.
Long Island, New York, and moved
with his family to Los Angeles at
age 16. He studied composition
at the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA), before serving
several years in the Air Force, after
which he moved to New York and attended the Juilliard School.
After working as a jazz pianist for a short time, Williams returned
to Los Angeles and began his career in the film industry.
Williams has written the music for nearly 80 films and composed
some of the most famous motion picture themes ever, including
those to Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1975), Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981), E.T.: the Extra Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), A.I.
Artificial Intelligence (2001), and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone (2001). He’s received 48 Academy Award nominations in
his career and won five times, and his Oscar-winning score to
Lesson Unit #3: Musical Places 29
Star Wars was named the American Film Institute’s number one
4:28
film score of all time in 2005. Williams is a past conductor of the
Boston Pops (1980-1993) and has appeared as guest conductor
with many major orchestras, including The Philadelphia Orchestra.
The first choice of the film’s director, Christopher Columbus,
John Williams created a large symphonic, bold, colorful score for
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone that matches the fanciful,
story-book cinematography and compelling characters of J.K.
Rowling’s novel. He accomplishes this, in part, through the use of
leitmotifs, which are short, recurring musical themes associated
with a particular character, place, idea, or mood. “Hedwig’s Theme”
contains one such leitmotif, a whimsical waltz melody to represent
Harry’s snowy owl that features the unique quality of the celesta.
The music captures a world of weightlessness and flight, and
the theme became the foundation of the score throughout the
entire series. Williams said the following about the use of this
musical device, “So much of successful film scoring relies on a
gratifying melodic identification for the characters. I try to draw on
“He’s a Pirate,” music that accompanies the beginning of
the film’s credits
0:00
Introduction, tutti syncopated chords
0:08
The Magnificent Seven main theme
0:28
Main theme repeats
0:55
Variation 1 of main theme
1:18
Variation 2 of main theme, solo trumpet
1:50
Secondary theme
2:02
Secondary theme repeats
2:21
B section, slower tempo, rhythmic motives
2:54
Variation 3 of main theme, solo trumpet
3:14
Leitmotif for Caldara, the villain
3:25
Main theme returns
3:50
Main theme repeats
4:16
Variation 4 of main theme
4:37
Coda
something that marries very well with what I’m seeing.” In this way,
Williams “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and
the music becomes as important of a storyteller as the camera or
the script.
0:00
Hedwig’s theme, A phrase, celesta
0:17
Hedwig’s theme, B phrase, celesta
0:42
Hedwig’s theme, French horns
Underlined terms can be found in the glossary at the
1:12
Hedwig’s theme, A phrase only, French horns
back of this guide.
1:27
Primary flying theme, staccato woodwinds
1:39
Primary flying theme repeats, trumpets
Listening Guides
Badelt Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean
0:00
“Fog Bound,” lilting jig theme in compound meter
0:38
Film’s love theme
0:59
“The Medallion Calls,” Captain Jack Sparrow’s theme
2:10
“To the Pirates’ Cave!,” music that accompanies the
climactic battle of the film
2:44
“The Black Pearl,” another main theme used at various
points throughout the film
3:47
“One Last Shot,” music that accompanies the final scenes
of the film
2:06
Variation of primary flying theme, violins
2:24
Primary flying theme, tutti
2:40
Secondary flying theme, violins
3:04
Primary flying theme, brass and woodwinds
3:19
Secondary flying theme
3:38
Primary flying theme returns
3:55
Fragments of Hedwig’s theme, A phrase, reappear
4:16
Hedwig’s theme, A phrase, trombones
4:28
Coda
Musical Comic Strip
Lisa Tierney, Choral/General Music Teacher, James Dobson School, School District of Philadelphia, PA
Duration of Lesson
Lesson Materials
One or two 45-minute lessons, depending on student
experience with technology
•One computer for every one or two students with internet
Lesson Objectives
•Describe listening selections using musical and
non-musical vocabulary
•Use music as inspiration for characters, character traits,
and plot of an original story
•Employ computer software to create and exhibit a story
with music
•Analyze the role of music in telling a story and describe
similarities between music and storytelling
access, iPhoto, iTunes, and Comic Life software (free trial
download at http://comiclife.com, or Microsoft Power
Point can be used)
•Laptop, projector, and speakers (optional)
•Three mp3 files of music excerpts from Pirates of the
Caribbean, The Magnificent Seven, and Harry Potter and
•Musical Comic Strip handout (and a pencil for each student)
Academic Standards
K-4: 6 b 7a / 8b / 9c
Arts: 9.1.5 c, d, e, j, k / 9.3.5 a, d
Other Disciplines: 1.3.5 b / 1.4.5 a / 1.5.5 a, c, d, f / 1.6.5 d,
e, f / 3.7.4 d, e
Introduction
1. Review the following story elements and have students define
and demonstrate their knowledge of each using a tale that’s very
familiar to them, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
• Setting: The house of the three bears
•Characters: Goldilocks, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear
3. Share that in a movie’s soundtrack, composers often use music
to describe a character. Ask students to name any short theme
songs they have heard that immediately tells them the
character is there. Examples might include the two-note motive
from Jaws (John Williams), the jazzy melody of The Pink
Panther (Henry Mancini), and the galloping theme of The Lone
•Plot (sequence of events): Goldilocks enters house, tries the
Ranger (Rossini’s Overture to William Tell).
porridge in the kitchen, the chairs in the living room, the
4. Explain for students they are going to use three pieces of
beds in the bedroom; Goldilocks falls asleep until the three
orchestral music from movie soundtracks to create three
bears return, discover her, and chase her from their home
different characters, and later, they will take these characters
2. Prompt: “If we had to choose a theme song for our main
and create a short story with a setting and a plot.
character, Goldilocks, what music would you choose,
and why?” Help students use musical vocabulary to describe
their answers.
Development
5. Distribute a Musical Comic Strip handout to each student,
and explain you will play a portion (or excerpt) of three
different (unidentified) pieces of music, twice. As they listen,
students should brainstorm five adjectives (review this term as
needed) to describe the sounds they hear. These words should
be entered into the corresponding boxes.
• Excerpt #1: Theme from The Magnificent Seven, 0:00-0:27
• Excerpt #2: “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer’s Stone, 0:00-0:40
• Excerpt #3: Suite from Pirates of the Caribbean, 0:57-1:33
Note: mp3 files of these excerpts can be downloaded at
www.philorch.org/resources
6. Ask students to choose their favorite adjective for each excerpt
and either circle it or place a star next to it. Choose volunteers
to share examples with the class.
7. Play each excerpt for the students two more times, and ask
them to do the following:
• Create a main character that might use this music as his/
her/its theme and enter this information into their handout
• List two character traits for each character and write these
on the handout as well
8. Direct students to share what they’ve written with a partner,
14. Instruct students to use Google (or another preferred web
search engine) to find appropriate images for each of their
characters and for the setting of their stories. Drag or save
each image to the desktop.
15. Students can drag and drop each image onto the Comic Life
page where the characters will be featured. Explain that
and remind them that there is no correct answer! All responses
images may be used more than once throughout the project.
are valid and important.
Resize the pictures as needed by dragging the corner to
9. Ask for volunteers to share character traits for each excerpt
and list their responses on the board in three columns, one for
each piece.
10. Explain that students will create short movies that will feature
each piece of music and each character. They will also decide
the setting and the plot, creating a story that is between 5-10
sentences in length.
Optional stopping point for part one.
11. Review the first page of the Musical Comic Strip handout,
make the image larger or smaller.
16. Have students go to the first page (Title Page), click on
“Lettering,” and type the title of the story. If they click the “Style”
button, there are many options for how the text will appear on
the page.
17. Direct students to go to page 2 on the left column. Have them
add the first sentence of the story by choosing a speech
bubble and dragging it onto the page. If the bubble needs to
be larger, choose the “Bigger” option.
and then have students write their short stories on page two,
incorporating all three characters, including at least one
character trait for each, and using the three circled (or starred)
adjectives from the musical excerpts. They may choose the
setting and storyline.
12. Direct students to open Comic Life (or PowerPoint) on
their computers, and under “Page Templates,” select
“Built-in Backgrounds.”
13. Click “Page” and then “New Blank Page.” A new page will
appear and students should drag a page color over to page 2.
Repeat this process until there is a page for each sentence in
the story plus an additional page for the title.
18. Students should continue adding one sentence of the story
to each page. Remind them to check their spelling and save
their document often.
19. Now it’s time to make the comic strip into a movie. Tell
students to click “File” and choose “Export to iPhoto.” Be sure
the format is a TIFF file, then click “Export.” The file is now
located in the iPhoto program.
