The Cricket in Times Square: National Symphony Orchestra Family Concert

Behind the Words and Music

For Parents Welcome to the NSO Family Concerts, designed to introduce children to the music of the orchestra. Please help your young concert-goers read and understand the information in this Cuesheet. The information below is designed to help you further the children’s concert experience.

In 1961, George Selden (1929–1989) wrote The Cricket in Times Square, for which he received the Newbery Medal. It became a children’s classic and turned into a series of seven books. Chris Brubeck is a multi-instrumentalist and awardwinning classical and jazz composer. Chris resides in Connecticut, not far from Chester’s fictional meadow.

The Concert Program

75 Musicians Led by One Conductor

The performance will include original music as well as short excerpts from the musical selections below. Before or after the concert, you may want to have children listen to some or all of these musical selections.

At today’s concert, NSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke will lead the 75 members of the National Symphony Orchestra in playing the music. The conductor is a person who leads the orchestra. Conductors generally use their right hand to tell the orchestra how fast to play and use their left hand to tell the musicians how loud or soft to play. Some use a slender white stick called a baton as they conduct. At the concert, watch how the conductor communicates with the musicians.

Dear Grownups:

“Blue Rondo à la Turk” by Dave Brubeck “Saint Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy “Beautiful Dreamer,” a ballad by Stephen Foster The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II (YOH-hahn Strauss) “Funiculi, Funicula” and “Santa Lucia,” Italian folk songs from Naples “Casta Diva” from the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (buh-LEE-nee) “Dance of the Hours” from the opera La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli (ah-MEEL-kah-re pawn-KYEL-lee) “Can-Can” from the opera Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” an English hymn “Un bel di, vendremo” from Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (poo-CHEE-nee) “A Little Night Music” (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (MO-tzart) The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa “Autumn” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi The Prayer from the opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck

The Spark of a Story Author George Selden said he got the idea for the story when “One night I was coming home on the subway, and I did hear a cricket chirp in the Times Square subway station. The story formed in my mind within minutes.”

After the performance, ask children to think of something unusual they’ve seen or heard, and try to imagine a story about it. Have them write down some of their ideas and share them with family and friends.

After the performance, help children explore some of the story’s themes, including friendship, music, and being true to one’s self. Some questions to discuss: How could a cat and mouse or a boy and cricket be friends? Can you be friends with someone very different from you?

n

What does “home” mean to Mario, Chester, Tucker, and Harry?

n

Did Chester make the right decision at the end of the story?

Listen for… n how

the music changes when Chester isn’t happy

n c ricket, n h ow n

tay seated and keep those wings tucked in.

S nS tay quiet (no chirping, but it’s okay to laugh at the funny parts, of course!). nW atch and listen carefully. nC lap at the end! n

Wait! There’s More!

chirpy, or insect sounds in some of the music (especially at the beginning of the performance)

the music sounds like a train and changes as the train gets closer to the city

the sounds showing confusion when a fire breaks out

And think about …the difference between reading a story and seeing and hearing it (with music!) on stage.

Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Christoph Eschenbach Music Director, National Symphony Orchestra The Macy’s Foundation and Washington Gas are the proud sponsors of the NSO Family Concerts.

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part by Adobe Foundation; The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

artsedge.kennedy-center.org

Musical Instrument “Petting Zoo”

Big Ideas n

Be a Good Audience for Chester and Friends…

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

One hour before the concert, enjoy hands-on fun with the instruments that the musicians will play on stage in the Kennedy Center Atrium. A project of the Women’s Committee for the NSO.

Kids’ Chat

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about Education at The Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal government. ©2013 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

After the 3 p.m. performance, stick around to ask questions of the concert artists.

Upcoming Family Concerts Please plan to join us at next year’s National Symphony Orchestra Family Concerts, performed by the full NSO at 1 pm and 3 pm on the following Sundays: Sunday, October 27, 2013—Halloween Concert Sunday, February 23, 2014—Peter and the Wolf Sunday, June 1, 2014 —Classical Kids Live: Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage The NSO also presents full orchestra Young People’s Concerts for school groups in the Concert Hall each season during the school day for grades 3 through 6.

Orchestra Interactive Enjoy an interactive exploration of orchestras, their instruments, and their music at the Perfect Pitch Web site at: artsedge. kennedy-center.org/perfectpitch For more about NSO education programs, see www.kennedycenter.org/nso/nsoed Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

5

6

Based on the book by George Selden Composed and adapted by Chris Brubeck Directed by Scot Reese Conducted by Steven Reineke Nick Kendall, violin

Chester, the country cricket from Connecticut, has a problem—he’s found himself alone and lost in the middle of New York City! But then Chester makes some great new friends who discover his hidden talent. And that changes everything.

