Program Book - CSO for Kids: Exploring the Orchestra: A Universe of Music

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EXPLORING ORCHESTRA THE : OF UNIVERSEMUSIC

CSO for Kids: School Concerts November 18, 2022, 10:15 & 12:00

CSO for Kids: Family Matinees November 19, 2022, 11:00 & 12:45

PERFORMERS

Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Andrew Grams conductor

Justin Roberts co-host and vocals

Meagan McNeal co-host and vocals

PROGRAM INCLUDES SELECTIONS FROM

MONTEVERDI L’Orfeo

MOZART Symphony No. 35

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

WAGNER Die Walküre: The Ride of the Valkyries

SCHOENBERG Five Pieces for Orchestra

STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

ELLINGTON The Nutcracker Suite

THOMAS Fanfare of Hope and Solidarity

ROBERTS Space Cadet

WILLIAMS Star Wars Suite

An orchestra is a large group of musicians who play together on a variety of string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.

the orchestra

One of the amazing things about the orchestra is how much it has changed and evolved over time. Kind of like the universe, but not quite as old! The orchestra began about 400 years ago.

During the Middle Ages (a period in European history from about 500 to 1500 CE), large groups of different types of instruments did not perform together, but starting around the 1600s, European composers began to explore the sounds that instruments could make when mixed together. In 1607, a composer named Monteverdi used a small orchestra for his opera, L’Orfeo. By the mid-1600s, a composer named Jean-Baptiste Lully composed music for Louis XIV, the King of France, using a group of 24 violins — this was the beginning of large groups of string instruments playing together.

For many years, different orchestras around Europe included different instruments. One city would use a horn and another would not, but eventually the early orchestra settled on the same number and types of instruments. This made it easier for composers to write music. In the late 1700s, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began composing symphonies that showed off the skill and brilliance of the entire orchestra!

Beethoven

As the orchestra entered into the 19th century, composers wanted to do more with it. They added even more instruments to create a richer sound. They used higher instruments like the piccolo flute and lower instruments like the contrabassoon. Composers like Ludwig van Beethoven started expressing deep personal emotions in their work and could do so by adding more instruments to the orchestra.

These famous four notes from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony capture the essence of orchestral music and will forever link the orchestra to Beethoven: - - - ___ (da, da, da, daaaa)

Mozart wrote SymphonyNo. 35 for a specialcelebration. The fasttempo and the use of thetimpani capture the joyof the event!

Beethoven was a young man when he began to lose his hearing. At 44 years old, he was completely deaf. His loss of hearing was quite tragic for him, and he brilliantly communicates his sadness in his music.

Mozart

You might be thinking, “Wow! The orchestra is getting so big! If it gets any bigger it’s going to start sounding like Star Wars!” You’re correct! In the Romantic period, composers like Richard Wagner came along and wanted even more instruments with bigger sounds to express even bigger emotions. The universe kept expanding!

What emotions do you feel when you hear the big sounds of the orchestra?

Since the 20th Century, the orchestra has stayed pretty much the same size, but composers have experimented with the way they combine the sounds of the instruments. It’s almost like they are exploring different planets from all over the solar system!

Did you know thatJohn Williams,who composed themusic to Star Wars,was influenced byWagner’s music?

Some composers play with new chords. Some explore new ways to write music using very few notes. Other composers, like Igor Stravinsky, find new ways to use rhythm.

Stravinsky

Try to clapthis rhythm toStravinsky’s Rite of Spring.

1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2,1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2

What do you think Stravinsky was feeling when he wrote Rite of Spring?

American composers added new styles of music to the orchestra. Duke Ellington added jazz to the mix. In 1960, he successfully reimagined The Nutcracker Suite by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and showed that while music may be the universal language, it is spoken with many accents, which adds to the fun!

Fanfare of Hope andSolidarity premiered onYouTube in May 2020. Howdo you think the musiciansfelt as they performedthis music alone in theirhomes? How do you thinkthey felt when they wereable to come back togetherand play as an orchestra?