Adaptations:
• If technology is not available or students are too young,
students may create a flipbook using paper, markers, and
crayons. The project can be completed in the same manner
listed above, just as a hard copy instead of digitally.
Extensions:
• Students experienced with technology and adept at story
writing can expand and extend their comic to a full-length
story (incorporating exposition, conflict, turning point, and
20. Have students open iPhoto and click on “Slide Show Options”
and then “Select a Theme.”
21. Students may also select music they want to be played during
the slideshow. If you’re able to upload the mp3 sound files
resolution). This could be printed out and shared or
turned into a more substantial movie using iPhoto or
iMovie software.
• Other music could be incorporated into the story in addition
to the required selections used in the lesson.
(found at www.philorch.org/resources) to each computer,
students can create their own soundtrack by adding the three
excerpts in the order that would best fit their stories.
22. Students may also choose how long each slide should appear.
Remind them that the audience will want to read each page, so
each slide should be at least five to eight seconds long.
23. Instruct students to select “Export” at the bottom of their
screens, select either “Medium” or “Large” size, and then click
on the “Export” button. The project will be sent automatically
to iTunes and begin to play.
24. Have students switch computers with their classmates and
view their movies, or choose students to connect their
computer to a projector and speakers to show the class.
25. Discuss the students’ thoughts about using music to tell a
story using the following questions:
• How did the music help tell the story?
• Was the music suitable for the character and the storyline?
• What other music would you have chosen for your story?
• Did this project remind you of the use of music in television
and the movies?
• How are music and storytelling alike? How are
they different?
Unit #4: Musical Action
Prokofiev “Montagues and Capulets,” from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64
Big Ideas
•Artists use tools and resources as well as their
own experiences and skills to create art (Gr. 2-8)
ideas (Gr. 2-8)
•Art is created for a variety of purposes; artists create for
a variety of reasons (Gr. 2-8)
Competencies
•Students will use appropriate music vocabulary to
describe musical works (Gr. 2)
Essential Questions
•Students will create and perform music, focusing on the
artistic process, creating/recreating, rehearsing,
reflecting, revising (Gr. 3)
•Students will categorize musical works based on the
works’ historical and cultural context (Gr. 4)
•How do artists tell stories and/or convey messages
in their work? (Gr. 4-5)
different themes and ideas and explain how these
•What factors inspire or influence an artist’s work?
themes and ideas affect an audience’s perception of the
(Gr. 6-8)
works (Gr. 4)
•How do people express meaning through music?
•Students will describe themes and ideas through
(Gr. 6-8)
listening and performance of a variety of musical styles,
e.g. program music, theatrical music (Gr. 5)
•How does music reflect the time and place in which it
was created? (Gr. 6-8)
Concepts
•Musicians use the elements and principles of music as
tools for artistic expression (Gr. 2)
•People can use music to express details of their lives
(Gr. 4)
•Music plays an important role in culture (Gr. 5)
•Musicians can use music to influence the way people
view the world (Gr. 6)
34 Lesson Unit #4: Musical Action
Dramatic Music
Igor Stravinsky and The Firebird
Another Russian composer Igor
For hundreds of years, orchestral music has provided the
Stravinsky (1882-1971), changed
soundtrack for stories of action and adventure—that of opera and
the sound of Western classical
ballet. These art forms use dramatic music, along with song
music in the 20th century with his
or dance, to communicate a theatrical situation with a central
innovative ideas and creative risks.
conflict. Prokofiev’s “Montagues and Capulets” describes the
Recognized as a modern composer
feud between the families in his ballet Romeo and Juliet, based
for modern times, Igor Stravinsky
on Shakespeare’s play. The clash in Stravinsky’s “Infernal Dance
(“EE-gor strah-VIN-skee”) remains
of King Kastcheï,” from his ballet The Firebird is between the
hero Prince Ivan and the evil forces of the magical Kastcheï.
Occasionally, music will take on a different meaning outside its
original context, as is the case with Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,”
from his opera Die Walküre, where the piece is frequently used in
filmmaking and television productions at moments of brutal conflict
best known for the music he wrote
for impresario Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes: The Firebird
(1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). Although
he continued to explore various styles of composition throughout
his career, Stravinsky’s later works never brought him the same
(e.g. military battle).
degree of recognition as his music for the ballet.
Based on an exotic Russian fairy tale, The Firebird follows the
Sergei Prokofiev and Romeo and Juliet
Russian composer Sergei
Prokofiev (1891-1953) began
composing music as early as
age five and had composed an
opera and a symphony by age 11.
He entered the St. Petersburg
Conservatory two years later,
where he was several years
younger than his classmates
and was often viewed as eccentric and arrogant. While in
St. Petersburg, Prokofiev (“pro-COHFF-ee-ehf”) developed
a reputation as a musical rebel and his early compositions
frequently caused scandals. In his professional life, Prokofiev
would travel and live in the United States and Paris before
returning to the Soviet Union permanently in 1936, the same year
he completed two of his most famous works: a piece for children,
Peter and the Wolf, and the ballet Romeo and Juliet.
As Prokofiev completed work on Romeo and Juliet—based
on the popular play by William Shakespeare—the production
encountered problems. Frustrated, the composer created two
orchestral suites from the ballet’s score, which were heard in
concert form before the music was ever staged. “Montagues
and Capulets” is the first movement in the second suite, and
with its extreme dynamic range and dissonant harmonies, boldly
illustrates the harsh conflict and violent hostility between the
two families of the title characters. With this work and others like
Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev established himself as one of the
master musical storytellers of his time.
story of Prince Ivan as he finds himself lost in the woods while
hunting. He encounters an enchanted bird that gives him a
magic feather with which he may summon her for help. The
following day, in the courtyard of a castle, Ivan comes upon
13 princesses who are being held captive by the wicked King
Kastcheï the Deathless who turns anyone who attempts to
rescue the princesses into stone. But this does not discourage
the heroic Prince.
Ivan enters the castle where he encounters the forces of the evil
magician, which is where we hear the “Infernal Dance of King
Kastcheï.” As battle ensues, Ivan waves the firebird’s feather, and
she arrives during the conflict to protect the young prince, casting
a spell that pushes Kastcheï and his minions into an enchanted
sleep. The firebird leads Ivan to a large egg that contains the
magician’s soul, and as he crushes the egg, the castle disappears,
those turned to stone come back to life, and the Prince wins the
hand of the most beautiful princess.
Richard Wagner and The Ring of the Nibelung
Born in Leipzig, Germany, Richard
Wagner (1813-83) developed a
great interest as a boy in drama
and the symphonies of Ludwig
van Beethoven, particularly the
Ninth Symphony. Richard Wagner
(“REE-card VAHG-ner”) believed
this monumental work, with its use
of voices, pointed to the future of
music as later exemplified by his own operas. Words and music
must be combined, Wagner argued, to produce “music drama,” an
experience that touched all senses and emotions.
To achieve his ideal, Wagner felt that all elements of “music
drama”—music, lyrics, staging—should form a single cohesive unit,
Lesson Unit #4: Musical Action 35
and he created his own passionate librettos set to continuous
music. Wagner used the orchestra not simply to accompany
0:09
Bassoon and horns introduce the syncopated theme of
the singers, as it so often did in previous operas, but as another
King Kastcheï in the low range of their instruments
character in the action, primarily through the use of “leitmotifs,” or
0:47
First appearance of dissonant chords played by the tutti
musical phrases associated with a particular character, place, idea,
orchestra as the wicked magician casts spells against
or mood. This recurring thematic material connects different parts
Prince Ivan
of an entire work, and is demonstrated in his cycle of four related
1:56
Key change to a major key as the firebird arrives to help
operas, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung),
the prince defend himself against Kastcheï
based on a Norse myth of a magic ring.
2:33
Subito change back to chromatic sounds at a piano
It took Wagner more than 25 years to create the more than
dynamic level as the evil forces begin a dance that leads
to their enchanted sleep
4:33
At the School Concert, the “Infernal Dance” movement
and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods). One of the most
will end at this point on the recording
famous selections heard from these operas is the “Ride of the
17 hours of music of the four-part Ring, which includes Das
Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried,
Valkyries,” which opens the third, and final, act of Die Walküre. The
music depicts the nine daughters of the chief god, Wotan, as they
transport the bodies of fallen heroes to their final resting place in
the majestic Valhalla. Although Wagner’s music was loved by some
and hated by others, his remarkable musical accomplishments
changed the course of opera, and in many ways all music, forever.
Listening Guides
this guide.
Prokofiev “Montagues and Capulets,” from Romeo and Juliet,
Op. 64
0:00
Introduction, no thematic material, Prokofiev creates a
dark, foreboding mood with extreme dynamic levels and
dissonant harmonies
0:22
Subito pianissimo, strings
0:45
Woodwinds and brass build layers to fortissimo
1:05
Return to pianissimo
1:31
A section begins, brass, beats emphasized in pesante
style, signifying the start of the Capulet Ball and the
family dancing in a slow and dignified manner
1:36
Primary theme, strings
2:15
Secondary theme, brass
2:59
Primary theme returns, strings
3:20
Stark contrast in B section, pianissimo, theme played
by flutes
4:12
Celesta enters
4:28
Shortened A section returns, moment where Juliet has
laid eyes on Romeo at the Ball
4:32
Primary theme, tenor saxophone and clarinet
4:52
Theme repeats, strings
0:00
Rushing string figure alternates with fast wavering notes
in the woodwinds, creating a scene in the skies
0:07Insistent dotted figure begins in the horns and low
strings, representing the magical horses of the
Valkyrie sisters
0:21
Famous “Ride” leitmotif first heard in minor key by
French horns
0:33
“Ride” motif repeats, now heard in major key by trumpets
0:46
Four-note dotted motif exchanged between high and low
instruments, above furious woodwind notes
1:04
“Ride” motif heard fortissimo, as the curtain opens on
Act III
1:20
Four-note dotted motifs heard, as the first Valkyrie sister
makes her battle cry
1:45
“Ride” motif heard in low brass, first in minor, then major
2:15
Climax with timpani and cymbals announcing the cries of
the Valkyries to Brünnhilde, as the notes descend
3:07
“Ride” motif returns
3:25
Four-note dotted motifs return, exchanged between high
and low
3:46
Tutti statement of “Ride” motif, over fast wavering notes
in woodwinds
4:18
Coda
Musical Antonyms: Advancing Drama
by Creating Conflict and Resolution
Duration of Lesson
Lesson Materials
45 minutes
•3” x 5” index cards and a pencil for each student
Lesson Objectives
•Define and give examples of antonym, consonance,
dissonance, conflict, and resolution
•Demonstrate consonance and dissonance on a
pitched instrument
•Analyze and compare the use of dissonance and
consonance in music with conflict and resolution
in literature
•Use music as inspiration to create an original story
•Pitched instruments, such as xylophones, recorders, voices,
or piano
•SMART board/Overhead projector (optional)
•Musical Antonyms Story Map template (blank)
•Musical Antonyms Story Map models to display or distribute
for “Montagues and Capulets,” “Infernal Dance of King
Kastcheï,” and “Ride of the Valkyries.”
Academic Standards
K-4: 2 b, f / 4 a / 6 b, c, e / 8 a, b / 9 a, e
Arts: 9.1.5 a, b, c, d, e, f / 9.2.5 k, l / 9.3.5 a / 9.4.5 d
Other Content Areas: 1.1.5 e, f / 1.2.5 c / 1.3.5 b / 1.4.5 a /
1.6.5 b, d, e
Introduction
1. As they enter the room, hand each student a 3” x 5” index card
and a pencil. Write the word “antonym” on the board/chart paper.
2. Help students create a definition of antonym—a word that
means the opposite of another word. Model an example of
an antonym pair, such as hot/cold, and write it on the board/
chart paper.
3. Have the students do a Quick Write, and when you say “go,”
they will have one minute to write down as many antonym pairs
as possible on their index card. Play simultaneously the notes
C and D on a pitched instrument when you say “go.” Give a
warning when 15 seconds remain, and at the end of one
minute, play a C and E simultaneously when you say “stop.”
4. Allow students one minute to share their answers with a
neighbor, adding additional antonyms to their cards where
possible. Afterwards, choose volunteers to share some of their
answers with the class, with a student recording answers on
the board/chart paper.
5. If students used musical vocabulary, such as piano/forte,
highlight (circle or underline) these terms. If they did not, guide
the students to translate applicable terms, such as fast/slow,
into musical terms (e.g. quiet/loud = piano/forte, fast/slow =
presto/largo) and highlight the musical terms.
6. Ask students if they noticed the notes you played on your
pitched instrument when you said “go” and “stop” and replay
them in the order given (C and D, then C and E). Ask them to
describe these sounds and write the descriptions of the board/
chart paper. Answers might include, “the first one sounded
like a mistake and the second one sounded nicer.” Share with
students that what they’ve just heard is another type of musical
antonym: consonance and dissonance.
7. Define consonance as “notes that sound pleasing when played
together” and dissonance as “notes that sound unpleasant
when played together.” Write these definitions on the board/
chart paper and add consonance and dissonance to the list of
highlighted musical antonyms.
8. Have one student volunteer play the notes C and D at the
16. Read aloud the story of Prokofiev’s “Montagues and Capulets”
same time on a xylophone or piano so that other students
from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, from the Story Map model.
can see the position of the notes on the instrument. Have
Display the story either on a SMART board, overhead
the other students signal if they think it is consonance or
projector, or on paper.
dissonance by cupping their hand in the shape of a “C”
for consonance, or closing their fingers with the index
finger raised for a “D.” Students should select dissonance
in this example.
9. Ask the volunteer to move from the D to the E and play both
notes (C and E) at the same time. Students should signal “C”
or “D” (A: consonance).
17. Ask students to predict where they think they will hear
dissonance in this music—Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3, and why?
Model completing this section on the Story Map. Guide
student to identify a dissonance in the first section of the
“Montagues and Capulets.”
18. Listen to an excerpt from Prokofiev’s piece, 0:00-1:53, and
have students compare their inferences in Part 1 with what
10. Next, have the volunteer move from the E to the F and play
they heard in the music. Were they correct? (The music begins
both notes (C and F) together. Again, students should signal
with dissonance.) Is this consistent with the action in the
“C” or “D” (A: consonance).
story? (Yes, the story begins with conflict.)
11. Ask students what they noticed about the movement of the
19. Challenge students to recognize dissonance when it occurs in
notes played and the qualities of consonance and dissonance.
two other musical examples. Play the following excerpts
Responses might include “the closer or side-by-side notes
without identifying their titles, and ask students to raise their
were dissonant, and the notes further apart were consonant.”
hands when they hear dissonance.
Share the analogies that as notes get closer together, they
• Excerpt A: “Infernal Dance of King Kastcheï,” from
“fight” with each other, and as they move apart, they sound
The Firebird, 0:00-1:45, dissonances occur at 0:47-0:48
more “pleasant” together.
and 1:05
12. Have students translate consonance/dissonance into
• Excerpt B: “Ride of the Valyries,” from Die Walküre, 0:00-
non-musical antonyms, such as love/hate, pretty/ugly, or
1:45, dissonances occur at 0:00-0:20 and 1:34
friendly/angry.
20. Explain to students that they will now complete a Story Map
Development
13. Discuss with students why a composer might want to use
consonance and dissonance when telling a musical story.
Draw a T chart on the board/chart paper with the title “Use in
a Musical Story for Consonance | Dissonance.” Choose
volunteers to share their answers and write them on the chart
under the appropriate column.
like the one you shared for “Montagues and Capulets.” They
will be placed into groups to create their own story and
present it to the class. Each group will choose either Excerpt A
or Excerpt B to play while they are presenting their story. They
must include one dissonance and one consonance by
playing them on a pitched instrument during their
presentation. Remind students that conflict and resolution in
their story can be represented by consonance and
14. Ask the students to think about the story Little Red Riding
dissonance in the music.
Hood. If a composer wanted to write music to tell this story,
21. Move students into groups of three or four and distribute
when would he or she use dissonance? (Answers might
include when the wolf meets Little Red, or when the huntsman
fights with the wolf.) When would the composer use
consonance in this story? (Answers might include when
Grandmother is saved or when Little Red starts on her journey
to Grandmother’s house.)
15. Have students think again about the musical antonyms
consonance and dissonance and help them discover the
literary equivalent, conflict and resolution. Using the Little
Red example, discuss how a composer might reflect conflict
in a story through musical dissonance, and resolution
through consonance.
blank Story Map templates and at least one pitched
instrument to each group. Start them by saying “go,” playing a
dissonance, and allow them about 10 minutes to complete
the activity, giving them a five-minute warning before you
say “stop” while playing a consonance. Replay Excerpts A and
B alternately while they are creating their stories.
22. Have students present their Story Maps to the class with their
chosen music playing in the background. Encourage students
to act out their stories, or they can dramatically (with
expression) read their stories to the class. They need
to remember to include at least one dissonance and one
consonance in their presentation.
23. Ask each group to create a title for their story based on the
music they selected. List the titles on the board/chart paper
under columns labeled Excerpt A and Excerpt B.
24. Show students the Story Maps with the titles and brief
descriptions of Excerpt A and B. Discuss how closely each
presentation matched the original concept for the music.