David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO. Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Hello parents!

Please see page 5 for d activities. information an

T he Amazing Musical Miracle o f Chester Cricket Ready for a musical journey? Then step right up, because you’re about to experience Chester the cricket’s magical trip to the heart of New York City. The performance is a story told on stage with both actors and an orchestra playing lots of music—that’s why we call it a “symphonic play.”

Life in the Big City

From Page to Stage

For Chester, New York City is very different from his grassy meadow in Connecticut.

The city has busy streets, tall buildings, noisy underground trains, and lots of people.

Chester meets people from other countries, too, including Mario’s parents who came from Naples, Italy, and a cricket expert from China.

The Cricket in Times Square began as a book. Turning the book into a performance on stage takes a team of people:

Telling the Story

n

n

he director, Scot Reese, guided all the T people involved in the performance to make sure the story comes to life on stage.

n

And you! Your role is watching, listening, and imagining the story as it unfolds through words and music.

It’s a big story with big music. These performers will help tell it: n

A narrator describes the story and speaks the voice of Chester

n

S ix actors stand on stage with the narrator to perform the roles of people or animals in the story—moving their faces, wearing simple costumes (like a hat), and using the way they speak to bring the characters to life

n

A conductor leads the orchestra—and also performs the role of the train conductor

n

A violin player performs as Chester, including playing his pitch-perfect chirps and tunes

n

T he National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) creates all the rest of the sounds and music

What Happens in the Story It’s the 1960s in New York City’s busiest underground train (subway) station. Imagine young Mario’s surprise when he hears a “chirp chirp.” That’s our friend Chester, who has arrived here after accidentally getting carried from his home in Connecticut in someone’s picnic basket. Mario convinces his parents, Papa and Mama Bellini, to let Chester live in their newsstand. Chester also befriends Tucker the mouse and Harry the cat, and they discover Chester’s amazing musical ability. After an accident at the newsstand, Chester’s songs might just save the day for himself, the Bellini family, and his friends. But Chester realizes he needs to make a big and difficult decision.

2

he adapter and composer, Chris Brubeck, T decided how to change—or adapt—the book’s story so it could be performed by actors in a theater, and then he imagined and wrote music for the play.

The Cricket and the Violin In the book, the music comes from a cricket. On stage, the violin plays the cricket’s songs. Let ’s take a closer look at these two music makers.

The Little Black Orpheus

Mario’s music teacher calls Chester a little black Orpheus (OR-fee-us)—and that’s a compliment, because Orpheus was a musician and poet in Greek legends who had extraordinary musical abilities. Like other insects, crickets have wings, but as Chester says, “these wings aren’t much good for flying.” However, the wings are very good for music. Crickets chirp by rubbing a sharp edge of one wing against ridges in the other wing. You can imagine it’s kind of like a violin player drawing the bow across strings. Of course, in nature, crickets can’t play music written by humans, but many crickets chirping can create a unique natural symphony on a warm summer’s night.

The A Musical Picnic

And listen up. When you hear Chester playing music he just heard on the radio, he might make up a new part on the spot. That is called improvisation—something you hear often in jazz music, but it works with any kind. Try it yourself by humming music you know—first as you’ve heard it and then making up a new part to go with it.

Chester is good at playing all types of music. Lucky you! Because that means you’ll hear many different music styles, including: a hymn (a religious song) n folk or traditional songs n a ballad (a romantic song) n classical n a march n opera n

Violin

The violin is a stringed instrument. It is made of wood with four metal strings. Musicians play the violin using a bow (a wooden stick strung with a tight ribbon of horsehair) in their right hand and pressing the string with the fingers of their left hand. They can also play the violin by plucking the strings with their fingers. The body of the instrument has a hollow center.

This center is called a resonating chamber, and it makes the sound of the strings loud and strong. That sound comes out of the two f-shaped holes.

Violins belong to the string family of instruments.

The other stringed instruments are the viola, cello, Neck and double bass. Although stringed instruments s g Strin have similar shapes, they are different sizes, and they sound different—some make lower sounds Fingerboard and others make higher ones. The violin is the smallest, and it makes the highest sound— another reason it makes a good match for the high-sounding chirping of crickets!