Other American composers have added their own unique voices to orchestral music too. Augusta Read Thomas wrote her piece Fanfare of Hope and Solidarity during the pandemic shutdown. This composition holds a whole mix of emotions.

The orchestra can do anything! Even play children’s music. Over the years, many composers have written music especially for children. Justin Roberts has written lots of music for kids, and since this program is all about the universe, the orchestra will perform his song called Space Cadet.

Tell all the people in your universe how much fun it is to come to Symphony Center to hear the Orchestra.

Remember to expand your universe and learn how to play a string, woodwind, brass or percussion instrument. You could also be the conductor or composer. Who knows what new galaxies you will create? Whatever they are, they will be out of this world!

Ellington

Thomas

Meet the Conductor

Andrew Grams

American conductor Andrew Grams has steadily built a reputation for his dynamic concerts.

Andrew has led orchestras throughout the United States including the Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dallas Symphony and the Houston Symphony.

Born in Severn, Maryland, he began studying the violin when he was eight years old. In 1999, he received a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from the Juilliard School, and in 2003, he received a conducting degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller.

Meet the Guest Artists

Justin Roberts

Four-time Grammy Award nominee Justin Roberts is one of the founders of the modern family music scene.

For 25 years, Roberts has been creating the soundtrack to families’ lives, helping kids navigate the joys and sorrows of growing up, while inspiring parents to remember their own childhoods.

His songs are the kind of get-stuck-in-your-head pop nuggets that draw comparisons to Elvis Costello, Fountains of Wayne and Paul Simon rather than simple nursery rhymes, prompting USA Today to call him “hands-down the best songwriter in the genre.”

Meagan McNeal

Meagan McNeal is a powerhouse singer/songwriter and recording artist from Chicago.

Well versed in the genres of Soul, Jazz and R&B, she is known for her diverse range and soulful voice, as demonstrated in her debut album “Mindset.” In 2017, Meagan’s radiating vocals on NBC’s “The Voice” landed her under the wing of Grammy Awardwinning artist Jennifer Hudson.

Her viral performance video of “Hey Hey” on the L train in Chicago garnered her over a million views on social media platforms and led to an appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show."

MUTI zell music director

violins

Robert Chen Concertmaster

The Louis C. Sudler Chair, endowed  by an anonymous benefactor

Stephanie Jeong Associate Concertmaster

The Cathy and Bill Osborn Chair

David Taylor Assistant Concertmaster*

The Ling Z. and Michael C. Markovitz Chair

Yuan-Qing Yu Assistant Concertmaster*

So Young Bae

Cornelius Chiu

Alison Dalton § Gina DiBello

Kozue Funakoshi Russell Hershow

Qing Hou

Matous Michal

Simon Michal Blair Milton Sando Shia

Susan Synnestvedt

Rong-Yan Tang ‡

Baird Dodge Principal Lei Hou Ni Mei

Hermine Gagné

Rachel Goldstein Mihaela Ionescu

Sylvia Kim Kilcullen

Melanie Kupchynsky

Wendy Koons Meir

Aiko Noda § Joyce Noh Nancy Park

Ronald Satkiewicz

Florence Schwartz

violas

Li-Kuo Chang Assistant Principal ‡ Catherine Brubaker Beatrice Chen

Youming Chen

Sunghee Choi

Wei-Ting Kuo

Danny Lai

Weijing Michal Diane Mues

Lawrence Neuman Max Raimi

cellos

John Sharp Principal

The Eloise W. Martin Chair

Kenneth Olsen Assistant Principal

The Adele Gidwitz Chair

Karen Basrak

The Joseph A. and Cecile Renaud Gorno Chair

Loren Brown

Richard Hirschl

Daniel Katz Katinka Kleijn David Sanders Gary Stucka Brant Taylor

basses

Alexander Hanna Principal

The David and Mary Winton

Green Principal Bass Chair Daniel Armstrong Daniel Carson

Robert Kassinger ‡ Mark Kraemer

Stephen Lester Bradley Opland harp

Lynne Turner flutes

Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson Principal

The Erika and Dietrich M.

