FOR TEACHERS
National Symphony Orchestra Young People’s Concert Ankush Kumar Bahl Conductor
Dear Teacher: Summon the Heroes promises to be a fun and informative experience for students and educators. We hope to inspire your students with a celebration of heroes, to introduce them to the orchestra, and to share the basic “tools” of musical composition. This Cuesheet performance guide offers three integrated resources that work together to help you prepare students for the concert:
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he Guide for Students contains information about the concert program and T related activities.
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The CD provides Listening Activities relating to select works from the program, an introduction to the composer’s tools, and musical excerpts from the rest of the concert.
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his Guide for Teachers shares ideas on how to bring the Cuesheet, the T Listening Activities, and online resources to life in the classroom.
Enjoy the concert!
Carole J. Wysocki Director, NSO Education Program
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Tips for Using This Guide Students (and their teachers!) will get more out of the NSO Young People’s Concert when they are prepared for the Summon the Heroes program in advance. Here are some tips for using these resources:
Using the CD The CD contains Listening Activities designed for grades 3 and up. The activities may be presented by the classroom teacher or music specialist. Many students will require at least two opportunities to engage with the content of the CD. We suggest this approach to the listening activities. Engage Students > Play Track > Reflect > Repeat as needed > Go to the Next Track
General Tips n Listen for yourself. Spend some time alone with the CD and other resources.
This prep time is invaluable as you bring these resources into the classroom. n Allow enough lead time. Some teachers introduce students to the material
four weeks before the concert. n Prepare not only for the music but for the event. For many students, this will
be their first time at a concert with a full orchestra. They’ll be more comfortable if they know what to expect. n Most importantly, bring your own creativity to the process. Change these
activities to fit your classroom and add your own variations. The activities presented on the CD connect to the National Content Standards for music, and other subject areas such as social studies and language arts. For more about the standards, visit the ARTSEDGE Web site at www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge.
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TRACK
1
Summon the Heroes (7:10) Summary Students are introduced to different types of heroes including those from pop culture, history, myths, everyday experience, and their personal lives. Students hear how heroes are celebrated with music, whether by a triumphant march or a thoughtful theme. During the concert, students learn about the basic musical tools used by composers. They listen to rousing marches by composers Aaron Copland and John Williams. They also hear heroes caringly remembered in moving tributes by George Walker, Edward Elgar, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Richard Strauss. Before Direct students to Cuesheet. Read how heroes come from history, literature, myth, comic books, and everyday life; how heroes are shaped by courage, compassion, power, and humanity; about the composer’s tools; and about our hall of musical heroes. After Encourage students to share their understanding of high notes and low notes. Discuss the concept of intervals and how it applies in the music.
TRACK
4
2
Sounds Like a Hero (5:36) Summary Students learn about American composer John Williams and his use of pitch and rhythm.
Before Direct students to Cuesheet. Read how composers use pitch with its high notes, low notes, and everything in between to create melodies; how rhythm is used to create melodies; and about composer John Williams. During While playing this track, review Page 2 of Cuesheet which provides a general explanation of the heroic qualities of Superman March and suggests what Williams might have been trying to convey in this musical theme. The track also includes two gestural Listening Activities to leave students with a practical sense of pitch and rhythm. After Encourage students to share their understanding of pitch (high notes and low notes) and rhythm (timing of notes). Discuss the concepts of intervals/pitch and timing/rhythm and how each applies in the music.
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TRACK
3
Strike Up the Band! (6:15) Summary Students learn about the four sections of the orchestra; why a composer chooses specific instruments; and about German composer Ludwig van Beethoven and American composer Aaron Copland. Before Direct students to Cuesheet. Read about the challenges for composers who write for the orchestra. During While playing this track, review page 6 of the Cuesheet which provides descriptions of the brass, string, woodwind, and percussion sections; direct students to pages 2–3 to discuss the meaning of “Fanfare for the Common Man” and the presence of everyday heroes in their lives. After Encourage students to share their understanding of instrumentation. Discuss why Beethoven chose the strings section to express the humanity in his work? What drew Copland to choose the brass and percussion sections for his fanfare?