F- Holes

Hair

Stick

p Gri

3

4

T he Amazing Musical Miracle o f Chester Cricket Ready for a musical journey? Then step right up, because you’re about to experience Chester the cricket’s magical trip to the heart of New York City. The performance is a story told on stage with both actors and an orchestra playing lots of music—that’s why we call it a “symphonic play.”

Life in the Big City

From Page to Stage

For Chester, New York City is very different from his grassy meadow in Connecticut.

The city has busy streets, tall buildings, noisy underground trains, and lots of people.

Chester meets people from other countries, too, including Mario’s parents who came from Naples, Italy, and a cricket expert from China.

The Cricket in Times Square began as a book. Turning the book into a performance on stage takes a team of people:

Telling the Story

n

n

he director, Scot Reese, guided all the T people involved in the performance to make sure the story comes to life on stage.

n

And you! Your role is watching, listening, and imagining the story as it unfolds through words and music.

It’s a big story with big music. These performers will help tell it: n

A narrator describes the story and speaks the voice of Chester

n

S ix actors stand on stage with the narrator to perform the roles of people or animals in the story—moving their faces, wearing simple costumes (like a hat), and using the way they speak to bring the characters to life

n

A conductor leads the orchestra—and also performs the role of the train conductor

n

A violin player performs as Chester, including playing his pitch-perfect chirps and tunes

n

T he National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) creates all the rest of the sounds and music

What Happens in the Story It’s the 1960s in New York City’s busiest underground train (subway) station. Imagine young Mario’s surprise when he hears a “chirp chirp.” That’s our friend Chester, who has arrived here after accidentally getting carried from his home in Connecticut in someone’s picnic basket. Mario convinces his parents, Papa and Mama Bellini, to let Chester live in their newsstand. Chester also befriends Tucker the mouse and Harry the cat, and they discover Chester’s amazing musical ability. After an accident at the newsstand, Chester’s songs might just save the day for himself, the Bellini family, and his friends. But Chester realizes he needs to make a big and difficult decision.

2

he adapter and composer, Chris Brubeck, T decided how to change—or adapt—the book’s story so it could be performed by actors in a theater, and then he imagined and wrote music for the play.

The Cricket and the Violin In the book, the music comes from a cricket. On stage, the violin plays the cricket’s songs. Let ’s take a closer look at these two music makers.

The Little Black Orpheus

Mario’s music teacher calls Chester a little black Orpheus (OR-fee-us)—and that’s a compliment, because Orpheus was a musician and poet in Greek legends who had extraordinary musical abilities. Like other insects, crickets have wings, but as Chester says, “these wings aren’t much good for flying.” However, the wings are very good for music. Crickets chirp by rubbing a sharp edge of one wing against ridges in the other wing. You can imagine it’s kind of like a violin player drawing the bow across strings. Of course, in nature, crickets can’t play music written by humans, but many crickets chirping can create a unique natural symphony on a warm summer’s night.

The A Musical Picnic

And listen up. When you hear Chester playing music he just heard on the radio, he might make up a new part on the spot. That is called improvisation—something you hear often in jazz music, but it works with any kind. Try it yourself by humming music you know—first as you’ve heard it and then making up a new part to go with it.

Chester is good at playing all types of music. Lucky you! Because that means you’ll hear many different music styles, including: a hymn (a religious song) n folk or traditional songs n a ballad (a romantic song) n classical n a march n opera n

Violin

The violin is a stringed instrument. It is made of wood with four metal strings. Musicians play the violin using a bow (a wooden stick strung with a tight ribbon of horsehair) in their right hand and pressing the string with the fingers of their left hand. They can also play the violin by plucking the strings with their fingers. The body of the instrument has a hollow center.

This center is called a resonating chamber, and it makes the sound of the strings loud and strong. That sound comes out of the two f-shaped holes.

Violins belong to the string family of instruments.

The other stringed instruments are the viola, cello, Neck and double bass. Although stringed instruments s g Strin have similar shapes, they are different sizes, and they sound different—some make lower sounds Fingerboard and others make higher ones. The violin is the smallest, and it makes the highest sound— another reason it makes a good match for the high-sounding chirping of crickets!

F- Holes

Hair

Stick

p Gri

3

4

T he Amazing Musical Miracle o f Chester Cricket Ready for a musical journey? Then step right up, because you’re about to experience Chester the cricket’s magical trip to the heart of New York City. The performance is a story told on stage with both actors and an orchestra playing lots of music—that’s why we call it a “symphonic play.”

