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Junior/Intermediate Study Guide

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s School Concerts are generously supported by Mrs. Gert Wharton and an anonymous donor.

Table of Contents

Concert Overview Concert Preparation Program Notes

Lesson Plans Artist Biographies Musical TermsGlossary

Instruments inthe Orchestra

Musicians of the TSO

Teacher & Student Evaluation Forms

3 4 - 6 7 - 15

16 - 31 32- 34 35 - 36

37 - 48 49 - 52 53 - 54

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Justina So for preparing the lesson plans included in this guide

Junior/Intermediate: Suitable for students in grades 4–8

Evan Mitchell, conductorTorQ, percussion quartet

Back by popular demand, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is joined by the electrifying Toronto-based percussion ensemble TorQ for an exciting program of orchestral favourites. Come and experience the powerful percussion family—from the tambourine to the timpani.

Shake, Rattle & Roll

Concert Overview

Program to include excerpts from*: Leonard Bernstein Overture to West Side StoryEd Argenziano Stinkin' GarbageSaint-Saëns Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah Khachaturian "Sabre Dance" from Gayane Eric Whitacre, arr. D. Morphy and B. Duinker SleepJohn Williams Main Theme Star Wars Pyotr Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture Maurice Ravel Danse générale from Daphnis et ChloéMonica Pearce Whirly**Beethoven, arr. Tania Miller Symphony No 9 "Ode To Joy" Recorder Play-Along and Audience Sing-Along

*Program subject to change

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** TorQ Percussion Quartet and Monica Pearce would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario

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Concert Preparation

Before Listen and ReadListen to the pieces of music• Have you heard any of these pieces before? • Which one is your favourite and why?• Do you hear anything new or interesting? • Try out one of our listening journals and record your observations.

Read the biographies and program notes • Were there any composers you had never heard of before? • Did you learn anything new or interesting about one of the pieces, composers, instruments or TSO musicians?

Look around the orchestra and the hall • Have you been to Roy Thomson Hall before? • Are there any instruments you haven’t seen before? • Do you notice anything interesting about the orchestra?

Listen to the orchestra and conductor• Is it different listening to the live orchestra versus a recording? • Think about how the different pieces make you feel. • Is there a particular instrument or part of the piece that you like listening to the best?• What instruments are used to create different sound effects?

During Look and Listen

Your class is coming to Roy Thomson Hall to see and hear the Toronto Symphony Orchestra! Here are some suggestions of what to do before, during, and after the performance. Whether it’s your first symphony concert or you’re a seasoned audience member, there’s always something new to learn and experience!

Let's Get Ready!

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Discuss and reflect with your classmates• Was there anything that surprised you during the concert? • What was your favourite/least favourite piece and why? • Was your experience different from your classmates?• Fill out our Student Feedback form and let us know what you think!

Review these rules and reminders with your classmates • No outside food or drink allowed inside Roy Thomson Hall. • No flash photography or recordings. • Please visit the bathroom before the concert. Audience members walking in and out during the concert can be distracting.• We encourage you to applaud and show appreciation. The orchestra relies on your energy to perform. • If you’re unsure when the piece of music is over, look to the conductor and performers on stage. The conductor will turn and face the audience once the piece of music is over.

Have fun and enjoy your experience!

After Discuss and Reflect

Review Rules and Reminders

Concert Preparation

Concert Preparation

Listening JournalsName: ____________________________ Date: _________________________

Name of the piece ___________________________________ Composer ___________________________________

1) What kind of instruments do you hear? What type of group or ensemble is playing?

2) What different dynamics do you hear? Do the dynamics stay the same or change? (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, crescendo, diminuendo, etc.)

3) How would you describe the mood of the piece? Why?

4) What tempo marking would you give this piece? (ex. Largo, Adagio, Andante, Allegro, Presto) 5) What type of key is this piece in? Major Minor Both Other

6) How does the music make you feel? Why do you think the composer wrote this piece?

7) What two words would you use to describe this piece of music?

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Program Notes

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Leonard Bernstein BiographyCelebrated worldwide as one of the greatest musical talents to ever hit the stage, Leonard Bernstein is best known for his gen-uine and charismatic presence on the conductor’s podium. His longest standing post was as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 1958 - 1969.

Passionate as an educator, Bernstein and the New York Phil-harmonic revolutionized music education with the first ever televised Young People’s Concerts. Bernstein became widely known for this sixty-three-part series which was broadcast nationwide on CBS and syndicated in over 40 countries across the globe.

He was a major advocate of American composers and would regularly conduct and record works by composers such as Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. These American com-posers had a profound influence on Bernstein’s compositions, which are imbued with classical, theatre, and American jazz el-ements. With such eclectic sources of inspiration, Bernstein’s

voice carries strong though all mediums, including works for: orchestra, jazz ensemble, opera, musical theatre, and film.

Overture to West Side StoryBernstein’s West Side Story is a modern day musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by William Shake-speare. The story explores the conflict between two gangs known as the Sharks and the Jets. The plot follows the forbidden love shared between Tony, a Jet member, and Maria, who is the sister of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks. Although lives are taken throughout the story, it is because of those deaths that the two gangs are able to recognize their shared humanity and compassion for one another. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story was adapted for orchestra following the successful 1961 film which won ten Academy Awards including Best Picture.

The Overture to West Side Story is a short piece heard before the musical which introduces many of the melodic themes throughout the entire show. The TSO School Concerts will feature the short “MAMBO!” section from the Overture. You will hear nearly every instrument of the percussion family as they shake, rattle and roll to this Latin mambo. The woodwind family and the brass family often interrupt each other with punchy, syncopated rhythms. Watch & Listen

Program Notes

Ed Argenziano Biography

Stinkin' Garbage

Ed Argenziano was a secondary school teacher in New Jersey for 32 years! He was also on the faculty of Fairleigh Dickinson University Middle College. Argenziano is extremely involved in many percussion and drum corps ensembles, and frequently appears as an adjudicator and clinician at percussion competi-tions around the world. He has had numerous commissions for percussion arrangements and compositions throughout the world and published works with Row-Loff Productions, Nashville, TN.

Stinkin’ Garbage is a fun, energetic percussion ensemble piece and can be performed with 4-32 players! The instrumentation for this piece calls for: 1 Large Rubber Garbage Can, and as many 30 gallon Garbage Cans (with lids) AS YOU CAN STAND!

Did you know?Argenziano coordinated the 420 member LED marching band for the 2014 Super Bowl Half Time Show featuring

Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Watch & Listen

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Program Notes

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Camille Saint-Saëns Biography

Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah

A major figure of the Romantic era, Saint-Saëns was a success-ful pianist, organist, and composer. Born in Paris in 1835, Saint-Saëns was a child prodigy on the piano. He gave his first public recital at the age of 10, featuring a Mozart Piano Concerto and received international notice. Pursuing his passion for music, he studied organ and composition at the Paris Conservatory and went on to pursue a career as an organist at the famed Church of the Madeleine in Paris. He won many top prizes and eventually gained an introduction with the famed Hun-garian composer Franz Liszt. They formed an enduring life-long friendship and Liszt helped guide and influence the up-and-coming career of young Saint-Saëns. During his lifetime, he would compose more than 300 works. Some of his most well-known compositions include The Carnival of the Animals, Danse Macabre, Samson and Delilah and Symphony No. 3 (Or-gan Symphony).

Set in three acts, Saint-Saëns’ opera Samson and Delilah is based on the Biblical story of Samson from the Old Testament. Initially rejected in Paris due to its biblical content, Liszt encouraged Saint-Saëns to complete the opera and even helped mount its first production in Germany in 1877. The production was a huge success and Samson and Delilah is now considered one of his most well-known works.

Taking place during the third act, the Danse Bacchanale (traditionally a ballet scene in French grand opera) is a percussion-driven, celebratory dance occurring at the opera’s climax. Saint-Saëns employs a double harmonic motif based on an Arabic scale (figure 1) throughout, whose unique sound comes from the augmented interval between the second and third degrees of the scale. Opening with a solo oboe, the pivotal Danse Bacchanale is often performed separately as an orchestral piece.