TRACK
6
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Sound the Trumpets (4:24) Summary Students learn composers are sometimes inspired by other composers, making it possible to hear similarities between musical works. Students also hear distinct differences between pieces as they are introduced to American composer John Williams’ Summon the Heroes.
Before Direct students to the Cuesheet. Read with students about composers Aaron Copland and John Williams. During While playing this track, connect students with information about the composer’s tools. Remind students about the basic tools of pitch and rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and instrumentation. After Encourage students to share their understanding of tempo and dynamics. Re-listen to music by Copland and Williams to help students distinguish the particular differences between the compositions.
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TRACK
5
In Depth: Lincoln Portrait (3:10) Summary Students learn how a composer chooses specific tools to combine an American hero’s actual words with music. Before Direct students to the Cuesheet. Read about composer Aaron Copland’s efforts to compose a musical tribute to President Abraham Lincoln. During While playing this track, connect students with information about composers’ tools. Remind students about the basic tools of pitch and rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and instrumentation. After Encourage students to share their understanding of the tone of Copland’s work. Why does Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait sound more stately and dignified than Williams’ music for the movie Superman?
TRACK
6
Playing the Heartstrings (3:16) Summary Students are introduced to the orchestra’s string section and the ability to use major and minor keys. Before Direct students to the Cuesheet. Read with students about composer George Theophilus Walker.
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During While playing this track, connect students with information about the composer’s tools. Remind students about pitch and rhythm, tempo, dynamics, instrumentation, and major and minor keys. After Encourage students to share their understanding of instrumentation and major and minor keys. Re-listen to Walker’s music to allow students to distinguish between the keys.
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TRACK
7
The Matching Game (4:01) Summary Students recap the learning from the CD tracks. Before Revisit the composers and heroes from the CD. Remind students of the basics that serve as clues to identify the music. The composer’s tools are identified as: pitch, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, and instrumentation.
The program of the NSO Young People’s Concert Summon the Heroes is provided without listening prompts at the end of the CD.
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KEYS
TEMPO
MELODY
PITCH
RHYTHM
After If time allows, ask students to share specific “clues” that helped them to identify the music. It might have been the hero or the subject of the music. Or, it may have been the composer’s tools. Give bonus points if students identify instruments or the sections of the orchestra. The correct answers are: (1) Elgar, “Nimrod” from the Enigma Variations; (2) Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait; (3) Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, 2nd Movement, “Allegretto”; and (4) Williams’ Superman March.
DYNAMICS
During Play the Matching Game on Track 7. Students re-listen to excerpts from Williams, Copland, Beethoven, and Elgar and match the work with each composer’s “hero.”
Preparing for the Concert Before you depart: n Remind students that no eating or drinking is
permitted in the Concert Hall. n Suggest students bring a light sweater or jacket in
case the hall is cold. When students arrive: n Encourage students to visit the restrooms in the
lobby before the concert begins. n Remind students to sit still in their seats and
not to reach between rows, kick the seat in front of them, or otherwise distract from anyone else’s concert experience. n The Concert Hall acoustics provide an
opportunity to remind students to remain quiet during the performance— and to demonstrate how sound travels from musicians to audience. During the performance: n Students will know to clap hands and applaud
the musicians when the conductor silences the orchestra and turns to acknowledge the audience.
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The Concert Program At the concert, students will hear the following works: Williams
Summon the Heroes (excerpt)
Strauss
Ein Heldenleben (excerpt)
Beethoven
Symphony No. 7, 2nd Movement, “Allegretto” (excerpt)
Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherezade, Mvt. II, (excerpt)
Walker
Lyric for Strings
Copland
“Fanfare for the Common Man”
Elgar
Enigma Variations, “Nimrod”
Williams
Superman March
Copland
A Lincoln Portrait (excerpt)
Beethoven
Overture to Egmont (excerpt)
Online Resources All selections performed at the Summon the Heroes concert are provided online on the ArtsEdge site. You’ll also find additional resources to explore the topic of heroes and prepare for the concert. Also included are extra listening activities, suggested classroom activities and exercises, and much more. Visit: http://goo.gl/R9rDc