Life in the Big City

From Page to Stage

For Chester, New York City is very different from his grassy meadow in Connecticut.

The city has busy streets, tall buildings, noisy underground trains, and lots of people.

Chester meets people from other countries, too, including Mario’s parents who came from Naples, Italy, and a cricket expert from China.

The Cricket in Times Square began as a book. Turning the book into a performance on stage takes a team of people:

Telling the Story

n

n

he director, Scot Reese, guided all the T people involved in the performance to make sure the story comes to life on stage.

n

And you! Your role is watching, listening, and imagining the story as it unfolds through words and music.

It’s a big story with big music. These performers will help tell it: n

A narrator describes the story and speaks the voice of Chester

n

S ix actors stand on stage with the narrator to perform the roles of people or animals in the story—moving their faces, wearing simple costumes (like a hat), and using the way they speak to bring the characters to life

n

A conductor leads the orchestra—and also performs the role of the train conductor

n

A violin player performs as Chester, including playing his pitch-perfect chirps and tunes

n

T he National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) creates all the rest of the sounds and music

What Happens in the Story It’s the 1960s in New York City’s busiest underground train (subway) station. Imagine young Mario’s surprise when he hears a “chirp chirp.” That’s our friend Chester, who has arrived here after accidentally getting carried from his home in Connecticut in someone’s picnic basket. Mario convinces his parents, Papa and Mama Bellini, to let Chester live in their newsstand. Chester also befriends Tucker the mouse and Harry the cat, and they discover Chester’s amazing musical ability. After an accident at the newsstand, Chester’s songs might just save the day for himself, the Bellini family, and his friends. But Chester realizes he needs to make a big and difficult decision.

2

he adapter and composer, Chris Brubeck, T decided how to change—or adapt—the book’s story so it could be performed by actors in a theater, and then he imagined and wrote music for the play.

The Cricket and the Violin In the book, the music comes from a cricket. On stage, the violin plays the cricket’s songs. Let ’s take a closer look at these two music makers.

The Little Black Orpheus

Mario’s music teacher calls Chester a little black Orpheus (OR-fee-us)—and that’s a compliment, because Orpheus was a musician and poet in Greek legends who had extraordinary musical abilities. Like other insects, crickets have wings, but as Chester says, “these wings aren’t much good for flying.” However, the wings are very good for music. Crickets chirp by rubbing a sharp edge of one wing against ridges in the other wing. You can imagine it’s kind of like a violin player drawing the bow across strings. Of course, in nature, crickets can’t play music written by humans, but many crickets chirping can create a unique natural symphony on a warm summer’s night.

The A Musical Picnic

And listen up. When you hear Chester playing music he just heard on the radio, he might make up a new part on the spot. That is called improvisation—something you hear often in jazz music, but it works with any kind. Try it yourself by humming music you know—first as you’ve heard it and then making up a new part to go with it.

Chester is good at playing all types of music. Lucky you! Because that means you’ll hear many different music styles, including: a hymn (a religious song) n folk or traditional songs n a ballad (a romantic song) n classical n a march n opera n

Violin

The violin is a stringed instrument. It is made of wood with four metal strings. Musicians play the violin using a bow (a wooden stick strung with a tight ribbon of horsehair) in their right hand and pressing the string with the fingers of their left hand. They can also play the violin by plucking the strings with their fingers. The body of the instrument has a hollow center.

This center is called a resonating chamber, and it makes the sound of the strings loud and strong. That sound comes out of the two f-shaped holes.

Violins belong to the string family of instruments.

The other stringed instruments are the viola, cello, Neck and double bass. Although stringed instruments s g Strin have similar shapes, they are different sizes, and they sound different—some make lower sounds Fingerboard and others make higher ones. The violin is the smallest, and it makes the highest sound— another reason it makes a good match for the high-sounding chirping of crickets!

F- Holes

Hair

Stick

p Gri

3

4

Behind the Words and Music

For Parents Welcome to the NSO Family Concerts, designed to introduce children to the music of the orchestra. Please help your young concert-goers read and understand the information in this Cuesheet. The information below is designed to help you further the children’s concert experience.

In 1961, George Selden (1929–1989) wrote The Cricket in Times Square, for which he received the Newbery Medal. It became a children’s classic and turned into a series of seven books. Chris Brubeck is a multi-instrumentalist and awardwinning classical and jazz composer. Chris resides in Connecticut, not far from Chester’s fictional meadow.