25. Have students reflect on the lesson by sharing their
responses to several prompts. Ask them the following
questions or have them provide their answers on Exit Slips:
• How would you describe consonance?
• How would you define dissonance?
• How did your group use consonance and dissonance to
tell your story?
• How can a composer use dissonance to tell a musical story?
• If two notes are played side by side on a keyboard, will they
sound consonant or a dissonant? (A: dissonant)
Adaptations:
• Pair/group students so that special learners can benefit
from the assistance of other students.
• Allow students to draw pictures on their Story Maps
instead of writing.
Extensions:
• Allow students to act out their stories, use Garage Band
software to create a soundtrack for them, or create an
original accompaniment using at least one dissonance and
one consonance.
• Divide the class into “Montagues” and “Capulets” and create
a dance to illustrate Prokofiev’s music.
• Include a discussion of intervals, showing distances between
notes using a template of a piano keyboard.
• Further review the stories and music of The Firebird and
Die Walküre.
• Compare and contrast “Montagues and Capulets” with
Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s
West Side Story.
• Compare and contrast “Infernal Dance of King Kastcheï” and
the Finale, from Stravinsky’s The Firebird.
Unit #5: Musical Stories
Berlioz “March to the Scaffold,” from Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Big Ideas
Competencies
•Students will create and perform music, focusing on the
ideas (Gr. 2-8)
artistic process, creating/recreating, rehearsing, reflecting,
revising (Gr. 3-4)
Essential Questions
•How do artists tell stories and/or convey messages
in their work? (Gr. 4-5)
•In what ways do the elements and principles of
music influence what we see, hear, and touch every day?
(Gr. 6-8)
Concepts
•Musicians can use music to influence the way people view
the world (Gr. 6)
•Personal experiences influence a person’s response to
works of art. (Gr. 7)
40 Lesson Unit #5: Musical Stories
•Students will analyze the role of music in their own
culture (Gr. 5)
•Students will create and perform music that communicates
a point of view (Gr. 6)
Program Music
Paul Dukas and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Born in Paris, France, Paul
The category of orchestral music in which composers intentionally
Dukas (1865-1935) is known
attempt to describe specific images and/or narratives is known
mostly for composing the
as program music, and also includes symphonic poems and
symphonic poem The Sorcerer’s
orchestral suites. These musical stories often feature characters
Apprentice
Apprentice, which became a part
that experience an important turning point in their adventure. In
of popular culture with its inclusion
Dukas’s symphonic poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the novice
in the 1940 Disney animated film
magician of the title must be saved by his master after casting
Fantasia
Fantasia. Dukas (“Doo-KAH”) first
a spell that leads to chaos. Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is
often referred to as the model of program music as the composer
provided his own notes for each of the five movements, with
“March to the Scaffold” describing a tortured artist’s horrific
opium-induced dream. In the orchestral suite The Planets, Holst
depicts the astrological character of the planets, and “Mars, the
started composing at the age
of 14 while he was recovering from an illness and later studied
at the Paris Conservatory, where he would eventually teach as
a professor. Not much of Dukas’s music survives as he was
extremely self-critical and destroyed many of his compositions
Bringer of War” portrays the motion and fury of warfare.
before his death so they could not be published.
An instant success at its 1897 premiere, The Sorcerer’s
Hector Berlioz and a Fantastic Symphony
French composer Hector
Berlioz (1803-69) had great
imagination and his Symphonie
fantastique (Fantastic Symphony),
Op. 14, shows his remarkable
genius for creating musical
drama without words. In this
programmatic symphony, Berlioz
(“BEAR-lee-ohz”) tells the story
of an artist obsessed with a beautiful woman, based on his own
preoccupation with winning the affections of Shakespearean
actress Harriet Smithson. Giving the symphony five movements
rather than the conventional four, Berlioz unifies the music
with a recurring theme (an idée fixe, or fixed idea) to represent
the beautiful woman, and this melody is heard throughout,
Apprentice continued to enjoy tremendous popularity for the
next several decades. The piece is based on a ballad, Der
Zauberlehrling, by the great German poet Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe. The poem tells the story of a wizard’s assistant (portrayed
by Mickey Mouse in Fantasia) who is too lazy to perform his
chores. Having observed his master’s magical incantation, he
casts a spell to bring a broomstick to life and orders it to fetch
water. Soon the floor is soaked with water, and not knowing how
to control the enchanted broom, the apprentice splits the broom
in half and each new piece continues fetching water, now at twice
the speed. The sorcerer returns to find his workshop completely
flooded, and with a wave of his wand, quickly breaks the spell
and restores calm. Dukas closely follows the events of Goethe’s
poem and uses humor, excitement, and bright orchestral colors to
convey the story.
Gustav Holst and The Planets
Gustav Holst (1874-1934) was
representing each time the artist sees or thinks of his love.
born in Cheltenham, England, the
Berlioz provided his own program notes for the Symphonie. In
son of an accomplished pianist.
“March to the Scaffold,” the artist is so convinced that his beloved
Unfortunately, due to problems
will never return the feelings he has for her that he poisons
with neuritis in his hands, Holst
himself with opium. In his drug-induced state he dreams that he
wasn’t able to follow his father’s
has murdered his beloved and is led to execution for his crime.
path at the piano but went on to
The artist watches as he is escorted to the scaffold accompanied
study composition at the Royal
by the sound of a military march and heralded by the brass.
The idée fixe returns at the end, portraying the artist’s final
thoughts of his love before the guillotine falls and his head
bounces down the steps.
College of Music in London.
Holst composed a large number of works across a wide range
of genres, writing two original suites for military band that remain
widely performed today.
However, the music Holst is most well-known for is the orchestral
suite The Planets, composed from1914-16. Holst’s fascination
with astrology inspired the concept of this work, which he called
“a series of mood pictures,” and the composer sought to capture
Lesson Unit #5: Musical Stories 41
the corresponding astrological characters of the seven known
4:05
However, the “Broom” theme returns as each of the
planets, except Earth. (Pluto, which has since been declassified
pieces becomes a new broom and multiples,
as a planet, wasn’t discovered until 1930, many years after the
fetching water now at twice the speed
piece was finished.) In the first movement, “Mars, the Bringer
5:13
The “Broom” theme becomes louder and
of War,” Holst uses a combination of musical elements such as
more frantic
dissonance, unconventional meter (5/4 time, with 5 beats—
6:14The tutti fortissimo orchestra announces the return
instead of the usual 2, 3, or 4—to a measure), and ostinato to
of the old sorcerer, who breaks the spell and returns
depict the torment and unrest of war.
everything to normal
Listening Guides
0:00
Holst introduces the ostinato, an incessant repeated
this guide.
rhythm, that will appear throughout the piece,
played here by the timpani, harps, and strings col
Berlioz “March to the Scaffold,” from Symphonie fantastique,
Op. 14
0:00 (1:51) Exposition: Opening syncopated motive,
foreshadows similar rhythm of march themes
(repeated in full)
0:22 (2:15) Theme A, energetic downward minor
scale, strings
1:27 (2:38) Theme B, diabolical march tune, brass
and woodwinds
3:43
Development: new characterizations of the
two march themes
4:51
Theme A presented by tutti orchestra
5:51
Clarinet plays idée fixe melody
(“a last thought of the artist’s love”)
5:59
Fortissimo tutti chord represents the fall of
the guillotine blade, followed by pizzicato
notes depicting the head falling into a basket
6:02
Loud forceful chords close movement,
celebrating the artist’s death
The excerpt (extract) provided on the playlist begins after the
old sorcerer has departed his workshop, and the apprentice has
already cast a spell to enchant a broom to fetch the water
for him.
0:00
Brief introduction, then solo bassoon states the
“Broom” theme
42
0:49
Trumpets state the “Broom” theme as the enchanted
broom begins working faster
1:36
Brass and bassoons loudly state the “Broom” theme,
as the apprentice loses control
2:24
As a version of the “Broom” theme continues, a
flurry of notes in the woodwinds indicate that the
water continues to rise
3:32
Fortissimo, staccato notes in the orchestra and
the trumpets—the apprentice has tried to control
the broom by splitting it into two with an axe
3:37
The apprentice’s plan seems to have worked and
the music is calm
legno (or with the wood of the bow)
0:05
Theme 1: a slow-moving motive, heard here in
unison bassoons and French horns
1:14
Strings, trumpets, snare drum, and timpani play
the ostinato in unison against a sustained chord
from the other instruments
1:20
Theme 2: dotted theme heard in trombones, tubas,
horns, and trumpets
2:09
Theme 3: military call and response-like melody
using triplet figuration
3:11
Melodic idea based on theme 2, played first
by lower instruments and then joined by
upper instruments
4:10
Tutti ostinato, fortississimo (ƒƒƒ)
4:16
Theme 1 returns
4:56
Theme 3 returns
5:13
Theme 2 returns
6:26
Coda
6:33
Return of opening ostinato figure, distorted by the
addition of rests
Foreshadowing Important Changes:
Turning Points in Program Music
Duration of Lesson
Lesson Materials
45 minutes
• Chalk/white board or chart paper
Lesson Objectives
• Define musical vocabulary such as program music,
ostinato, and time signature
• Read and perform an ostinato using body percussion
and unpitched percussion instruments
• Describe a piece a music using appropriate
musical terminology
• Analyze and compare the use of turning point in music
and literature
• Compose and perform music within specified guidelines
• Recordings of School Concert repertoire
• CD/mp3 playback device
• Unpitched percussion instruments
• Pitched instruments, such as xylophones, recorders, voices,
or piano (optional)
• Anticipation Guide handouts (and a pencil for each student)
• Reaction Guide handouts (extension only)
Academic Standards
K-4: 2 a, b, c, d, e / 4 b, c / 5 a, d / 6 b, c / 8 a, b / 9 e
Arts: 9.1.5 a, b, c, d, e / 9.2.5 k, l / 9.3.5 a, b
Other Disciplines: 1.1.5 f / 1.3.5 b
Introduction
1. Have the recording of Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War,”
from The Planets playing as students enter the room and
distribute copies of the Anticipation Guide.
2. Stop the music and have students complete the
Anticipation Guide as they listen to an excerpt, 0:00 to 2:06.
Students should indicate if they agree or disagree with the
following statements:
• This music describes a peaceful character
• This music has an unusual beat/rhythm pattern
• This music has ostinato
• A “turning point” in this music happens when the music
changes from forte to piano
3. Ask students to compare their answers quickly with a partner.
5. Work with students to create a definition of the word “image,”
and guide them to include a mental picture as part of their
association with the word.
6. Ask students to consider how a composer might create a
musical image. Write the prompt “How does a composer create
musical images?” in the center of the board/chart paper and
create a word web using the student’s responses. Guide
students to discuss terminology such as tempo, rhythm,
instrumentation, pitch, and dynamics. Connect answers
to the prompt using lines.
7. Select the category “rhythm” from the word web, and have
students listen to the first part of the excerpt again, 0:00-0:30.
Help them tap the following rhythm softly on their laps in time
to the music.
Then, read the questions aloud while students respond using a
show of hands. Choose a student volunteer to tally responses
on the board/chart paper.
4. Explain for students that they were listening to a piece of
orchestral music known as program music, which is defined as
“music without words that is inspired by or that describes a
story or sequence of images.”
8. Write the rhythm pattern on the board/chart paper, and have
students speak the rhythm syllables used in your classroom
while they clap it.
43
9. Review the definition of time signature: “Sign placed at the
17. On the back of their Anticipation Guide, have students
beginning of a composition that indicates the total number of
answer the following questions with a partner:
beats in a measure (top number) and what type of note gets
• How did the composer create a turning point in this music?
the beat (bottom number).”
10. Help students discover that there are five beats in this
measure and that a quarter note gets one beat. Choose
volunteers to write the beat numbers on the board/chart
paper in the correct location.
Guide students to refer to the items on the word web
made earlier.
• Do we know if the turning point leads to a positive or a
negative result? (A: No.)
18. Prepare for the group activity that follows by telling students
you’re going to create a piece of program music for them
called, “Bases Loaded.” Perform the “Mars” ostinato by patting
it, using alternate hands on your thighs or knees, starting very
quietly. Gradually increase the dynamics to forte (performing
the ostinato about three times), ending with a sharp hand
11. Ask students if the five-four pattern seems common or
unusual, and why. Explain that a lot of western music is written
in patterns using two, three, and four beats in a measure.
12. Have students read this pattern and tap it using their fingers
(index and middle fingers) into their other hand, and then
transfer it to available unpitched percussion instruments,
including any desks or tables in the room. Then, ask them to
play the pattern on their instrument while listening to an
excerpt of the music, 0:00-0:30.
13. Define ostinato as a short musical phrase that is repeated
many times, and help students discover that this rhythm is an
example of one.
Development
14. Tell students that the music they’ve been listening to was
written by English composer Gustav Holst, and is called “Mars,
clap on beat one, followed by silence. Then whistle or make a
descending pitched sound with your voice, and cut it off with
the vocal sound effect, “thum.”
19. Ask students, “Who thinks the batter hit a home run?” and
“Who thinks the batter hit a foul ball?” and “Who thinks the
ball was caught by the other team?” Acknowledge their
answers, and point out that we really do not know yet the
outcome of this turning point.
20. Have students identify which strategy you used to create
your turning point. Answers will vary and should include
dynamics (crescendo, decrescendo).
21. Assign students to groups of about three or four students.
Each group should use the “Mars” ostinato to create a piece
of program music that includes a musical turning point. Each
group must do the following:
• Give their piece a title that includes the image
they’re portraying
the Bringer of War.” It is the first movement in a piece of many
• Use the “Mars” ostinato
movements called The Planets. Holst used music to describe
• Create a musical turning point using one of the techniques/
each of the planets based on their names, and Mars was the
strategies listed on the word web or on the back of the
god of war in Roman mythology. The god Mars used war as a
Anticipation Guide
turning point to secure peace.
15. Explain that the turning point in storytelling is the moment in
• Perform their piece in one minute or less
22. Allow time for students to complete their project, and
the action or situation where an important change occurs. Ask
make available any classroom instruments that will help them
students to think back to the story of Little Red Riding Hood
accomplish their goal.
and identify what they think is the turning point in that story.
Answers will vary.
16. Play an excerpt from “Mars” again, 0:00-2:16, and ask
students to raise their hands when they hear a change in the
music that indicates a turning point (2:06).
44 Lesson Unit #5: Musical Stories
23. Have each group announce the title of their piece and
perform it for the class. After each performance, ask the class
to identify the techniques or strategies used to create a
musical turning point. Answers will vary and could include
adding or subtracting instruments, using dynamics, or
changing the tempo.
24. Upon completion of their performances, have students reflect
on the activity. Questions could include:
• Was your group able to demonstrate your musical turning
point so that the audience could picture it?
• Did your group create a turning point using the same or
different techniques as Holst?
• How would you describe “program music” to someone who
didn’t know what it was? (A: Music without words that is
inspired by or that describes a story or sequence of images.)
• What are some of the techniques that composers use
to create musical images and turning points? (A: Dynamics,
instrumentation, rhythm, tempo, pitch, etc.)
• What is an ostinato? (A: Short musical phrase that is
repeated many times.)
• What are the two parts of a time signature? (A: Top number
tells us the total number of beats in a measure, and the
bottom number tells us what type of note gets the beat.)
• Can you think of another piece of music that includes a
turning point?
Adaptations:
• For rhythm activities, have students “copycat” the
teacher’s model.
• Have students give verbal answers or hand signals instead of
writing responses on Anticipation and Reaction Guides.
Extensions:
• In a subsequent lesson, have students listen to other pieces
of program music while completing a Reaction Guide
handout. For instance, Berlioz’s “March to the Scaffold,”
from Symphonie fantastique,, Op. 14 (0:00-1:50) and Dukas’s
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (0:00-2:00).
• Read and discuss the stories behind “March to the Scaffold”
and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and have students identify
key musical events.
Lesson Unit #5: Musical Stories 45
Unit #6: Musical Moods
Beethoven Excerpt from fourth movement from Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Beethoven Excerpt from second movement from Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92
The lessons and activities in this unit satisfy the following components of the SAS music education curriculum framework for
the following grades (Gr.):
Big Ideas
Competencies
ideas (Gr. 2-8)
Essential Questions
•How do artists tell stories and/or convey messages in their
work? (Gr. 4-5)
•How does music reflect the time and place in which it was
created? (Gr. 6-8)
Concepts
46 Lesson Unit #6: Musical Moods
Emotional Music
Listening Guides
In contrast to program music (discussed in the previous unit),
Underlined terms can be found in the glossary at the back
absolute music is a term used by some to describe orchestral
of this guide.
music that exists for its own purpose (“art for art’s sake”) and isn’t
*Excerpts of these pieces will be performed at the School
about extra-musical ideas or stories. However, works of absolute
music can still be considered emotional music, conveying
expressive meanings through its musical materials. Two excerpts
from Beethoven’s symphonies serve as examples in the School
Concert program and provide resolution to the adventure created
by the audience. The heroic and celebratory sounds of the final
Concert; however, the entire pieces are included for your
use in lesson planning
Beethoven Excerpt from fourth movement from Symphony
No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
0:00
the exposition and theme 1, whose melody outlines a
movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the funereal and
mournful quality of the second movement of his Seventh Symphony
vividly communicate these contrasting emotions and represent
good and bad resolutions, respectively, in the story.
