For Teachers and Parents Welcome to the NSO’s Music for Young Audiences Concert, designed to introduce children in pre-kindergarten through grade 2 to musical instruments of the orchestra. Please help your young concert-goers read and understand the information in this Cuesheet.
The Concert Program Courante by George Frideric Handel, arranged by Waldemar Twarz Madrigal for Three Violins by Henry Purcell “After You, My Dear Gaston” (a jazz canon) “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” variations by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Duo for Violin and Viola in G major by Mozart
Activity for Children—Vary It Different versions of the same song, like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” are called variations. Have children take a song they know, and try creating a variation for it—like changing the words or doing parts of it faster or slower. Have them share it with friends and see whether they hear the similarities and differences.
CUESHEET PERFORMANCE GUIDE
Don’t Miss… The Musical Instrument “Petting Zoo” Starting one hour before the concert, children can enjoy hands-on fun with the instruments that the musicians will play on stage in the Hall of States. (A project of the Women’s Committee for the NSO.)
Our Upcoming Family Concerts Please build on your Music for Young Audiences experience by joining us at this season’s National Symphony Orchestra Family Concerts, which are performed on the following Sundays by the full NSO:
February 12, 2017—Joshua Bell in The Man with the Violin May 21, 2017— Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood
Plus, Help Children Remember… A Good Audience stays seated, stays quiet, doesn’t eat, listens, and claps. Have fun!
EXPLORE MORE! Go to KC Connections on ARTSEDGE artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/kc-connections
Additional support for NSO Music for Young Audiences is provided by The Clark Charitable Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; and the U.S. Department of Education. David M. Rubenstein Chairman
Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.
Deborah F. Rutter President
Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.
Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education
The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
©2016 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Christoph Eschenbach Music Director National Symphony Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra Music for Young Audiences
Close Your Eyes… Now Open Your Ears! Performed by NSO Musicians Holly Hamilton, violin, and Ruth Schaaf, viola, with special guest Kari Paludan, soprano
Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences
David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO.
Listening for Musical Fun Music can be lots of fun, especially when you really listen to it — like when you close your eyes and let your ears do all the work. In this performance, you will learn how to open your ears to the wonders of music with the help of three musicians and music teacher Madam Mavis Pugh— and a very special song. This is how it goes:
Close your eyes, now open your ears Let’s make sure that everyone hears
Meet the Instruments
Listen and Hear Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll learn to hear in music: ■ Rhythm — repeating
patterns of strong and weak beats. These patterns make you want to tap your foot or clap when you hear the music. ■D ynamics —how
soft or how loud the music is played. Notice that music sometimes has both loud and soft parts.
Stories and music, laughter and tears Close your eyes, now open your ears!
■P itch — how high or low
Two of the three instruments in the performance—the violin and viola—are string instruments. They are made of wood and have four strings. Musicians play them by using a bow (a stick of wood with a tight ribbon of horsehair) in their right hand and pressing the string with the fingers of their left hand. The bodies of the instruments have a hollow center, which makes the sound of the strings loud and strong. That sound comes out of the two f-shaped holes.
Violin
Viola
But look carefully—these instruments are not exactly the same. They are different sizes, and that means they sound a little different. The smaller the instrument, the higher the sound it makes. Guess which instrument will sound the highest and which will sound the lowest?
the music sounds. When you sing like a bird, that is usually a higher sound than when you make a sound like a car engine.
■V ariations — changes to a main part of the
music (the melody or theme) that make it a little bit different. During the performance, listen for “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and the changes composer (a person who writes music) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (MO-tzart) wrote for it. You can think of a theme and variation like this:
Theme
Variation
A theme is a melody that is repeated in a musical composition.
A variation is the theme with a few changes.
What’s the third instrument, you ask? The human voice! That’s right, we all have built-in musical instruments. That’s because deep in the back of your throat you have what are called vocal cords. If you place your fingers gently on the middle of your neck and hum quietly, you should feel vibrations (the very fast moving back and forth of those cords). Air from your lungs helps move these cords to create sounds for talking and singing.