The Concert Program

75 Musicians Led by One Conductor

The performance will include original music as well as short excerpts from the musical selections below. Before or after the concert, you may want to have children listen to some or all of these musical selections.

At today’s concert, NSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke will lead the 75 members of the National Symphony Orchestra in playing the music. The conductor is a person who leads the orchestra. Conductors generally use their right hand to tell the orchestra how fast to play and use their left hand to tell the musicians how loud or soft to play. Some use a slender white stick called a baton as they conduct. At the concert, watch how the conductor communicates with the musicians.

Dear Grownups:

“Blue Rondo à la Turk” by Dave Brubeck “Saint Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy “Beautiful Dreamer,” a ballad by Stephen Foster The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II (YOH-hahn Strauss) “Funiculi, Funicula” and “Santa Lucia,” Italian folk songs from Naples “Casta Diva” from the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (buh-LEE-nee) “Dance of the Hours” from the opera La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli (ah-MEEL-kah-re pawn-KYEL-lee) “Can-Can” from the opera Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” an English hymn “Un bel di, vendremo” from Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (poo-CHEE-nee) “A Little Night Music” (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (MO-tzart) The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa “Autumn” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi The Prayer from the opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck

The Spark of a Story Author George Selden said he got the idea for the story when “One night I was coming home on the subway, and I did hear a cricket chirp in the Times Square subway station. The story formed in my mind within minutes.”

After the performance, ask children to think of something unusual they’ve seen or heard, and try to imagine a story about it. Have them write down some of their ideas and share them with family and friends.

After the performance, help children explore some of the story’s themes, including friendship, music, and being true to one’s self. Some questions to discuss: How could a cat and mouse or a boy and cricket be friends? Can you be friends with someone very different from you?

n

What does “home” mean to Mario, Chester, Tucker, and Harry?

n

Did Chester make the right decision at the end of the story?

Listen for… n how

the music changes when Chester isn’t happy

n c ricket, n h ow n

tay seated and keep those wings tucked in.

S nS tay quiet (no chirping, but it’s okay to laugh at the funny parts, of course!). nW atch and listen carefully. nC lap at the end! n

Wait! There’s More!

chirpy, or insect sounds in some of the music (especially at the beginning of the performance)

the music sounds like a train and changes as the train gets closer to the city

the sounds showing confusion when a fire breaks out

And think about …the difference between reading a story and seeing and hearing it (with music!) on stage.

Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Christoph Eschenbach Music Director, National Symphony Orchestra The Macy’s Foundation and Washington Gas are the proud sponsors of the NSO Family Concerts.

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part by Adobe Foundation; The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

artsedge.kennedy-center.org

Musical Instrument “Petting Zoo”

Big Ideas n

Be a Good Audience for Chester and Friends…

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

One hour before the concert, enjoy hands-on fun with the instruments that the musicians will play on stage in the Kennedy Center Atrium. A project of the Women’s Committee for the NSO.

Kids’ Chat

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about Education at The Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal government. ©2013 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

After the 3 p.m. performance, stick around to ask questions of the concert artists.

Upcoming Family Concerts Please plan to join us at next year’s National Symphony Orchestra Family Concerts, performed by the full NSO at 1 pm and 3 pm on the following Sundays: Sunday, October 27, 2013—Halloween Concert Sunday, February 23, 2014—Peter and the Wolf Sunday, June 1, 2014 —Classical Kids Live: Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage The NSO also presents full orchestra Young People’s Concerts for school groups in the Concert Hall each season during the school day for grades 3 through 6.

Orchestra Interactive Enjoy an interactive exploration of orchestras, their instruments, and their music at the Perfect Pitch Web site at: artsedge. kennedy-center.org/perfectpitch For more about NSO education programs, see www.kennedycenter.org/nso/nsoed Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

5

6

Based on the book by George Selden Composed and adapted by Chris Brubeck Directed by Scot Reese Conducted by Steven Reineke Nick Kendall, violin

Chester, the country cricket from Connecticut, has a problem—he’s found himself alone and lost in the middle of New York City! But then Chester makes some great new friends who discover his hidden talent. And that changes everything.

David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO. Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Hello parents!

Please see page 5 for d activities. information an

Behind the Words and Music

For Parents Welcome to the NSO Family Concerts, designed to introduce children to the music of the orchestra. Please help your young concert-goers read and understand the information in this Cuesheet. The information below is designed to help you further the children’s concert experience.