About the Composer and Music
Ludwig van Beethoven and His Symphonies
C major chord
0:36
Lyrical transition theme in French horns modulating
from C major to G major
1:03
Theme 2, vigorous melody in G major using triplets,
upper strings and woodwinds
1:31
Closing theme, featuring clarinets and violas
*Note: Exposition does not repeat in this recording
A German composer and pianist,
Ludwig van Beethoven
Written in sonata form, the movement begins with
2:00
Development: brings back four-note motive from the
first movement (short-short-short-LONG)
(1770-1827) is considered one of
the most famous and influential
4:07
Recapitulation: return of theme 1 in C major
composers of Western classical
4:42
Lyrical transition theme, does not modulate
music. His compositions, especially
5:12
Return of theme 2 in C major
the nine symphonies, built upon
5:38
Closing theme
the foundation laid by master
6:59
Coda with long extension
composers Franz Joseph Haydn
and Wolfgang Amadè Mozart. Unlike composers who had served
the aristocracy, Beethoven (“BAY-toe-vehn”) composed to please
himself, creating art that aimed to communicate a higher purpose.
As he approached the age of 30, Beethoven began to experience
a constant humming and buzzing in his ears that made it difficult to
hear, causing the composer great alarm. He used various methods
to adapt to his situation, such as “ear trumpets,” conical-shaped
instruments that amplified sound, and he’s even rumored to have
removed the legs of his piano so that he could lay it and himself
on the floor to feel the sound vibrations. Tragically, by his late 40s,
Beethoven Excerpt from second movement from Symphony No.
7 in A major, Op. 92
0:00
Introduction
0:06
Theme 1, repeating rhythmic motive
(LONG-short-short LONG-LONG), low strings
0:55
Theme 1 in second violins, counter-theme in violas
and cellos
1:43
Theme 1 in first violins, counter-theme in
second violins
2:30
Theme 1 fortissimo in woodwinds and horns,
counter-theme takes over in first violins
Beethoven was completely deaf.
3:18
Modulation from A minor to A major
It was as he began to lose his hearing that Beethoven started
4:28
Modulation from A major to C major
writing his symphonies, displaying courage in opposition to an
4:48
imposing personal challenge. With these large-scale musical
works, the composer challenged tradition and explored different
Theme 1 hidden in low strings, counter-theme in
woodwinds, return to A minor
5:50
Fugal treatment where the theme enters in different
instruments at different times
ways that instrumental music—without the benefit of lyrics—could
communicate ideas, simulate drama, and evoke images for its
7:09
Modulation to A major
listeners. The excerpts from the fourth movement from his Fifth
7:52
Modulation to C major
Symphony (1808) and the second movement of his Seventh
8:10
Coda
Symphony (1813) illustrate Beethoven’s expert ability to achieve
these aspirations.
Lesson Unit #6: Musical Moods 47
Synonymous Words and
Interchangeable Rhythms
Duration of Lesson
Lesson Materials
30 minutes
Lesson Objectives
•Create a list of synonyms and use a thesaurus to
find synonyms
•Create and perform rhythms from notation at
varying tempos
•Predict how elements of music can be used by a composer
to express an emotion
•Thesaurus for each student, or access to
www.thesaurus.com, with a projector to display
•Two sheets of unlined paper and a pencil for each student
•Class set of safety scissors
•Beethoven interactive listening guide
•Describe two listening selections using musical and
Academic Standards
non-musical vocabulary
•Express and defend a musical opinion using
K-4: 2 a, b, c / 4 b / 5 a / 6 b, c / 7 b / 8 b
appropriate vocabulary
Arts: 9.1.5 a, b, c, e, f, k / 9.2.5 l / 9.3.5 a / 9.4.5 d
Other Disciplines: 1.1.5 e, f / 1.5.5 d / 1.6.5 d
Introduction
Development
1. Remind students that during their visit to The Philadelphia 4. Have students create a rhythm flipchart:
Orchestra they will help make decisions about a story.
•Distribute two pieces of unlined paper to each student
One of these decisions will be to determine if the story will
•While pieces are stacked, have students position the papers
have a happy ending or a sad ending. Create a chart on the
horizontally (landscape orientation) and fold the top over the
board/chart paper with the words “happy” and “sad” as the
bottom; the folded edge should be at the top
column headings.
•Fold left over right twice, and then unfold to create four
2. Using the chart to record their thoughts, help students create
equal parts
a brainstorm list of other words that are synonyms of “happy”
and “sad.” When students are finished with their ideas, help
them choose several additional words from a thesaurus. Aim
for a list of 10-15 words in each column of the chart.
3. Draw a line under the list of synonyms, creating an additional
space in each column. Ask students to predict how a
composer might create music that expresses each emotion.
Lead students to discuss several elements of music, such as
tempo (speed), timbre (instrumentation), and dynamics
(volume). Explain that just as an author can choose a variety of
words to express a particular emotion, a composer has a
variety of tools to express an emotion through music.
•Use safety scissors to cut the paper on the vertical fold lines,
starting at the bottom (unfolded end) and stopping about
one-half inch from the top (folded end)
•If you wish to make the flipcharts more durable, place a few
staples along the top
•On the top page of the flipchart, draw a quarter note on
each segment
•On the second page, draw a quarter rest on each segment
•On the third page, draw two eighth notes on each segment
•On the fourth (bottom) page, draw a dotted eighth-sixteenth note on each segment
(If time or resources are limited, prepare a large rhythm
flipchart before the lesson from two pieces of chart paper and
display at the front of the class.)
48 Lesson Unit #6: Musical Moods
5. Help students discover they can create many different rhythm
combinations by opening segments to different pages.
Adaptations:
6. Encourage students to use the rhythm flipcharts to create their
• Allow students to work in pairs or small groups to create
own rhythms, and tap or clap them quietly while listening to a
rhythm flipcharts, perform rhythms, and/or complete the
short excerpt of the fourth movement from Beethoven’s
interactive listening guide.
Symphony No. 5 in C major, Op. 67, 0:00-2:00. Ask students
• If students are uncomfortable with writing tasks, encourage
to try different combinations until they are able to choose
them to express their musical choice orally instead, and the
a favorite.
teacher or student volunteer can record answers on the
7. Choose several volunteers to write their favorite rhythm on
the board/chart paper, and perform the rhythms as a class
while listening to the piece a second time.
8. Next, ask students to perform together the posted rhythms
again while listening to an excerpt of the second movement of
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, 0:55-2:30.
9. Ask students to consider how the rhythms seem different with
the second piece of music and how the class needed to
perform the rhythms differently (e.g. more slowly and quietly).
Take another look at the list of synonyms from earlier in the
lesson and have students choose words that seem to
describe the music they heard and the way they needed to
perform the rhythms.
10. Distribute copies of the Beethoven interactive listening guide.
Explain to students that one of these pieces will be performed
board/chart paper.
Extensions:
• Students with more experience reading and writing rhythm
patterns might use four sixteenth notes, or one eighth-two
sixteenth notes, or two sixteenth-one eighth notes
combination on their rhythm flipcharts. Additional pages
could be added to the flipchart, or other rhythms could
be replaced.
• Show students how to use resonator bells to improvise a
melody for the rhythms they created with their rhythm
flipcharts. Use notes from the C-major chord (C, E, and G)
and play at a fast tempo to simulate the sound of the fourth
movement of Symphony No. 5. Use notes from the A-minor
chord (A, C, and E) and play at a slower tempo to simulate
the second movement of Symphony No. 7.
• Help students replace the “kid-friendly” words on the
interactive listening guide with standard music vocabulary.
at the concert, depending on the audience’s choice of a happy
ending or a sad ending.
11. Listen first to the excerpt from the second movement of
Symphony No. 7 and then the excerpt from the fourth
movement of Symphony No. 5. While they listen, have
students draw an arrow from each description in the center
column either to the left or right column.
12. Have students share their answers and discuss together
which piece might represent the happy ending and which one
might represent the sad ending. Although students may
answer the same way, remember that there are no
right/wrong answers, and students should feel free to express
their answers in a way that is meaningful to them.
13. Refer to the list of synonyms on the board/chart paper and
discuss which words are a good match for the two Beethoven
excerpts, circling them on the chart.
14. Referring again to the chart, ask students to determine if
their predictions about music conveying each emotion
were accurate.
15. Remind students they will have an opportunity to vote for
which ending they will hear at the School Concert. Ask
students to circle the title of their musical choice on their
interactive listening guide and to write a sentence or two that
defends their choice.
Lesson Unit #6: Musical Moods 49
Appendix A: Academic Standards
Meet academic standards for Pennsylvania with the lessons in this curriculum guide.
•
•
9.2: ARTS: Historical and
Cultural Context
9.3 ARTS: Critical Response
•
9.4 ARTS: Aesthetic Response
•
•
•
Synonymous Words
and Interchangeable
Rhythms
•
Turning Points in
Program Music
•
Musical Antonyms
•
Musical Comic Strip
9.1 ARTS: Production,
Performance, and Exhibition
Once Upon a Time
They Lived Happily
Ever After
Academic Standards
A Virtual Trip
to the Orchestra
PA
Musical Storytelling:
Create Your Own Adventure
Orchestra Family
Portrait
Let’s Go to the
Orchestra!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1.1 ELA: Reading Independently
•
•
1.2 ELA: Reading Critically in All Content
Areas
•
1.3 ELA: Reading, Analyzing, and
Interpreting Literature
•
•
•
1.4 ELA: Types of Writing
•
•
1.5 ELA: Quality of Writing
•
•
1.6 ELA: Speaking and Listening
•
3.7 TECH: Technological Devices
50 Appendicies
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Appendix B: Philadelphia Orchestra
School Partnership Program
About the School Partnership Program
Overview of Participating Schools
In September 2005 The Philadelphia Orchestra introduced its
For the 2013-14 season, SPP partner schools include the
School Partnership Program (SPP), establishing ongoing, in-
following:
depth relationships with partnering schools in the Philadelphia
region. Through SPP the Orchestra cultivates students’
knowledge and love of orchestral music, develops students’
perceptive and creative skills, and helps parents and teachers
bring classical music into their homes and classrooms. This
program helps bring a new generation of listeners to the
Bache-Martin School, School District of Philadelphia
Principal: Mrs. Yvette G. Duperon
Grade levels participating in program: 2, 3, and 4
Joined program: September 2012
Teaching Artist Faculty: Lisa Vaupel (violin)
Orchestra and empowers our city’s youth through the exploration
Cooper’s Poynt School, Camden City Public Schools
of their own creativity.
Principal: Mr. Stephen Bournes
The School Partnership Program offers students incomparable
exposure and access to The Philadelphia Orchestra and its
musicians. At each school a Philadelphia Orchestra Teaching
Artist has a weekly presence in participating classrooms. They
Teaching Artist Faculty: Susanna Loewy (flute) and
Luigi Mazzocchi (violin)
work side-by-side with classroom teachers using a curriculum
Gesu School, an independent Catholic school
and materials created by the Orchestra’s education department
Principal: Sr. Ellen Convey, IHM
in collaboration with teaching artists and classroom teachers.
Students attend an Orchestra School Concert as well as other
concerts throughout the year. Orchestra musicians visit each
Teaching Artist Faculty: Gabriel Globus-Hoenich (percussion)
school annually, providing participating students the opportunity
to engage with a range of musicians who they will see onstage in
Verizon Hall.
SPP Student Learning Objectives
Andrew Jackson School, School District of Philadelphia
Principal: Ms. Lisa Kaplan
Through their participation in the School Partnership Program,
Teaching Artist Faculty: Rebecca Harris (violin) and
which includes attendance at a Philadelphia Orchestra School
Susanna Loewy (flute)
Concert, students will:
1. Develop a personal relationship with music as a way of
understanding themselves and the world around them
2. Refine their listening skills
3. Learn the fundamentals of music, such as rhythm, pitch,
dynamics, and melody so that they may successfully talk and
write about music
4. Apply knowledge of these fundamentals through
John Moffet Elementary School, School District
of Philadelphia
Principal: Ms. Carmen Navarro
Teaching Artist Faculty: Rebecca Harris (violin) and
Ryan Seay (trombone)
performance using their voices, recorders, and
percussion instruments
5. Compose and improvise music
6. Reflect upon their own creative process
7. Develop their collaborative skills
8. Use multiple learning modalities to address different
learning styles
Appendicies 51
Appendix C: Recorder Fingering Chart
LOW
D
LOW
#
E
F
G
A
B
C
HIGH
HIGH
D
52 Appendicies
E
#
Appendix D: Conducting Patterns
An orchestra’s conductor keeps the beat for the ensemble so that the musicians stay
together. The conductor controls many aspects of the musical performance including
speed (tempo), volume (dynamics), and length of notes (style). Teach your students the
patterns below and have them practice conducting your classroom orchestra!
We’ve Got the Beat!
Beats are not all created equal, and we hear and feel that some beats are stronger than others. Generally, the first beat is the strongest
and the conductor makes a downward motion in the pattern, so we call this the downbeat. A conductor uses his or her right hand to
make the conducting patterns shown here, which are the three most common. The left hand either mirrors the right hand or is used for
cueing instruments or communicating expression.
Two Beat Conducting Pattern
Three Beat Conducting Pattern
For music that has the pattern: STRONG-weak,
For music that has the pattern: STRONG-weak-weak,
STRONG-weak, STRONG-weak, STRONG-weak
STRONG-weak-weak, STRONG-weak-weak
Musical examples for practice:
• Slow: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major,
•Slow: Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,” from
Op. 92: II. Allegretto: 1:43-2:30
Die Walküre, 0:21-0:47
•Fast: J. Strauss, Jr.’s “Tritsch-Tratsch” Polka,
•Fast (in 1): Williams’s “Hedwig’s Theme,” from
Op. 214, 0:00-0:37
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 0:41-1:11
Four Beat Conducting Pattern
Five Beat Conducting Pattern
For music that has the pattern: STRONG-weak-weak-
For music that has the pattern: STRONG-weak-weak-
weak, STRONG-weak-weak-weak
STRONG-weak (3+2)
Musical example for practice:
•Slow: Prokofiev’s “Montagues and Capulets,”
3+2: Holst’s “Mars, the Bringer of War,” from
from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, 1:31-2:09
The Planets, 4:10-4:56
•Fast: Williams’s “Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 1:27-1:51
Appendicies 53
Appendix E: Guide to Audience Behavior
Your students will learn many things by attending a Philadelphia Orchestra School Concert. Learning
and displaying proper concert etiquette encourages personal responsibility and develops important
social and cultural skills. Please review the following guidelines thoroughly with your students.
Knowledge of the expectations in a formal concert environment will only increase their comfort—and
their enjoyment
• Upon arriving at the Kimmel Center, everyone is expected
to speak in a moderate tone of voice.
• Enter the concert hall quietly and whisper only. Ushers will be
seating your group and need to be heard as they direct you to
your seats.
• Follow the directions of the ushers at all times.
• Please continue to whisper while in the concert hall. Members
of The Philadelphia Orchestra will be warming up on stage, and
they need to be able to hear themselves.
• As you wait for the concert to begin, take a look around you at
the many features of the concert hall.
• When the lights are dimmed, all whispering should stop.
The concertmaster is about to enter the stage so the
Orchestra can tune.
• Everyone applauds when the concertmaster, and then the
conductor, enter the stage.
• Once the music begins, everyone should concentrate on the
music. Watch the musicians and conductor closely as they
work together.
• When the host is speaking between pieces of music,
listen carefully. Talking distracts the musicians and other
audience members.
• Show your appreciation at the end of each piece with courteous
applause. Watch the conductor carefully! He/she will lower his/
her arms and then face the audience when the Orchestra has
finished playing.
• At the end of the concert, please remain seated and exit the
concert hall quietly when you are instructed. This is the moment
your teacher and the ushers will need your attention the most.
54 Appendicies
Rules to Remember:
• Use of the restrooms is for emergency situations only.
• Food, candy, gum, or beverages are not allowed in the
concert hall.
• Cameras, video recorders, mp3 players, or any other electronic
devices are not permitted in the concert hall.
• Students who are disruptive may be asked to leave the concert.
See page 21 for a creative lesson plan to share these instructions
with your students and teach them proper etiquette in the concert
hall.