Did you know?Saint-Saëns wrote his famous Carnival of the Animals as a joke. It was all a bit of “fun” for the composer, who preferred to be

known for his more serious symphonic works. For this reason, he made sure the work was published only after his death–it received

its first public performance the year following his passing.

Figure 1

Watch & Listen

Program Notes

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Aram Khachaturian Biography

"Sabre Dance" from Gayane

Born in Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, Khachaturian left home to live with his brother in Russia at the age of 17. Although he had no formal musical training, he was an incredibly gifted cellist and began his study at the Gnes-sin Institute shortly after he arrived in Russia. Khachaturian started developing his skills as a composer in 1925 and soon after transferred to the Moscow Conservatory where he completed his studies in 1934. He gained popularity within the Soviet Union and across the globe nearly over-night with his Piano Concerto (1936), with subsequent hits including his Violin Concerto, Cello Concerto, and three symphonies. Khachaturian’s large-scale works included the ballets Spartacus and Gayane. His most popular work of all time is the “Sabre Dance” from Gayane which will be performed at the TSO School Concerts in February.

“Sabre Dance” from the ballet Gayane is one of the most well-known classical music pieces of classical music of all time! It’s been used in countless cartoons, films, video games, and commercials. Khachaturian composed his popular folk ballet Gayane in 1942, re-using a lot of musical material from an earlier ballet he wrote called Happiness. The ballet is set in four acts and tells the story of a young Armenian woman working on a farm.

The popular “Sabre Dance” appears in the fourth act and is based on a Kurdish folk dance where dancers display their skills with sabres. Khachaturian uses elements of an Armenian folk song during the middle of the movement, heard in the strings. Listen for the ostinato (repeated rhythm) in the timpani, glissandos in the trombones and trumpets, as well as for the exciting, fast melody played by the xylophone in the percussion section!

Did you know?The “Sabre Dance” can be heard in many movies and television shows, including: The Simpsons, SpongeBob SquarePants, The

Big Bang Theory, and many more!

Watch & Listen

Program Notes

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Eric Whitacre Biography

Sleep

Grammy-winning composer and conductor Eric Whita-cre is one of the most popular musicians of our time. His concert music has been performed throughout the world by millions of amateur and professional musicians alike, while his ground-breaking Virtual Choirs have united sing-ers from over 110 different countries. A graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, Eric was recently appointed Artist in Residence with the Los Angeles Master Chorale having completed a five-year term as Composer in Residence at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, UK.

As conductor of the Eric Whitacre Singers he has released several chart-topping albums including 2011’s bestselling Light and Gold. A sought after guest conductor, Eric has conducted choral and instrumental concerts around the globe, including sold-out concerts with the London Sym-phony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Minnesota Orchestra. In addition to several collaborations

with legendary Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer, he has worked with British pop icons Laura Mvula, Imogen Heap and Annie Lennox. Source: http://ericwhitacre.com/

Eric Whitacre was originally commissioned by Julia Armstrong to write a choral work. It was intended to be in memory of her parents, and Julia had requested that Robert Frost’s poem titled Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening be the words used for the composition. The work was premiered in Austin, Texas in 2000, and was instantly a success; however, it was soon discovered that the right to use Robert Frost’s poem set to this music was never secured. A long legal battle between Robert Frost’s estate and their publisher ensued, and it was decided that Eric Whitacre could not use the poem until it became public domain in 2038. After some thought, Whitacre asked his friend, poet Charles Anthony Silvestri, to set words to the music he had written. For further details on the story behind the composition, visit Eric Whitacre’s website here.

The version of Sleep that will be performed on the School Concerts was arranged for two marimbas, four hands (which means two people play each marimba) by Daniel Morphy from TorQ and percussionist Ben Duinker.

Watch & Listen

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John Williams Biography

Main Theme from Star WarsThe Main Theme from Star Wars is arguably the most popular and recognized movie theme in our history, captivating listeners since 1977. The piece opens with a major chord which is supposed to evoke the entire universe emerging from the Big Bang. Williams uses a slow three-measure introduction high-lighting the fortitude of the brass section. The brass fanfare starts with the trombones and is passed off to the trumpet section using a technique called call and response. A variety of triplets are used throughout including eighth-note and quarter-note groupings. Like an overture, the Main Title from Star Wars intro-duces many of the themes that will be heard throughout the film.

Program Notes

John Williams is considered one of the most successful composers of film and orchestral music of our time. Raised in New York City, he moved with his family to Los Angeles to attend UCLA and study composition privately with Ma-rio Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Williams later moved back to New York City to attend the Julliard School. While in New York, he worked as a jazz pianist and a studio musician before ulti-mately starting to compose for television and film. He’s cre-ated some of the most unforgettable film scores of all time including Jaws, ET, Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park, the first three Harry Potter Films, and Indiana Jones.

He has received five Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, seven BAFTAs and 21 Grammys. From 1980 to 1993, Wil-liams served as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and now holds the title of Laureate Conductor. In addition to film scores, Williams has composed numerous works for the concert stage, among them two symphonies, and concertos commissioned by several of the world’s leading orchestras.

Did you know?

The force is 40 years old! The original Star Wars film was released in theatres in 1977.

Watch & Listen

Program Notes

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky BiographyHailed as one of the most popular Russian composers to date, Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in a small town called Kamsko-Votkinsk in Russia’s Ural Mountains. He began taking piano lessons when he was five years old. Despite showing an early passion for music, his parents wanted him to pursue a career in civil service. Tchaikovsky attended a boys-only boarding school and went on to complete his law studies and work at the Ministry of Justice.

Finding he was unable to express himself in his career, Tchai-kovsky resigned from his post at the Ministry of Justice in 1863 to study music at the new St. Petersburg Conservatory – now named after Tchaikovsky. He studied with the director of the conservatory, Anton Rubenstein, and was later offered a posi-tion as Professor of Composition.

Tchaikovsky composed nearly 170 pieces, with some of his most well-known works including the 1812 Overture, Romeo

and Juliet Fantasy Overture, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Symphony No. 6. His ballets remain incred-ibly popular to this day. In fact, The Nutcracker is performed every December all over the world!

1812 OvertureThe 1812 Overture is among Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions, although not one of his personal favourites. Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write the overture to mark the consecration of the Cathe-dral of Christ the Savior Church in Moscow. The Church itself was commissioned by Tsar Alexander I to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812. Tchaikovsky crafted a very celebratory and patriotic work for the occasion. In the 1812 Overture, Tchaikovsky quotes the Russian National Anthem and an Orthodox Church hymn to represent Russia. He also uses fragments of the French national an-them, La Marseillaise, throughout the piece to represent Napoleon. The 1812 Overture premiered in Moscow in 1882 and was an immediate success!

Watch & ListenIn addition to the full orchestra, Tchaikovsky scored the work for

cannons, a military band and church bells.

Did you know?

Maurice Ravel BiographyMaurice Ravel was born in the Basque town of Ciboure, France. Ravel started his musical training from an early age and began his studies at the Paris Conservatory at the age of 14 under the mentorship of the famous French composer Gabriel Fauré. His early compositions, while not immediately popular due to their lack of convention, showed great potential and helped establish his career as a composer.

Ravel struggled to gain acceptance as a leading composer at the Paris Conservatory. Three years in a row, he failed receive the top composition prize, the Prix de Rome. Viewed as a failure, he was dismissed from Fauré’s class altogether. Despite his strained rela-tionship with the music establishment of the day, Ravel continued on to be a prolific composer with his own unique contribution to classical music. Some of Ravel’s most successful works included the orchestral work Rapsodie Espagnole, his opera L’heure Esp-agnole, and his ballet Daphnis et Chloé. Ravel also had success as an orchestrator, where he was particularly well-known for his

orchestral arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Danse générale from Daphnis and Chloé

Program Notes

In 1909 Ravel accepted a commission from the Ballets Russes director Serge Diaghilev to produce a score for a new ballets. The subject of this new ballet would be based on the love story of Daphnis and Chloé from the ancient Greek romance tale. Ravel completed a piano score by 1910 but it took him two more years to complete the final orchestral score. The delay in the commission was mostly due to Ravel’s troubled relationship with the ballet’s choreographer, Mikhail Fokine. The ballet finally premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 1912, three years after it was commissioned, and received a lukewarm reception.