In 1961, George Selden (1929–1989) wrote The Cricket in Times Square, for which he received the Newbery Medal. It became a children’s classic and turned into a series of seven books. Chris Brubeck is a multi-instrumentalist and awardwinning classical and jazz composer. Chris resides in Connecticut, not far from Chester’s fictional meadow.

The Concert Program

75 Musicians Led by One Conductor

The performance will include original music as well as short excerpts from the musical selections below. Before or after the concert, you may want to have children listen to some or all of these musical selections.

At today’s concert, NSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke will lead the 75 members of the National Symphony Orchestra in playing the music. The conductor is a person who leads the orchestra. Conductors generally use their right hand to tell the orchestra how fast to play and use their left hand to tell the musicians how loud or soft to play. Some use a slender white stick called a baton as they conduct. At the concert, watch how the conductor communicates with the musicians.

Dear Grownups:

“Blue Rondo à la Turk” by Dave Brubeck “Saint Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy “Beautiful Dreamer,” a ballad by Stephen Foster The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II (YOH-hahn Strauss) “Funiculi, Funicula” and “Santa Lucia,” Italian folk songs from Naples “Casta Diva” from the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (buh-LEE-nee) “Dance of the Hours” from the opera La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli (ah-MEEL-kah-re pawn-KYEL-lee) “Can-Can” from the opera Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” an English hymn “Un bel di, vendremo” from Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini (poo-CHEE-nee) “A Little Night Music” (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (MO-tzart) The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa “Autumn” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi The Prayer from the opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck

The Spark of a Story Author George Selden said he got the idea for the story when “One night I was coming home on the subway, and I did hear a cricket chirp in the Times Square subway station. The story formed in my mind within minutes.”

After the performance, ask children to think of something unusual they’ve seen or heard, and try to imagine a story about it. Have them write down some of their ideas and share them with family and friends.

After the performance, help children explore some of the story’s themes, including friendship, music, and being true to one’s self. Some questions to discuss: How could a cat and mouse or a boy and cricket be friends? Can you be friends with someone very different from you?

n

What does “home” mean to Mario, Chester, Tucker, and Harry?

n

Did Chester make the right decision at the end of the story?

Listen for… n how

the music changes when Chester isn’t happy

n c ricket, n h ow n

tay seated and keep those wings tucked in.

S nS tay quiet (no chirping, but it’s okay to laugh at the funny parts, of course!). nW atch and listen carefully. nC lap at the end! n

Wait! There’s More!

chirpy, or insect sounds in some of the music (especially at the beginning of the performance)

the music sounds like a train and changes as the train gets closer to the city

the sounds showing confusion when a fire breaks out

And think about …the difference between reading a story and seeing and hearing it (with music!) on stage.

Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education

Christoph Eschenbach Music Director, National Symphony Orchestra The Macy’s Foundation and Washington Gas are the proud sponsors of the NSO Family Concerts.

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided in part by Adobe Foundation; The Clark Charitable Foundation; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

artsedge.kennedy-center.org

Musical Instrument “Petting Zoo”

Big Ideas n

Be a Good Audience for Chester and Friends…

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

One hour before the concert, enjoy hands-on fun with the instruments that the musicians will play on stage in the Kennedy Center Atrium. A project of the Women’s Committee for the NSO.

Kids’ Chat

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about Education at The Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal government. ©2013 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

After the 3 p.m. performance, stick around to ask questions of the concert artists.

Upcoming Family Concerts Please plan to join us at next year’s National Symphony Orchestra Family Concerts, performed by the full NSO at 1 pm and 3 pm on the following Sundays: Sunday, October 27, 2013—Halloween Concert Sunday, February 23, 2014—Peter and the Wolf Sunday, June 1, 2014 —Classical Kids Live: Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage The NSO also presents full orchestra Young People’s Concerts for school groups in the Concert Hall each season during the school day for grades 3 through 6.

Orchestra Interactive Enjoy an interactive exploration of orchestras, their instruments, and their music at the Perfect Pitch Web site at: artsedge. kennedy-center.org/perfectpitch For more about NSO education programs, see www.kennedycenter.org/nso/nsoed Please recycle this Cuesheet by sharing it with friends!

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Based on the book by George Selden Composed and adapted by Chris Brubeck Directed by Scot Reese Conducted by Steven Reineke Nick Kendall, violin

Chester, the country cricket from Connecticut, has a problem—he’s found himself alone and lost in the middle of New York City! But then Chester makes some great new friends who discover his hidden talent. And that changes everything.

David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO. Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

Hello parents!

Please see page 5 for d activities. information an