Glossary of Terms
Absolute music: Instrumental music
that exists as such and is not meant to be
illustrative of extra-musical ideas
Accelerando: Gradually become faster
Accent: To emphasize a note; indicated
with a > placed above or below the note
Consonance: Harmonious (stable)
sounding together of two or more notes
Contour: Shape of a melody
Crescendo: Gradually becoming louder
Allegro: Moderately fast tempo
Allegro vivace: Extremely fast tempo
Arranger: Person who arranges, changes,
or adapts a piece of music
Articulation: Manner (or style) in which
notes are performed
Bar line: Vertical line that divides the
staff into measures or bars
Beat: Basic underlying pulse and time
unit used in music
Celesta: Percussion instrument with a
piano-like keyboard in which small felt
hammers strike a series of small metal
bars, producing a soft bell-like tone
Chord: Simultaneous sounding of two or
more notes
Chromatic scale: Scale entirely
composed of half steps (distance between
a white key and a black key on the piano)
Clef: Sign placed at the beginning of the
musical staff to designate the names of
pitches
Coda: Ending section of a movement or
composition
Composer: Person who writes, or
composes, music
Compound meter: Groupings in which
each beat is divisible by three rather than
two
Concertmaster: Leader of the first violin
section of the orchestra
Conductor: Person who leads, or
conducts, a performing ensemble
Freely composed: Compositional form
that does not follow a pre-established
structure
Cue: Visual gesture given by a conductor
to begin or end playing
Genre: Class, type, or category of
composition, sanctioned by convention
Decrescendo: Gradually becoming softer
Gesture: Movement of a conductor
meant to communicate musical expression
Adagio: Moderately slow tempo
Allegretto: Moderately quick, pretty lively
tempo (but not so much as allegro)
Fortississimo: Extremely loud volume
Development: Second section of sonata
form, coming between exposition and
recapitulation
Diatonic scale: Seven-note scale
made of five tones (whole steps) and two
semitones (half steps); major and minor
are diatonic scales
Dissonance: Notes that sound harsh or
unpleasant when played at the same time,
creating tension
Dotted rhythm: Beat is divided unequally
into a long and a short note
Duple meter: Beats are grouped in twos
or multiples of two
Half step: Interval from one pitch to
the next adjacent pitch, ascending or
descending
Harmony: Texture in which two or
more different pitches are sounded
simultaneously
Impresario: Person who organizes and
often finances concerts, plays, ballets, or
operas
Improvise: Practice of acting, singing,
talking and reacting, of making and
creating, in the moment
Dynamics: Degree of loudness or
softness in a musical composition
Instrument families: Groups of
musical instruments that share similar
characteristics
Encore: Additional performance added to
the end of a concert
Instrumentation: Particular combination
of musical instruments employed in a
composition
Ensemble: Any combination of
performers, but especially a small group
playing individual parts
Exposition: In sonata form, the first
section of a composition in which the
principal themes are presented before
they are developed
Figure: Shortest idea in music; short
succession of notes, often recurring, in the
background
Finale: Last movement of a work in
several movements
Form: Structure and design of a
composition
Forte: Loud volume
Fortissimo: Very loud volume
Interlude: Piece of music played
between other pieces
Interval: Distance between two pitches
Jazz: Musical tradition introduced and
developed early in the 20th century by
African Americans
Key: Indicates the tonal center (i.e., final
point of rest) of a section, movement, or
composition
Largo: Slow tempo
Legato: Connecting notes smoothly and
without separate attacks
Leitmotif: Short, recurring musical phrase
associated with a particular character,
place, idea, or mood
Glossary 55
Librettist: Creator of the libretto
Libretto: Text used in, or intended for, an
extended musical work, such as an opera,
operetta, oratorio, cantata, or musical.
Lyrics: Words of a song
Major key: Name of the mode of a piece,
or a section thereof, having a major scale
as its melodic and harmonic basis
Major scale: Seven-tone scale in the
sequence of whole-whole-half-wholewhole-whole-half steps
Measure: Group of beats between the
bar lines on a staff
Melody: Succession of notes, varying
in pitch, which have an organized and
recognizable shape
Meter: Grouping of sound into patterns of
strong and weak beats
Mezzo forte: Medium loud volume
Mezzo piano: Medium soft volume
Minor key: Name of the mode of a piece,
or a section thereof, having a minor scale
as its melodic and harmonic basis
Minor scale: Seven-tone scale in the
sequence of whole-half-whole-whole-halfwhole-whole steps
Modulation: Most commonly the act
or process of changing from one key to
another
Motif: (also Motive) Short musical
idea—melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, or any
combination of these three
Movement: Term for a section within a
larger musical work
Notation: System for writing music that
indicates pitch and duration
Ostinato: Short musical phrase (melodic
or rhythmic) that is repeated many times
Overture: Term originally applied to the
instrumental introduction to an opera, and
now includes those works often performed
at the beginning of a concert
Performer: A person who does
something for an audience, e.g., act, play
music, sing
Pesante: To play in a heavy and
ponderous style
Phrase: Division of a musical line,
comparable to a line or sentence in poetry
or prose
Pianissimo: Very soft volume
Piano: Soft volume
Pitch: Highness or lowness of a sound
Pizzicato: String instrument playing
technique that involves plucking the
strings
Presto: At a rapid tempo (speed)
Primary theme: Principal melody upon
which part or all of a composition is based
Program music: Narrative or descriptive
music; music that attempts to represent
extra-musical concepts without words
Quotation: Incorporation of a relatively
brief segment of existing music in another
work
Range: Distance between lowest and
highest notes
Recapitulation: Third and last main
division of a movement in sonata form in
which the themes of the exposition return
Refrain: Relatively short section repeated
at the end of each verse of a song
Opus: (abbreviated Op.) Word used
followed by a number, e.g. Opus 50, for the
numbering of a composer’s works
Register: Highness or lowness of the
range of an instrument, singing voice, or
composition
Orchestra: (also Symphony Orchestra)
Instrumental performing ensemble that
traditionally includes instruments from all
families, with the strings comprising the
largest section
Rhythm: Organization of musical sounds
in time
56 Glossary
Rhythmic pattern: Unit of musical
sounds grouped in time that is perceived
as belonging together
Ritardando: Gradually becoming slower
Secondary theme: Less-important
theme announced after the primary theme
Sforzando: Play a note with sudden,
strong emphasis
Simple meter: Groupings in which each
beat is divisible by two
Solo: Vocal or instrumental piece or
passage performed by one performer, with
or without accompaniment
Sonata form: (also Sonata-allegro form)
European musical form that consists
of thematic exposition, development,
and recapitulation; may also include an
introduction and/or a coda
Staccato: Short, detached notes;
indicated with a dot placed above the note
or chord
Strong beat: On the accented pulse in
music
Style: Manner, mode of expression, or
type of presentation
Subito: Suddenly
Symphonic poem: (also Tone poem)
Orchestral form in which a poem or an
extra-musical program provides a narrative
or illustrative basis
Symphony: Musical work for orchestra in
several movements
Syncopation: Emphasis on a normally
weak beat
Tempo: Speed at which music is
performed
Texture: Number of musical lines and the
vertical relationships among those lines
Theme/Thematic: Main musical idea,
usually a melody, of a composition
Timbre: (also Tone color) Unique quality
of a sound; pronounced TAM-ber
Time signature: Sign placed after the
clef and key signature at the beginning
of a composition that indicates the total
number of beats in a measure and what
type of note gets the beat
Tonic: Key center or home key of a
composition, or section
Tremolo: Rapid alternation between two
notes or chords (or also of a single note on
a string instrument)
Trill: Rapid alternation between two
adjacent notes, usually a tone or a
semitone apart
Waltz: Ballroom dance in triple (3/4) time
with a strong accent on the first beat and
a basic pattern of step-step-close
Triple meter: Beats are grouped in three
or multiples of three
Weak beat: On the unaccented pulse in
music
Triplet: Playing three notes in the space
of two
Whole step: Interval formed by two half
steps
Tutti: All, everyone
Unison: Simultaneous performance of
the same line of music by multiple voices
or parts
Glossary 57
Credits
Curriculum Guide Production
Jason Shadle, Editor
Elizabeth McAnally, Contributing Editor
Emily Anastasi, Copy Editor
Joseph Cohen, Graphic Designer
Darrin T. Britting, Associate Director of Publications and Content Development
Philadelphia Orchestra Education and Community Partnerships Staff
Jason Shadle, Manager
Emily Anastasi, Coordinator
Mary Javian, School Partnership Program Coordinator
Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians’ Education Committee
Joseph Conyers, bass
Gloria dePasquale, cello (Chair)
David Fay, bass
Daniel Han, violin
Yumi Kendall, cello
Philadelphia Orchestra Education and Community Partnerships Board Committee
Chair
Ramona A. Vosbikian
Board Members
Michael M. Cone, Ex-Officio
Ronald L. Kaiserman
Hilarie L. Morgan
Lorraine S. Popowich
Marcia Wells
Musicians
Members of the Orchestra’s Education Committee
(Elected independently)
Staff Members
Ryan Fleur
Mary Javian
Jeremy Rothman
Jason Shadle
Allison Vulgamore
Photos: Tom Crane, Jessica Griffin, Ryan Donnell, Chris Lee, Robert Williams, Deborah Boardman Photography, Pete Checchia
58 Credits

Musical Storytelling: Create Your Own Adventure

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