Soon after, Ravel published two orchestral suites based on the ballet. The second suite remains very popular today. You will hear the celebratory “Danse générale” from Suite No. 2 at the TSO School Concerts in February! Listen for the underlying triplets, alternating time signatures, and hairpin dynamics, as instruments weave in and out of the texture.

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Did you know?

By the time Ravel finished Daphnis and Chloé in 1912,

Stravinsky had completed (and the Ballet Russes had performed) The Firebird as well as Petrushka, and he was already working on

The Rite of Spring.

Watch & Listen

Monica Pearce BiographyMonica Pearce, originally from Prince Edward Island, is a Toronto-based composer of new classical/contemporary music with a particular affinity for solo and chamber music, opera, and works for toy piano. After completing her Bachelor of Music at Mount Allison University with a focus on piano and composition, Monica completed her Masters of Music in Composition at the University of Toronto. She currently studies composition independently with Linda Catlin Smith. Monica co-founded the emerging composer collective the Toy Piano Composers in 2008 with Chris Thornborrow, where they, along with Elisha Denburg, are the Artistic Directors. The Toy Piano Composers have presented over 120 new works. Pearce’s work has been performed and commissioned by the International Contemporary Ensemble, New Music Detroit, Chamber Cartel, Array Ensemble, Talisker Players, Essential Opera, Bicycle Opera Project, New Fangled Opera, TorQ Percussion Quartet, junctQin keyboard collective, and Thin Edge New Music Collective, among others. She was named winner of the Heliconian Choir and Orchestra’s New Music Competition for Emerging Female Composers for her piece You Know Me. She also received the Canadian Music Centre’s

Toronto Emerging Composer Award Honourable Mention for her project it plays (because it plays). She received the honourable mention for her toy piano solo work clangor, which was premiered by Margaret Leng Tan at the UnCaged Toy Piano Festival in New York City. She was the composer-in-residence for the O.K. Quoi?! festival in Sackville, New Brunswick, where she created a community soundscape project entitled Sounds of Sackville. She had been featured on I Care If you Listen for her works chain maille and damask. Her operas have been performed across Canada and the United States, and toured across Ontario, and her toy piano works are frequently played internationally. She is currently working on a multi-work piece entitled Textile Fantasies which includes chain maille (percussion quartet), houndstooth (solo piano), damask (toy piano/tabla), denim (two toy piano/two percussion), with several other works upcoming in 2018-2019. Monica Pearce is also the Executive Director of The Music Gallery, Toronto's Centre for Creative Music, and sits on the board of the Canadian Music Centre (National and Ontario Region).

Whirly

Program Notes

A quartet of adventurers make an unusual discovery - that simple corrugated plastic tubes are capable of producing a complex and harmonious tapestry of tones when spun wildly. Whirly tubes - also known as corrugaphones, bloogle resonators, tromboons - are rotated quickly to showcase a number of pitches from the harmonic series. The faster the toy is swung the higher the pitch of the note it produces, cycling through a spectrum of overtones in quick succession. Interestingly, the fundamental note of the harmonic series is the most difficult to excite with these unique instruments - leaving an important role for the orchestra to fulfill. Whirly tubes, toy pianos, bells, and more - extraordinary sounds entwine in this escapade for percussion and orchestra.

Whirly was written for the TorQ Percussion Quartet in 2017. I first worked with TorQ in 2010 on a concert with the Toy Piano Composers entitled “Recess” where I wrote the quartet Age Five and a Half.Our imaginations were ignited through working together, and thus began a beautiful musical friendship which has lasted years and has shown no signs of slowing down.

-Monica Pearce (2017)

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Lesson Plans

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Storytelling through MusicThis is a mini unit for the Shake, Rattle & Roll concerts (grades 4 – 8). This unit can easily align with specific music expectations in the Ontario Arts Curriculum, Grades 4 – 8.

Lessons are divided into three parts:

Part One: Minds On – These are opening activities/discussions provided to push thinking in new directions and to activate students’ prior knowledge.

Part Two: Action – These activities allow students to explore and experiment musical skills that will generate new learning and understanding. Students will revisit learning goals and use success criteria to support their learning.

Part Three: Consolidation – Students will apply their knowledge and understanding of the elements of music as they work to complete a task. Students will reflect on their learning.

Unit Overview

Lesson One - Understanding the effects of the elements of music in storytelling Students will use the Critical Analysis Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 23 – 28) to develop their understanding of the elements of music as they explore how these musical elements can be used to tell stories in music.

Lesson Two - Exploring program music The complexity of this lesson can be adjusted depending on the age/grade level of the students. In this lesson, students will listen to pieces selected in the Shake, Rattle, & Roll school concert. These pieces have been featured in movies, ballets, or operas, therefore, they each tell a story. Students will apply their knowledge and understanding of the elements of music to discuss how these pieces of music tell specific stories.

Lesson Three - Summative Assignment Students will use The Creative Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 19 – 22) and the Critical Analysis Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 23 – 28) to apply their knowledge and understanding of the elements of music as they compose new music to accompany a story of their choice.

Assessment and Evaluation While the range of musical understanding and ability between students in grades 4 – 8 may vary, the activities and summative task in this unit can be adapted for any grade level as they rely more broadly on the Creative Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 19 – 22), the Critical Analysis Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 23 – 28), and on student knowledge and understanding of the elements of music (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 106, 116, 128, 138, and 154) – areas of the curriculum that remain consistent throughout each grade level but vary in depth and complexity depending on the grade level.

Teachers are encouraged to vary the depth and complexity of the lessons to suit the level and needs of the students to which these lessons are being delivered. Suggestions on accommodation are also provided in the unit.

Lesson Plans

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Title: Storytelling Through Music Grades: 4 – 8

Learning Goals:

We are learning to:

• Understand how the elements of music can be used to tell stories in music• Create a piece of music for a specific purpose (e.g., a celebration)• Apply the elements of music in my com-position for specific effects and purposes• Reflect on my strengths and areas for improvement

Success Criteria:

In order to be successful, I can:

• Demonstrate my understanding of the musical elements (e.g., pitch, dynamics, timbre, articulation, tempo)

• Appropriately apply specific musical elements to my composition and perfor-mance to set a specific mood

• Demonstrate proper singing or playing technique (e.g., using head voice, listen-ing to others, appropriate posture) when performing

• Perform expressively in musical phrases

Overall Expectation(s):

• C1. Creating and Performing: Apply the creative process to create and perform music for a variety of purposes, using the elements and techniques of music• C2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing: Apply the critical analysis process to communicate their feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of music and musical experiences

Specific Expectation(s): Students will…

• C1.1 sing and/or play unison songs in tune from a wide variety of cultures, styles, and historical periods• C1.2 apply the elements of music when singing, and/or playing, composing, or arranging music to create a specific effect• C1.3 create a musical composition for a specific purpose and audience• C1.4 use the tools and techniques of musicianship in musical performances• C1.5 demonstrate an understanding of standard and other musical notation through performance and composition• C2.2 identify the elements of music in the music they perform, listen to, and create, and describe how they are used• C2.3 identify and give examples of their strengths and areas for growth as musical performers, creators, interpreters, and audience members

Prior Knowledge:

Students will build on their knowledge of the elements of music and related musical concepts that were introduced in previous grades and musical experiences. In this unit, students will develop an understanding of musical concepts through exploration, inquiry, and participation in musical experiences that involve listening, creating, and performing.