Gross Principal Flute Chair Emma Gerstein

Jennifer Gunn piccolo Jennifer Gunn

The Dora and John Aalbregtse Piccolo Chair

oboes

William Welter Principal

The Nancy and Larry Fuller Principal Oboe Chair Lora Schaefer Scott Hostetler

english horn Scott Hostetler

clarinets

Stephen Williamson Principal John Bruce Yeh Assistant Principal Gregory Smith

e-flat clarinet John Bruce Yeh

bassoons Keith Buncke Principal William Buchman Assistant Principal Miles Maner

contrabassoon Miles Maner

* Assistant concertmasters are listed by seniority. ‡ On sabbatical § On leave

horns

David Cooper Principal

Daniel Gingrich Associate Principal James Smelser

David Griffin Oto Carrillo Susanna Gaunt

trumpets

Esteban Batallán Principal

The Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor Mark Ridenour Assistant Principal John Hagstrom

The Pritzker Military Museum & Library Chair Tage Larsen

trombones Jay Friedman Principal

The Lisa and Paul Wiggin Principal Trombone Chair Michael Mulcahy Charles Vernon

bass trombone Charles Vernon tuba Gene Pokorny Principal

The Arnold Jacobs Principal Tuba Chair, endowed by Christine Querfeld timpani David Herbert Principal The Clinton Family Fund Chair Vadim Karpinos Assistant Principal

percussion

Cynthia Yeh Principal Patricia Dash Vadim Karpinos James Ross

librarians

Peter Conover Principal Carole Keller Mark Swanson cso fellow Gabriela Lara Violin

orchestra personnel John Deverman Director Anne MacQuarrie Manager, CSO Auditions and Orchestra Personnel stage technicians

Christopher Lewis Stage Manager Blair Carlson Paul Christopher Ryan Hartge Peter Landry Todd Snick

The Paul Hindemith Principal Viola, Gilchrist Foundation, and Louise H. Benton Wagner chairs currently are unoccupied. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra string sections utilize revolving seating. Players behind the first desk (first two desks in the violins) change seats systematically every two weeks and are listed alphabetically. Section percussionists also are listed alphabetically.

JESSIE MONTGOMERY Mead Composer-in-Residence • HILARY HAHN Artist-in-Residence CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA • RICCARDO

INSTRUMENTS OF THE ORCHESTRA

THE STRING FAMILY includes violin, viola, cello, bass and harp. These instruments are made of wood and strings and are played by vibrating the strings using a bow, or plucking or striking the strings with the fingers.

THE WOODWIND FAMILY includes flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone. These instruments all have the same basic shape: a long tube with a mouthpiece at one end. The flute is played by blowing across a mouthpiece to create a vibration. Oboe, clarinet, bassoon and saxophone are all played by blowing air into a single or double reed attached to the mouthpiece, creating a vibration that results in sound.

THE BRASS FAMILY includes horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium and tuba. Brass instruments make a sound when the players vibrate their lips inside a mouthpiece, which is fitted into the instrument. The players can change pitch on a trumpet, horn or tuba by pressing on valves. Trombone players change pitch by moving the slide back and forth.

THE PERCUSSION FAMILY includes snare drum, bass drum, gong, triangle, xylophone, timpani and piano, among many others. Percussion instruments are struck, scraped or shaken.

The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation.

Support for Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association programming for children and families is provided by Abbott Fund, Archer Daniels Midland Company, John Hart and Carol Prins, Kinder Morgan, PNC, Megan and Steve Shebik, Michael and Linda Simon, the Walter and Caroline Sueske Charitable Trust and an anonymous family foundation.

Allstate Insurance Company is the CSOA Youth Education Program Sponsor.

Kidsbook© is a publication of the Negaunee Music Institute. For more information, call 312-294-3410 or email institute@cso.org

Content for Kidsbook was created by Katy Clusen with graphic design by Shawn Sheehy.

Violin

Flute Trombone ClarinetOboe

Timpani Snare Drum Xylophone

Cymbal

Bassoon

Saxophone

Tuba Horn

Viola

Cello

Piano

Bass Harp