Educational Goals
Music is unique in that it presents emotions to us without a specific "cause." From the moment we are born, we experience emotions that are usually caused by some outside force, or are a reaction to something outside of ourselves. Music gives us raw emotions—disconnected from a particular cause. This allows us to bring our own emotions to the music. This is why music can be so powerfully therapeutic—it meets us where we are emotionally, and helps us process our own emotion. The earlier kids make this connection with
A few primary questions guide the tone of the entire concert include:
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How did students feel before listening to a piece. How do they feel after?
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Does the music depict something specific?
Or a generic emotion?
Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Used to introduce Mozart to students as one of the greatest “dramatists” in music. This overture is filled with excitement and anticipation for what is to come.
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, 4th Movement "The Storm"
In this piece, Beethoven represents a powerful thunderstorm. Does Beethoven’s thunderstorm sound like storms students have experienced? How does Beethoven make it sound so much like a storm? Students can explore Beethoven’s use of dynamics, articulation, and orchestration to find out how Beethoven evokes a storm, and how it feels.
Grieg: Morning Mood from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
Through this depiction of a sunrise, we’ll explore how music can set a “mood” or atmosphere. Students will be asked to consider: What kind of morning do you think it is? The selection is a way of introducing the concept of music creating an specific mood and evoking the feeling of an environment.
Montgomery: Starburst
Space and the universe seem so calm and peaceful when we look into the sky at night, but it is actually filled with a lot of drama! In Starburst, Jessie Montgomery depicts the definition of the term: “A period of intense activity in a galaxy involving the formation of stars.” Montgomery achieves this through contrasting explosive gestures with lyrical melodies. Students can explore how the unexpected rhythms depict this chaos.
Educational Goals
Symphonic Landscapes is a 45-minute education concert designed for students in grades 1–3. This interactive program introduces young listeners to the expressive power of orchestral music, showing how composers use sound to tell stories, paint vivid scenes, and stir our emotions. As the concert unfolds, students learn to recognize the difference between music that describes something specific—like a thunderstorm or flowing river—and music that captures broad emotions such as happiness, sadness, or anger. It’s a journey of imagination, emotion, and discovery through the colorful world of the orchestra.
Symphonic Landscapes
Discovering drama and emotions in Music