Fundamental Concept(s)/Elements:

• Tempo (the speed of sound)• Pitch (the highness or lowness of sound)• Dynamics (the volume of sound)• Articulation (the way we perform music e.g., short sounds, long sound, smooth sound, detached sound)• Phrase (a musical sentence)

Lesson Plans

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Materials • Appendix A – Elements of Music Teacher Resource• Appendix B – Star Wars theme song (with no musical marking) Student Resource• Appendix C – Star Wars theme song (with suggested musical markings) Teacher Resource• Recording of the Star Wars theme song (suggestion: http://bit.ly/StarWarsThemeSong)

Minds On When performing a piece of music, what can we do to make it sound like we are telling a story? How does changing the way we perform (e.g., loud or soft, high or low, fast or slow) change the mood of a piece of music?

Action 1. Think-Pair-Share. Have students review the meaning of dynamics, articulation, tempo, and pitch. (e.g., Tell your partner what tempo means. Can you give some examples of musical terms you know? (e.g., Allegro means fast, legato means long and smooth). [Teacher can refer to the Elements of Music Teacher Resource as a reference see Appendix A].

2. Hand out copies of the Star Wars theme song with all musical markings removed (Appendix B). The teacher will play a recording of the first minute of the Star Wars theme song for students to listen to several times. In partners or independently, have students add back musical markings they hear. (e.g., Listen for the first time and have students focus on adding back the dynamics they hear. Listen for the second time and have students focus on adding back the articulations they hear. Listen for the third time and have students determine the tempo of the piece. The teacher may wish to model how elements of music markings are written on a piece of music). Remind students this is their interpretation and various answers will be correct. This is an activity for students to practise their understanding of the elements of music and to practise writing musical markings on a piece of music (This skill will come in handy for the summative task).

3. As a class, the teacher may wish to play the Star Wars theme song one more time and discuss with students what musical markings are appropriate (e.g., using a document camera to share your learning might be useful here). [Use Appendix C Star Wars theme song with suggested musical markings as a reference].

Consolidation Inside-Outside circle, then share with whole group: Discuss with students how the elements of music (e.g., tempo, dynamics, articulations) affects the mood and style of a piece of music and the purpose of its use (i.e., The volume and accents in the Star Wars theme song make the music sound majestic. Could you have used this music for another movie of a different theme (e.g., an anime, a Disney movie, a movie with a sad funeral ending?) If the orchestra was to play the music all soft (p), slow (adagio), and smooth (legato), would the piece be appropriate for Star Wars then? If given the score again, how might you change the elements of music so the piece would become appropriate for another purpose (e.g., the spa, the coffee shop, a street festival)? Finally, explain how the elements of music can be used to tell stories in music.

Lesson One (40 minutes) Learning goals: Students will listen to a snippet of the Star Wars theme song and explore how the elements of music can be used to tell stories in music.

Materials Recordings of variety pieces from the TSO Junior/Intermediate School Concert program (The hyperlinks below are suggested recordings that can be found online). For the purpose of this lesson, the teacher may wish to play a snippet of a recording if not the entire recording.

• Leonard Bernstein Overture to West Side Story (musical)• Camille Saint-Saëns Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah (opera)• Aram Khachaturian Sabre Dance from Gayane (ballet)• Eric Whitacre Sleep (tone poem)• Maurice Ravel Danse générale from Daphnis et Chloé (ballet)• Copies of Listening to Musical Stories worksheet (Appendix D)

Minds On When listening to a piece of music that you don’t recognize, do you sometimes see a story unfold in your head? How might a composer evoke a story for the listener? (i.e., Think about the elements of music and choice of instruments (timbre) a composer uses to purposefully tell a story through music). When composers write music, they are often inspired by an idea or a story. When a piece of music has a background story, we call this program music.

Action 1. Explain to students that they will be listening to a few pieces of music. Students will not be told the titles, what the music is about, or where the music come from. While listening, students will sketch a picture for each piece of music they listen to (the teacher may wish to play the recordings a few times). Using their understanding of the elements of music from the previous lesson, students will explain what the music can be used for or explain what story they see when they hear the music. Provide students with the Listening to Musical Stories worksheet (Appendix D). The sentence starters on the worksheet will help prompt students in their thinking.

Example: Saint-Saëns’s Bacchanale

The tempo of the music is allegro. The dynamics is generally mf and f.The instruments I hear include the oboe, flutes, strings, and lots of percussion instruments such as timpani and castanets.The story I see is/This music reminds me of the desert where someone is playing an instrument to control a snake. The music gets faster and the snake starts to chase me. The suspense increases with the timpani playing, making the music faster and louder.

2. Continue the activity with as many different pieces of music as the teacher wishes.

Lesson Plans

Lesson Two (40 - 50 minutes)

Learning goals: Students will listen to music from a variety of musical genres and styles from the past and present and demonstrate their understanding of program music while identifying the elements used in the music they hear.

Note to teachers: Program Music is a type of music that provides an extramusical narrative. In other words, program music is written to tell stories. For example, music written for ballet, opera, or music film scores are considered program music because they tell stories. The selections in this TSO student concert are program music because they all tell stories.

19

Lesson Plans

20

Consolidation Divide students into smaller groups of 4 -5. Have students share the sketches and stories that they have created while listening to the different selections of music. Compare your stories, how and why are they different? Reflect on what you noticed in the music that caused you to create that story (e.g., the dynamics? The instruments?).

As a whole class, the teacher may wish to choose one or two pieces of the music selected and explain the story behind the music (concert notes of each piece are provided in this guide). Explain to students that there are no right or wrong answers; as long as they can explain their feelings and stories using appropriate musical terms to support their answers, they are all correct. The stories behind these pieces of music were sometimes the composer’s creation or in other cases, inspired by literary works or mythology. Their interpretation of how using specific elements of music can create a mood to tell a story. We can all become composers, for example, and write a new piece for Samson and Delilah; however, our composition would sound completely different than Saint-Saëns’ version because we will be using different rhythms, pitches, and other elements of music. The purpose of this activity is to reinforce with students that usingspecific elements of music can evoke feelings, mood, and tell stories.

Lesson Plans

21

Materials • Storytelling Through Music Composition worksheet (Appendix E)• Students response sheet (Appendix F)• Composition and Performance rubric (Appendix G)

Minds On Think about how far you have come as a musician this year. Writers express their stories through various writing genres (e.g., poetry, short stories, novels). Artists express their stories through pictures, drawings, and paintings. How do musicians express their stories? What elements of music can you use as a composer to create your story through music.

Action Explain to students they will create a short composition using different elements of music to tell a story. Students may wish to compose music for a story they already know (e.g., a fairy tale) or they may wish to create their own story. Co-create a list of success criteria with students for which they need to apply in their composition and/or performance in order to be successful. It is important to be co-creating these success criteria with students for them to be authentic and meaningful. Here is an example of some criteria you could consider with students:

• I used three or more different elements of music in my composition• I chose appropriate elements that fit the mood of the story I am portraying• I chose elements from different categories (e.g., dynamics, articulation, tempo, etc.)• I used proper techniques and posture when performing• I performed with expression in musical sentences/phrases, just like I’m telling a story

Provide handout for composition (Appendix E).

Provide time for students to create and practise their composition. Determine “check-in” points to provide opportunities for feedback. During the creative process, remind students to refer to the success criteria they co-created previously. Provide various opportunities for students to perform their composition (e.g., record a video on an iPad, perform only for the teacher, perform to the whole class, perform to a small group, perform to students in another class).

Possible Extensions or Challenges:• During the creative process, teacher could take this opportunity to assess students on their learning skills and work habits (e.g., responsibility, initiative, organization).• For students who require more of a challenge, allow them to compose more than 8 bars.

Lesson Three (Culminating Task)

Learning goals: Students will compose and perform an 8-bar composition using different elements of music to tell a story.

Lesson Plans

22

Consolidation After completion of the composition and performance, discuss with students how changing the elements of music changes the mood of a piece, therefore, changing its use and purpose and the story it tells. Can you use your composition for a different purpose by keeping the melody and only changing the elements to change the mood? How might you make your composition sound sad? Sound majestic? Sound mysterious? Have students reflect on their work by completing the Student Response sheet (Appendix F).

Assessment tools and strategies

• Success Criteria co-created with students• Teacher observation and oral feedback• Conversation with students to discuss their thinking• Student response sheet• Teacher rubric (Appendix G)

Accommodations • Provide accommodation for special needs or ESL students by allowing them to compose a shorter composition (4 bars only instead of 8 bars)• Allow students to compose for a scene or a picture instead of a story• Provide the option for students to film their performance instead of performing live to an audience• Allow for an oral conversation with students instead of filling out the student response sheet

Lesson Plans

THE ELEMENTS OF MUSIC A Sample List

PITCH high

low

going up

(ascending)

going down

(descending)

DYNAMICS loudsoft

getting louder

(crescendo)

getting softer

(decrescendo)

TEMPO =fast= S – l – o – w getting faster (accelerando)

getting slower

(rallentando)

ARTICULATION d-e-t-a-c-h-e-d smooth

The elements are combined together to create MOOD, e.g., a scary mood might be felt if the music has: loud dynamics, high pitch, fast tempo and detached articulation, with many short notes (rhythm), OR soft dynamics, low pitch, slow tempo, long notes, silences (rhythm) and smooth articulation

DURATION-

Rhythm long notes

short notes

silence

Appendix A

Elements of Music Chart Teacher Resource

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Lesson Plans

FORM

(examples)

A

B

A

A

A

B

A

A

B

A

C

A

Theme

Variation 1

Variation 2...

24

Appendix A

Elements of Music Chart Teacher Resource

Lesson Plans

Appendix B

Star Wars Theme Song Student Resource

Name: Class: Date:

Listen to the snippet of the Star Wars theme song your teacher plays several times. Add the elements of music markings you hear (e.g., tempo, dynamics, articulations).

25

Lesson Plans

Appendix C

Star Wars Theme Song Teacher Resource

The musical markings in this snippet are suggestions only to guide the teacher in the lesson one discussion.

26

Lesson Plans

Appendix D

Listening to Musical Stories Student Resource

Name: Class: Date:

Listen to the musical selections your teacher plays. What stories do the music evoke? Sketch a picture of what you see and explain your thinking. Use the sentence starters to help you.

Musical selection #

The tempo is ______________________. The dynamics I hear are _______________________. Some articulations I hear are _____________________________________________________.

The instruments I hear are _______________________________________________________. The story I see/This music reminds me of ___________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________.

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Lesson Plans

Musical selection #

The tempo is ______________________. The dynamics I hear are _______________________. Some articulations I hear are _____________________________________________________.

The instruments I hear are _______________________________________________________. The story I see/This music reminds me of ___________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________.

Musical selection #

The tempo is ______________________. The dynamics I hear are _______________________. Some articulations I hear are _____________________________________________________.

The instruments I hear are _______________________________________________________. The story I see/This music reminds me of ___________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________. 28

Lesson Plans

Appendix E

Storytelling through Music Composition Student Resource

Name: Class: Date:

Choose a story or create your own story. Compose an 8-bar composition to tell this story musically. Remember to refer to the success criteria you co-created with your teacher to help you become successful. Use the checklist below to help you complete your composition.

1. ___ clef for my instrument (treble, bass, alto) 2. ___ time signature 3. ___ key signature 4. ___ I used a ruler to draw my bar lines 5. ___ I have 8 even bars 6. ___ I used double bar lines at the end of my composition 7. ___ I used notes I can play 8. ___ I used 3 or more different elements of music. They are ____________________________ 9. ___ My friend, _____________________, checked over my composition before I submit it to my teacher for additional feedback. 10. ___ Teacher initial and feedback on composition: ______________________________

________________________________________________________________________

11. ___ I can play my composition 5 times in a roll without making a mistake. 12. ___ I am now ready to perform my composition to an audience of my choice.

Title of composition:

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Provide a short description of the story for your composition.

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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Lesson Plans

Appendix F

Storytelling Through Music Composition Student Response Sheet

Name: Class: Date:

Part A:

1. In my composition, I used the following elements of music:

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

2. I used these elements of music in my composition to tell my story because: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Part B: Student Reflection

1. In this activity, three things that I learned or liked…

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Two things I am proud of are…

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. If I do this again, one thing I would change is…

______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

30

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Appendix G

31

32

Artist Biographies

Every year, over 36,000 young students experience the TSO in performance. In consultation with Music Coordinators from the Boards of Education, TSO staff design School Concerts to help teachers deliver the Ontario Music Curriculum. The concerts are entertaining yet firmly

based on educational concepts. Four different programs address the learning needs of Primary (Kindergarten to Grade 4), Junior/Intermediate (Grades 4 to 8), Intermediate/Senior (Grades 7 to 12), and French-language students (Kinder-garten to Grade 5). We’ve created free Study Guides and podcasts, available on our web-site, to help students prepare for the concert.

Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s most important cultural institutions, recognized internationally. Peter Oundjian, now in his 14th season as the TSO’s Music Director, leads the Orchestra with

a commitment to innovative programming and audience engagement through a broad range of performances that showcase the exceptional talents of the Orchestra, along with a roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. The TSO also serves the larger community with TSOUNDCHECK, the original under-35 ticket program; the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra; and music education programs that reach tens of thousands of students each year.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Peter Oundjian conducting Debussy's La Mer

Evan Mitchell ConductorEvan Mitchell is proving to be one of Canada’s most innovative and sought-after young conductors. Having recently finished hugely successful residencies as Assistant Conductor of the Vancouver and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestras, Mr. Mitchell has assumed the post of Music Director with the Kingston Symphony Orchestra. He has garnered significant critical success as well as consistent praise for his approach, execution and musical results.

During his residencies, Mr. Mitchell conducted over 200 concerts, acted as a Canadian ambassador during an historic two week tour of China, Korea and Macau, and served as an official consultant to the Vancouver Olympic Committee and Assistant Producer for the recording of the medal ceremony national anthems. Over the course of his career, Mr. Mitchell has brought the magic of or-chestral music to over three hundred and fifty thousand students

and children, many of whom experienced this incredible music for the very first time.

In addition to his musical achievements, Mr. Mitchell has been profiled extensively for his commitment to concert initiatives. He has been personally responsible for the writing, recording and production of behind-the-scenes concert video series, podcasts aimed at the layperson, and visual enhancements dur-ing concerts in order to give a richer, more informed experience to concert-goers. His videos have been widely featured abroad for both publicity and educational purposes, and his initiative using smartphones as a “silent tour guide” during live concerts in real-time was hailed as the best technological innovation in the symphony concert hall of 2014 by the CBC.

Recent career highlights include Principal Conductorship of the World Harp Congress in which Mr. Mitch-ell conducted eight harp concerti with some of the world’s best harpists. He has also conducted a hugely successful gala concert with violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn, owner of the Mendelssohn Stradivarius “Red Vio-lin”. After this concert, Mr. Mitchell was offered Music Directorship of the Prince George Symphony. His first season with the Kingston Symphony as Music Director was met with consistently sold-out houses and universally positive critical reviews.

Mr. Mitchell made his conducting debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in the 2011/2012 season after a last-minute cancellation and has subsequently been re-engaged by the Toronto Symphony for several concert series.

33

Artist Biographies

Artist Biographies

TorQ percussion quartetCanada’s premiere percussion ensemble, TorQ Percussion Quartet continues to bring new vitality to percussion repertoire and performance in every situation and opportunity. Renowned for their engaging performances, members Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Daniel Morphy are committed to making percussion music accessible to audiences that span generations and as THE TORONTO STAR states “[TorQ] can stand proud among the growing throng of chamber percussion ensembles around the world.”

Since coming together in 2004, some of their interna-tional highlights include the International Percussion Quartet Festival (Luxembourg), Percussive Arts Society

International Convention (Indianapolis) and with the Stuttgart Chamber Choir. At home, TorQ has made appearances at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, PEI’s Indian River Festival, MusicFest Canada (Vancouver), Toronto’s Soundstreams, and Kitchener’s Open Ears Contemporary Music Festival. Selected by the three major Canadian touring organisations, Jeunesses Musicales Canada, Prairie Debut and Debut Atlantic, TorQ has performed throughout every province. In 2012, they launched their first annual 4-concert series in Toronto where they collaborated with invited guest artists, composers, and dancers. This season, TorQ appears at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Meadowvale Theatre, Kirkland Lake Arts Council and with the Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra. In addition, they will perform in Southeastern Oklahoma State University, The Colburn School, San Francisco Conservatory, and San Diego’s Poway Center for the Performing Arts. As collaborative artists, the quartet has performed with the Larkin Singers, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Elora Festival Singers, and the KW Grand Philharmonic Choir.

Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake, Daniel Morphy, Richard Burrows (left to right)

Committed to commissioning new works for percussion quartet, TorQ has presented many Canadian and world premieres including a new percussion quartet concerto written by Canadian composer, Dinuk Wijeratne called “Invisible Cities” which premiered in 2014. This concerto will be played with University Wind Ensembles across the nation. They served as guest teachers with distinguished composer Christos Hatzis for the course titled Composing for Percussion at the University of Toronto. These collaborative classes led to many new works as well as new works by Hatzis. Their discography consists of two recordings on Bedoint Records. Their self-titled debut recording, a mixture of commissions, arrangements, improvisations and compositions by group members, was awarded 3.5/4 stars by The Toronto Star. Their 2011 release - two + two, featured music by Jason Stanford, Nebojsa Zivkovic, Christos Hatzis and John Cage. Their third recording is scheduled for release in the winter of 2014.

TorQ is actively involved in music education initiatives and performs approximately 70 school shows per year. They are also frequent educational collaborators with Soundstreams Canada and present master classes and workshops. This past summer, TorQ hosted their third annual TorQ Percussion Seminar, a five day percussion event which took place in collaboration with Ontario’s Stratford Summer Music. This fun and intensive week had participants involved in regular master classes, clinics, coaching, rehearsals and performances. All four members of TorQ are faculty members of the Durham

Integrated Arts Camp, run by the Durham District School Board.

34

35

A cappella: music sung without instrumental accompaniment. In Italian, a cappella means “in the style of the chapel.”

Accented Beats: these are the beats in a rhythm pattern that are stronger because they are emphasized or stressed. Accented notes are indicated using a “>” symbol which goes above or below the note to indicate that that note should be stressed or accented.

Amplify: to make a sound stronger or louder. The hollow body of an instrument amplifies its sound.

Arco: to play a stringed instrument using a bow.

Bar: another name for a measure

Bar line: a vertical line on a musical staff that divides the beats into small groups or bars.

Baton: a small stick used by the conductor to beat time. A stick helps to make the motion more easily visible to the members of the orchestra.

Beat: a beat is a regular pulsation. It is a basic unit of length in musical time.

Clef: a sign at the beginning of the staff to fix the position of one note. The most common are the treble and bass clefs.

Chord: a series of notes, usually three or more, that are sung or played together to create harmony.

Col legno: Italian for “hit with the wood”, this is a bowing technique where players strike the string with the stick of the bow, rather than by drawing the hair of the bow across the strings.

Concertmaster: the leader of the first violin section who tunes the orchestra and works closely with the conductor.

Conductor: leader of the orchestra who makes decisions about how the music will be played with respect to tempo and dynamics, and keeps the musicians together during a performance.

Crescendo: gradually increasing in loudness.

Decrescendo: gradually decreasing in loudness

Double-stop: a technique on string instruments in which two notes are played simulaneously. Triple stops and quadruple stops can also be played, in which three and four (respectively) notes are played simultaneously.

Dynamics: the intensity, or loudness and softness, of music.

Embouchure: the way the mouth is held to play a woodwind or brass instrument.

Fingerboard: the strips of wood on a stringed instrument’s neck over which the strings are stretched and fingered to change the pitch.

Harmony: the sound created when two or more notes are played at the same time.

Improvise: to make up music as you go, without using scores or musical notation that is written down. Many jazz musicians incorporate improvisation into their performance.

Legato: notes played smoothly and in a connected manner, without any noticeable break or articulation between them.

Lietmotif: a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot element, mood, idea, relationship or other specific part of an opera of symphonic work.

Measure: the notes and rests between two bar lines.

Metre: a regular pulse made up of strong and weak beats.

Musical Term Glossary

36

Melody: a sequence of musical notes that make up a tune.

Movement: a section of music which contains certain musical ideas, much like a chapter in a book.

Notes: representation of musical tones using written symbols.

Octave: the distance between one tone of a scale and the next higher or lower tone of the same pitch; for example, middle C and C above middle C are an octave apart.

Pitch: the highness or lowness of a sound.

Pizzicato: to play a stringed instrument by plucking the strings with the fingers.

Pluck: to pull up or down on a string with your finger, thumb or a pick.

Podium: the raised platform in front of the orchestra on which the conductor stands.

Reed: a thin piece of cane or other material, attached to an instrument at one end and free to vibrate at the other. Found on oboes, clarinets, saxophones and bassoons.

Resonator: the part of an instrument, usually the body, that amplifies the sound caused by vibrating strings or air column.

Rests: a pause or interval of silence between two tones.

Rhythm: patterns of sound and silence in a piece of music.

Scale: music arranged in ascending or descending pitches. The C major scale consists of the notes c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c.

Score: music in written form with all the parts set down in relation to each other.

Sound Wave: when something vibrates, or moves quickly back and forth, it causes molecules in the air to move, creating sounds that move in waves in your ear.

Spiccato: a bowing technique that uses a semi-off-the-string style to produce a light “bouncing” sound. Watching the musicians it looks like the bow is bouncing up off the string the second it makes contact. Spiccato is usually performed at the balance portion of the bow. The balance portion of the bow refers to the area of the bow where weight is distributed evenly on both sides, allowing for maximum control.

Staff: five parallel horizontal lines, on which notes are written in the spaces, on the lines, or above and below the staff using ledger lines.

Strum: to play long strokes across all the strings of a string instrument, one after another very quickly using your thumb, fingers or a pick.

Symphony Orchestra: a large group of musicians, led by a conductor, who perform together on string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.

Tempo: the speed at which a piece of music is played.

Time Signature: appears at the beginning of the staff. The lower figure shows the kind of notes taken as the unit of measure, while the upper figure shows the number of these notes that can fit in a measure.

Tone: the tone is the quality of musical sound, such as rich, mellow, harsh, brilliant, etc.

Tremolo: a rapidly repeated note.

Unison: two or more instruments sounding the same note.

Valves: the mechanisms on some brass instruments that make it possible for the musician to change pitches and play all the notes of the scale.

Musical Term Glossary

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The string family is the largest family of instruments in the orchestra. The violin, viola, cello, and bass are made of carefully carved wood and have a set of four strings stretched across them. The strings themselves are made of nylon, steel and sometimes gut. The bow is made of wood and the strings of the bow are either synthetic or horsehair from actual horse tails! The harp is very different from the other string instruments and has a set of 47 strings. It is one of the oldest string instruments and is often considered part of the string family.

Sound is produced by plucking the strings or drawing the bow across them causing the strings to vibrate. The bodies of string instruments are hollow inside to allow sound tovibrate within them. Players apply a substance called rosin to their bows to help the strings vibrate. Rosin is primarily made up of pine sap and helps the hairs on the bow grip the strings. The harp doesn't use a bow but sound is also produced by plucking or strumming the strings.

Players can tune the violin, viola, cello and bass strings using either tuning pegs or fine tuners. To change pitch, players use their left hand to press down their fingers on the fingerboard while their right hand moves the bow or plucks the strings. Players tune the harp using a tuning key to adjust the tuning pegs. The harp is played with both hands and feet! There are seven foot pedals that are used to add accidentals or sharps. The violin, viola, cello, double bass and the harp make up the large string family.

The String Family

Jonathan CrowConcertmaster

Teng LiPrincipal Viola

Joseph Johnson Principal Cello

Jeffrey BeecherPrincipal

Double Bass

Instruments of the Orchestra

Heidi Van Hoesen GortonPrincipal Harp

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ViolaThe viola looks like a slightly bigger violin. It has thicker strings and produces a lower and warmer sound. The four strings of the viola from the lowest to the highest are C, G, D, and A. The viola is a perfect fifth lower than the violin. Although the violin and viola share three strings (G, D, A), the tone and sound are very different. Music for viola is usually written in the alto clef (also known as the viola clef or C clef). In the alto clef, Middle C is on the third line of the staff. In an orchestra there are usually between ten and fourteen violas.

ViolinThe violin is the smallest member of the string family and has the highest voice. There are more violins in the orchestra than any other instrument (up to 30!). The four strings of the violin from the lowest to highest are G, D, A, and E. In an orchestra, the violins are divided into two groups: first violin and second violin. The first violins usually play the melody and the second violins support them by playing intricate harmonies and rhythms. They work together as a team to create complex inner voices and harmonies. The concertmaster is the leader of the first violins.

CelloThe cello looks like a very large violin or viola. It is around 4 feet long and has thicker strings than either the violin or viola. The four strings of the cello from the lowest to the highest are C, D, G and A—same as the viola! However the cello is tuned an octave below the viola. The cello is held between the knees instead of being held under the chin like the violin and viola. The cello rests on the ground and is supported by a metal peg called the end pin. The cello has the closest range to the human voice—which is why people find it so calming to listen to. In an orchestra, there are usually between eight and twelve cellos.

The String Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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Double BassThe double bass is the largest and lowest voice of the string family. It is over 6 feet long and has the longest strings. The four strings of the double bass from lowest to the highest are E, A, D and G. To increase their range, bassists will occassionally add a fifth string or install a mechanical extension to help lower their bottom string to C. The double bass is the only string instru-ment tuned in fourths (though some players will tuned in fifths). The double bass is so big that a player must stand or sit on a high stool in order to play it. Like the cello, the double bass also has a metal spike (or end pin) at the bottom, which allows it to rest on the floor. In an orchestra, there are usually between six and eight double basses.

HarpThe harp is one of the oldest instruments. The concert harp stands about two metres tall and covers a range of over 6 ½ octaves. It has 47 strings and seven foot pedals, and is played by strumming or plucking the strings with both hands, and by pressing the pedals with your feet. The pedals are used to add accidentals (sharps and flats) so that the harp can play in different keys. The harp is usually considered part of the String Family because the strings create the sound. However, it is very different from all other stringed instruments and isn’t played with a bow, so it can sometimes be classified in a separate category all on its own.

The String Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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The Woodwind Family

Many of the earliest woodwind instruments were originally made of wood. Today’s modern woodwind instruments are made of a variety of different materials such as wood, metal, and plastic. All woodwinds are played with mouthpieces and share a similar shape (a nar-row cylinder or tube with holes). Sound is produced by blowing air through the instrument. The mouthpieces for some woodwinds, including the clarinet, oboe and bassoon, use a thin piece of wood called a reed, which vibrates when you blow across it. The clarinet uses a single reed made of one piece of wood, while the oboe and bassoon use a double reed made of two pieces of wood joined together.

The pitch of woodwind instruments is changed by opening or closing the holes with your fingers. Metal caps called keys cover the holes of most woodwind instruments. Similarly to string instruments, the smaller sized woodwinds play higher pitches and the longer and larger instruments play lower pitches. The flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon make up the woodwind family.

Julie RantiAssociate

Principal Flute

Sarah LewisOboe

Joaquin ValdepeñasPrincipal Clarinet

Michael SweeneyPrincipal Bassoon

Instruments of the Orchestra

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FluteThe flute was originally made from wood, stone, clay or bamboo. Today’s modern flutes are made of silver, gold or platinum. The flute is held sideways and to the right of the musician’s mouth. Sound is produced by blowing across a hole in the mouthpiece of the flute which causes the air inside to vibrate. The smaller version of the flute, called the piccolo, is half the size of the flute and is one of the highest sounding instruments in the orchestra. In an orchestra, there are usually between two and four flutes.

OboeThe oboe is the first instrument you hear at an orchestra concert. It plays a single note (an “A”), and all other instruments tune their instruments to the oboe’s pitch. Sound is produced by blowing air through a double reed at the top of the instrument. This double reed is made up of two very thin pieces of wood that are tied together and vibrate when air passes through them. In an orches-tra, there are usually two to four oboes. It often plays important melodies because of its distinctive sound.

The Woodwind Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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ClarinetThe clarinet is very similar to the oboe in shape and size. Its mouth-piece however, uses a single reed instead of a double reed. The clarinet is made of wood or molded plastic and has a smooth, mellow tone. They can come in a variety of sizes from the small, e-flat clarinet to the large, bass clarinet. In an orchestra, there are usually between two and four clarinets.

Instruments of the Orchestra

The Woodwind Family

BassoonLike the oboe, the bassoon is another woodwind instrument that uses a double reed. The modern bassoon can be made from wood or plastic. The bassoon is the second largest woodwind instru-ment followed by the contrabassoon, which has the lowest voice in the orchestra. If you took apart the bassoon and laid the dif-ferent pieces from end to end, it would measure 2 ½ metres long and the contrabassoon would be 5 metres long! In an orchestra, there are usually between two and four bassoons and they have a similar range to the cello. Most woodwind instruments don’t require much use of the thumb; however, the bassoon is unique in that it has 13 keys which can be played by the thumb.

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The Brass Family

Early ancestors of the brass family were made of materials such as animal horns, tusks, wood or even shells. Today’s modern brass instruments are made of brass, gold and silver. Brass instruments are made up of a very long pipe which has been curved and coiled into different shapes. This makes them easier to hold and play. Did you know that if you stretched out a French Horn it would measure more than 6 metres in length?

To make a sound, players buzz their lips together into the mouthpiece. The trumpet, french horn, and tuba have valves attached to their long pipes. To change the pitch, players can press down different combinations of valves, or change the pressure and shape of their lips. Brass players sometimes use a combination of these techniques to change the pitch. Instead of valves, the trombone uses a slide to change pitch by pushing the slide in or out. The trumpet, french horn, trombone, and tuba are most the commonly used brass

instruments in an orchestra.

Audrey GoodFrench Horn

Steven WoomertAssociate

Principal Trumpet

Gordon Wolfe Principal Trombone

Mark TetreaultPrincipal Tuba

Instruments of the Orchestra

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Trumpet Famous for sounding alarms, calls to war, or hunting, the trumpet as a musical instrument has had a long and rich history. Its ancestors were made of conch-shell, animal horn, wood or metal. The trumpet is the smallest and highest pitched member of the brass family. Today’s mod-ern trumpet has three attached valves which creates a wider range of notes than its ancestors. There are typically between two and to four trumpets in an orchestra.

French Horn The very first horns were made from the horns of animals and were used to send signals to people beyond calling distance. The hunting horn is the French Horn’s ancestor and was designed so that the tubing wrapped around in a circle, making it easier to carry over the hunter’s shoulder. Valves were added to the instrument in the 1800s, increasing the range of theinstrument. In an orchestra, there can be anywhere between two and eight French Horns at a time. The player uses their left hand to press the valves, and inserts their right hand into the bell of the instrument to change the quality of the sound.

The Brass Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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Instruments of the Orchestra

Trombone Invented in the 15th century, the trombone was first called a sackbut. It is the only instrument in the brass family to use a slide instead of valves to change pitch. Two U-shaped pipes are linked at opposite ends to form an “S”. One pipe slides into the other so you can extend or shorten the total length of the pipe. Players use their right hand to change pitch by pushing the slide in or out. In 1808, Beethoven helped popularize the trombone in orchestral music after writing a trombone part in the finale of his Fifth Symphony. The trombone family is made up of three trom-bones: alto, tenor and bass. In an orchestra, there are typically two tenor trombones and one bass trombone.

Tuba The tuba is the biggest and lowest pitched instrument of the brass family. Invented in 1835, the tuba is the youngest member of the brass family! It has a very rich, deep sound and if you stretched the tuba out into one long piece, it would measure about 5 ½ metres. Typically, there is only one tuba in an orchestra and it usually plays harmony, rarely the melody. The tuba is related to the euphonium (a small-er, high-pitched tuba) and the sousaphone (an instrument invented by John Philip Sousa, and used a lot in marching bands).

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The Percussion Family

The percussion family traditionally includes any instrument that produces sound when struck, shaken or scraped. Percussion instruments can be classified into different categories: pitched or unpitched. Pitched instruments, such as the xylophone, timpani, or piano, play specific pitches just like the other instrument families. Unpitched instruments, such as the bass drum, tambourine, or cymbals, produce no definite pitch.

Percussionists will often play many different instruments in one piece of music. In the orchestra, the percussion section is one of the most versatile sections and provides a huge range of timbres, rhythms, unique sound effects and textures. The snare drum, bass drum, glockenspiel, xylophone, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, timpani, and piano are the most commonly used percussion instruments in an orchestra.

John RudolphPrincipal Percussion

David Kent Principal Timpani

Instruments of the Orchestra

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The Percussion Family

Timpani

The timpani, sometimes called kettledrums, are made of a large copper bowl with a drumhead stretched across the top. These large, pitched drums are used frequently in orchestral music. The pitch of each timpani depends on the size of the bowl, as well as the tension of the drum head; the tighter the skin, the higher the note. The range of timpani is approximately two octaves. To change notes, players use a foot pedal located at the base of the timpani. Timpani were the first drums to be used in the orchestra, with most orchestras using three or four in their setup.

Snare Drum

The snare drum has a crisp, and bright sound. It has two heads stretched over a hollow metal or wood frame. The top head is struck with two wooden drum sticks. The bottom head has strings of wire or gut stretched across it called snares. The snare produces a rattling sound as it vibrates across the head. The snares are loosened for softer notes and

tightened for a crisper or sharper tone.

Bass Drum

The bass drum is the largest drum in the orchestra and has a low, deep sound. It is constructed like the snare drum but without snares. The bass drum is played on its side so that both sides can be played. The bass drum is played with a bass drum beater which is a large wooden stick with sheep’s wool or felt covering one end. Both the snare and bass drums were originally used in the military before they became members of the orchestra’s percussion section.

Tambourine A tambourine is a small frame drum with a calfskin or plastic head stretched across one side. Inside the frame, there are several small metal discs attached that jingle when moved. Sound is produced by shaking, rubbing, or striking the head.

Instruments of the Orchestra

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The Percussion Family

Piano The piano is a pitched keyboard instrument with 88 black and white keys. It has the largest range of any instrument in the orchestra. When a player presses the keys it causes a small hammer to strike the corresponding strings inside the instrument. The piano is classified as a percussion instrument because sound

is produced by hammers striking the strings.

Xylophone The xylophone is a pitched mallet instrument consisting of tuned wooden bars mounted on a metal frame. The wooden bars are usually made of rosewood but can also be made of synthetic materials. The bars are arranged in two rows similar to the keys of a piano. The xylophone produces a bright, sharp, short tone. Sound is produced by striking the bars with hard mallets. The xylophone sounds one octave higher than written. The origin of the xylophone is unclear, but similar instruments were known in Africa and Asia, dating back to the 14th century.

Glockenspiel The glockenspiel is a pitched mallet instrument and is often called "bells". It is made of tuned steel bars that are arranged in two rows like the keys on a piano. The glockenspiel has a very bright and piercing tone. The range is generally two and half octaves and it sounds two octaves higher than written. Sound is produced by striking the steel plates with hard mallets.

Triangle A triangle is a piece of metal bent into a triangle shape. It is commonly made out of steel and is suspended on a nylon loop. It is played by striking it with a metal beater. The triangle produces a shimmering, tinkling sound similar to a bell.

Cymbals

Cymbals are two slightly curved brass plates, which are held with leather straps. When hit together they produce a resounding ring. Cymbals come in a variety of sizes and can produce a wide range of sound effects. A single cymbal can also be suspended from a stand and struck with drumstick or padded mallet.

Instruments of the Orchestra

STRINGS

VIOLINSJonathan Crow, CONCERTMASTERMark Skazinetsky, ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTERMarc-André Savoie, ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTEREtsuko Kimura, ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTERPaul Meyer, PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLINSWendy Rose, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLINSEri Kosaka ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLINSAtis BankasSydney ChunCarol Lynn FujinoAmanda GoodburnTerry HolowachBridget HuntAmalia Joanou-CanzoneriMi Hyon KimShane KimLeslie Dawn KnowlesDouglas KwonSergei NikonovHyung-Sun PaikYoung-Dae ParkSemyon PertsovskyClare SemesPeter SeminovsJennifer ThompsonAngelique ToewsJames WallenbergVirginia Chen WellsArkady Yanivker

VIOLASTeng Li, PRINCIPALTheresa Rudolph ASSISTANT PRINCIPALDaniel BlackmanIvan IvanovitchGary Labovitz

Diane LeungCharmain LouisMary Carol NugentChristopher RedfieldKent Teeple

CELLOSJoseph Johnson, PRINCIPALEmmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALWinona Zelenka, ASSISTANT PRINCIPALAlastair EngIgor GefterMarie GélinasRoberta JanzenBritton RileyKirk Worthington

DOUBLE BASSESJeffrey Beecher, PRINCIPALMichael Chiarello ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALTheodore ChanTimothy DawsonCharles ElliottDavid LongeneckerPaul Rogers

WOODWINDS

FLUTESKelly Zimba PRINCIPALJulie Ranti, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALLeonie WallCamille Watts

PICCOLOCamille Watts

OBOESSarah Jeffrey, PRINCIPALKeith Atkinson, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALCary Ebli

ENGLISH HORNCary Ebli

CLARINETSJoaquin Valdepeñas, PRINCIPALJoseph Orlowski

BASS CLARINETMiles Jaques

BASSOONSMichael Sweeney, PRINCIPALSamuel BanksFraser Jackson

CONTRABASSOONFraser Jackson

BRASS

HORNSNeil Deland, PRINCIPALChristopher Gongos, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALAudrey GoodGabriel RadfordNicholas Hartman

TRUMPETSAndrew McCandless, PRINCIPALSteven Woomert, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALJames GardinerJames Spragg

TROMBONESGordon Wolfe, PRINCIPALVanessa Fralick ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

BASS TROMBONEJeffrey Hall

TUBAMark Tetreault, PRINCIPAL

PERCUSSION

TIMPANIDavid Kent, PRINCIPAL

PERCUSSIONCharles Settle, PRINCIPALJohn Rudolph

HARPHeidi Van Hoesen Gorton, PRINCIPAL

LIBRARIANSGary Corrin, PRINCIPALKim Gilmore

PERSONNELDavid Kent, PERSONNEL MANAGER

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Members of the Orchestra

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Members of the Orchestra

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Members of the Orchestra

Date you attended: __________________________________________

Name of school (optional): __________________________________________

1. What was your favourite part of the concert and why?

2. What was your least favourite part of the concert and why?

3. Describe how you felt during one of the pieces on the program. Why do you think you felt that way?

4. Was there anything that surprised you during the concert?

5. If you were given the task of putting together a concert for the TSO, what two pieces would you recommend and why?

Other comments ...

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Student Evaluation Form

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Teacher Evaluation Form