Listening for Musical Fun Music can be lots of fun, especially when you really listen to it — like when you close your eyes and let your ears do all the work. In this performance, you will learn how to open your ears to the wonders of music with the help of three musicians and music teacher Madam Mavis Pugh— and a very special song. This is how it goes:
Close your eyes, now open your ears Let’s make sure that everyone hears
Meet the Instruments
Listen and Hear Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll learn to hear in music: ■ Rhythm — repeating
patterns of strong and weak beats. These patterns make you want to tap your foot or clap when you hear the music. ■D ynamics —how
soft or how loud the music is played. Notice that music sometimes has both loud and soft parts.
Stories and music, laughter and tears Close your eyes, now open your ears!
■P itch — how high or low
Two of the three instruments in the performance—the violin and viola—are string instruments. They are made of wood and have four strings. Musicians play them by using a bow (a stick of wood with a tight ribbon of horsehair) in their right hand and pressing the string with the fingers of their left hand. The bodies of the instruments have a hollow center, which makes the sound of the strings loud and strong. That sound comes out of the two f-shaped holes.
Violin
Viola
But look carefully—these instruments are not exactly the same. They are different sizes, and that means they sound a little different. The smaller the instrument, the higher the sound it makes. Guess which instrument will sound the highest and which will sound the lowest?
the music sounds. When you sing like a bird, that is usually a higher sound than when you make a sound like a car engine.
■V ariations — changes to a main part of the
music (the melody or theme) that make it a little bit different. During the performance, listen for “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and the changes composer (a person who writes music) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (MO-tzart) wrote for it. You can think of a theme and variation like this:
Theme
Variation
A theme is a melody that is repeated in a musical composition.
A variation is the theme with a few changes.
What’s the third instrument, you ask? The human voice! That’s right, we all have built-in musical instruments. That’s because deep in the back of your throat you have what are called vocal cords. If you place your fingers gently on the middle of your neck and hum quietly, you should feel vibrations (the very fast moving back and forth of those cords). Air from your lungs helps move these cords to create sounds for talking and singing.
For Teachers and Parents Welcome to the NSO’s Music for Young Audiences Concert, designed to introduce children in pre-kindergarten through grade 2 to musical instruments of the orchestra. Please help your young concert-goers read and understand the information in this Cuesheet.
The Concert Program Courante by George Frideric Handel, arranged by Waldemar Twarz Madrigal for Three Violins by Henry Purcell “After You, My Dear Gaston” (a jazz canon) “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” variations by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Duo for Violin and Viola in G major by Mozart
Activity for Children—Vary It Different versions of the same song, like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” are called variations. Have children take a song they know, and try creating a variation for it—like changing the words or doing parts of it faster or slower. Have them share it with friends and see whether they hear the similarities and differences.
CUESHEET PERFORMANCE GUIDE
Don’t Miss… The Musical Instrument “Petting Zoo” Starting one hour before the concert, children can enjoy hands-on fun with the instruments that the musicians will play on stage in the Hall of States. (A project of the Women’s Committee for the NSO.)
Our Upcoming Family Concerts Please build on your Music for Young Audiences experience by joining us at this season’s National Symphony Orchestra Family Concerts, which are performed on the following Sundays by the full NSO:
February 12, 2017—Joshua Bell in The Man with the Violin May 21, 2017— Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood
Plus, Help Children Remember… A Good Audience stays seated, stays quiet, doesn’t eat, listens, and claps. Have fun!
EXPLORE MORE! Go to KC Connections on ARTSEDGE artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/kc-connections
Additional support for NSO Music for Young Audiences is provided by The Clark Charitable Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; and the U.S. Department of Education. David M. Rubenstein Chairman
Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.
Deborah F. Rutter President
Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.
Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education
The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
©2016 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Christoph Eschenbach Music Director National Symphony Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra Music for Young Audiences
Close Your Eyes… Now Open Your Ears! Performed by NSO Musicians Holly Hamilton, violin, and Ruth Schaaf, viola, with special guest Kari Paludan, soprano
Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences
David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO.