Educational Concert Series

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CURRICULUM ENRICHMENT M AT E R I A L S

Supported by the Mandell and Madeleine Berman Foundation

ECS E DUCAT I O NAL CO N CE RT SE RI E S

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTR A E D U C ATI O N CO N C E RT SE R I ES SU PP O RTE RS These concerts are made possible with generous support from Young Woman’s Home Association

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Digital Initiatives are made possible with generous support from Mandell and Madeleine Berman Foundation John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The Educational Enrichment tools are brought to you by: Design: Vincent Roberts, Graphic Designer, Wayne State University Editors: Dr. Kenneth Thompson, Chair, Department of Music Education, Bowling Green State University Barbara Myerson Katz, Education Communications Specialist, CTL Emily Lamoreaux, Director of Education, Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Detroit Symphony Orchestra 3711 Woodward Ave. Detroit MI, 48201 www.dso.org/classroom

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EDUCATIONAL CONCERT SERIES

I ntro duction National and Michigan Standards for Music Education Histor y of the D etroit Symphony Orchestra Orchestra Roster and S e ating Char t Instruments of the Orchestra Intro duction of H ost Intro duction of Conductor An American Adventure Pro gram Curriculum Enrichment M aterials

WELCOME Welcome to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s 2014-15 Educational Concert Series. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is committed to providing students an experience that will increase their understanding of music and the many ways that music plays a central role in the lives of all people. We want each audience member to connect with the music through this program, designed specifically in collaboration with an advisory board of leading educational experts in order to provide strategic music education, and be consistent with national music education standards.

The program themes selected for the DSO’s Educational Concert Series, while seemingly traditional, are comprised of music that represents a blend of the familiar and novel. The inclusion of traditional educational works, such as Grofe’s On The Trail and Copland’s Appalachian Spring are juxtaposed with accessible contemporary works including Mason Bates’s Warehouse Medicine. Based on the experiences of your students, these programs are designed to allow for the exploration of simple and single elements of music, or multifaceted and cross-curricular components.

Many programs targeted toward school-age students are designed to be entertaining with an educational component, but our aim is to create something that is first wholly educational so that through preparation, exploration and inquiry, the experience will become incredibly entertaining for your students. The flexibility afforded by these materials will allow you to combine a live concert experience along with any number of educational components.

Through the study of the connections between these pieces of music, the similarities and differences of the composers and their goals, and the relationships of these works to other disciplines, students will be able to participate in individual and group activities that will lead to a culminating event: participating in a live performance as an informed, intelligent listener.

The Curriculum Enrichment materials include biographical information about the composers and historical information about each work. This will provide some insight into the unique relationships of the composers and works, despite their seemingly diverse historical, cultural and social differences. This guide will contain things you already know, but will frame the information in a way that will allow you to determine how to best include the facts into your existing curriculum where applicable.

There are also several levels of activities for students that are designed to be practical, and provide multiple ways for students to transition from simple concepts and skills to more advanced explorations of music, language arts, history and technology. The core components of these will be centered on three of the basic elements of music: melody, rhythm and timbre.

We look forward to having you join us live or via webcast in this seasons Education Concert Series, and hope that this will be a highlight for your classroom this year.

- The Detroit Symphony Orchestra Education Department ECS T E ACH ER RES O U RCE G U I D E

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N ATI O N A L S TA N DA R DS FO R MUS I C E D U C ATI O N 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.

4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.

5. Reading and notating music.

6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

7. Evaluating music and music performances.

8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

M I C H I GA N S TA N DA R DS FO R MUS I C E D U C ATI O N 1. All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.

2. All students will apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.

3. All students will analyze, describe and evaluate works of art.

4. All students will understand, analyze, and describe the arts in their historical, social and cultural contexts.

5. A ll students will recognize, analyze, and describe connections among the arts; between the arts and other disciplines; between the arts and everyday life.

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Gabrilowitsch compelled the city’s leading citizens to build a permanent home for the DSO. Designed by noted architect C. Howard Crane, Orchestra Hall celebrated its inaugural concert on October 23, 1919, having been built in only four months and twenty-three days! For the next twenty years, Orchestra Hall, the DSO and Gabrilowitsch enjoyed an artistic golden era in which the hall played host to the world’s most famous composers, conductors and performers.

HISTORY OF THE

DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Hailed by The New York Times as “cutting edge,” the internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, the nationally-recognized Civic Youth Ensembles program, and an unwavering commitment to Detroit. Esteemed conductor Leonard Slatkin, called “America’s Music Director” by the Los Angeles Times, became the 12th Music Director of the DSO during the 2008-09.

Acclaimed conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik serves as Principal Pops Conductor while celebrated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair. A commitment to broadcast innovation began in 1922 when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a radio broadcast and continues today with the free Live from Orchestra Hall and Live from Orchestra Hall: Classroom Edition webcast series.

The DSO’s history dates back to 1887, when the orchestra performed its first-ever concert at the Detroit Opera House. The ensemble began its rise to national and international prominence with the appointment of renowned Russian pianist Ossip Gabrilowitsch as music director in 1917. A friend to composers Gustav Mahler and Sergei Rachmaninoff, and son-in-law of famed American writer Mark Twain, Gabrilowitsch brought instant credibility to the DSO.

In 1922, Gabrilowitsch led the orchestra and guest pianist Artur Schnabel in the world’s first radio broadcast of a symphonic concert on WWJ-AM. The DSO performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall for the first time in 1928 and, also that year, made their first recording. In 1934, the DSO became the nation’s first official radio broadcast orchestra, performing for millions of Americans over the airwaves on the Ford Symphony Hour national radio show until 1942.

Following Gabrilowitsch’s death in 1936, the DSO entered into a troubled time in which financial difficulties forced the orchestra to disband twice and move from Orchestra Hall to a succession of three different Detroit venues. The final move, in 1956, was to Ford Auditorium on the Detroit riverfront, which remained their home for the next 33 years. By this time, Paul Paray was Music Director and the orchestra was enjoying a second golden era in which they became one of the country’s most recorded orchestras, making 70 records over 11 years, many award-winning, for the Mercury label.

During those years when the DSO had vacated Orchestra Hall, the venue found new life as the Paradise Theatre, starting with a performance by Duke Ellington on Christmas Eve 1941. The very place that Detroit audiences once went to hear Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert began featuring contemporary talent such as Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne and Pearl Bailey. The theater’s name was taken from Paradise Valley, the area just east of Woodward Avenue, home to a large percentage of Detroit’s African-American community and to the principal black entertainment district at St. Antoine and Adams streets. The Paradise became a celebrated club, offering the best in jazz, bebop and blues. The theatre was as important to Detroit as the Apollo Theatre was to Harlem.

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Once an acoustical legend, Orchestra Hall fell into disrepair after the Paradise Theatre closed. By 1970, the building was slowly but surely becoming a ruin—peeling paint, cracked and crumbling plaster, rotting carpet and draperies. Few gave much hope that the hall could be saved.

When word came that this once venerable concert hall was headed for the wrecking ball so the lot could be used for a new department store, local citizens led by former DSO bassoonist Paul Ganson rallied to save the great concert hall. Following a series of marches and sidewalk benefit performances, musicians and friends of the DSO succeeded in saving Orchestra Hall from demolition. After 20 years of fundraising and restoration, the DSO triumphantly moved back into its historic home in 1989. On opening night, Yo-Yo Ma joined the DSO in front of a sold-out crowd.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra entered a new era on October 11, 2003 with the opening of The Max M. Fisher Music Center. The Max became a new music center complex combining the restored and modernized Orchestra Hall and a 135,000-square-foot facility that includes The Music Box (a 450-seat second performance hall with variable configurations), the Jacob Bernard Pincus Music Education Center (which supports the DSO’s Civic Youth Ensembles and other educational activities), and additional performance, backstage, administrative, and rental spaces. The opening of The Max sparked the development of Woodward Avenue and Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood that continues today. New commercial, residential, educational and cultural facilities are opening all around The Max at a pace unrivaled in modern Detroit history.

While the DSO’s home remains at The Max and in Orchestra Hall, its commitment to accessibility brings it to venues all across southeast Michigan through its Neighborhood Residency Initiative and to music lovers worldwide via the free Live from Orchestra Hall webcast series at dso.org/live, the only such offering by any orchestra on the planet.

For more information visit dso.org or download the free DSO to Go mobile app.

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ORCHESTRA ROSTER

Leonard Slatkin, Music Director Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation Leonard Slatkin, Music Director Jeff Tyzik, Principal Pops Conductor Music Directorship endowed by the Kresge Foundation Terence Blanchard, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair Jeff Tyzik, Principal Pops Conductor Neeme Järvi, Music Director Emeritus Terence Blanchard, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair Gabriela Lena Frank, Music Alive Composer-in-residence Neeme Järvi, Music Director Emeritus Gabriela Composer-in-residence First Violin Cello Lena Frank, Music Alive English Trombone Horn Yoonshin Song Dahae Kim Kenneth Thompkins Monica Fosnaugh First Violin Cello Trombone English Horn ConCertmaster assistant PrinCiPal PrinCiPal Yoonshin Dahae Kim Kenneth Thompkins Monica Fosnaugh KatherineSong Tuck Chair Dorothy and Herbert Reed Capshaw+ Clarinet ssistant P rinCiPal ConCertmaster a PrinCiPal Graebner Chair Kimberly Kaloyanides Randall Hawes Ralph Skiano Katherine Tuck Chair Dorothy and Herbert Reed Capshaw+ Clarinet Kennedy Robert Bergman* PrinCiPal Graebner Chair Kimberly Randall Hawes assoCiateKaloyanides ConCertmaster Ralph Skiano David LeDoux* Robert B. Semple Chair Bass Trombone Kennedy Robert Bergman* Alan and Marianne PrinCiPal Peter McCaffrey* Samuel Almaguer+ Randall Hawes assoCiate and ConCertmaster David LeDoux* Schwartz Jean Robert B. Semple Chair Bass Trombone PVS Chemicals Inc./Jim Haden McKay* Alan and (Shapero Marianne Shapero Peter McCaffrey* Samuel Almaguer+ Randall Hawes and Ann Nicholson Chair Úna O’Riordan* Schwartz andChair Jean Foundation) Tuba PVS Chemicals Inc./Jim Haden McKay* Laurence Liberson Shapero Paul Wingert* Hai-Xin Wu(Shapero Dennis Nulty and Ann Nicholson Chair Úna O’Riordan* assistant PrinCiPal Foundation) Chair Tuba Victor and Gale Girolami assistant ConCertmaster PrinCiPal Laurence Orme Liberson Paul Wingert* Shannon Chair Hai-Xin Dennis Nulty WalkerWu L. Cisler/Detroit assistant PrinCiPal Victor and Gale Girolami a ssistant ConCertmaster PrinCiPal Open Edison Foundation Chair Percussion Shannon Orme Chair Walker L. Cisler/Detroit P rinCiPal E-Flat Clarinet Jennifer Wey Joseph Becker Open Edison Foundation Chair James C. Gordon Chair assistant ConCertmaster Percussion Laurence Liberson PrinCiPal PrinCiPal E-Flat Clarinet Jennifer Wey Marguerite Deslippe* Joseph Becker Ruth Roby and Alfred R. James C. Gordon Chair assistant ConCertmaster Laurence Liberson Bass rinCiPalIII Chair P Rachel Harding Klaus* Glancy Bass Clarinet Marguerite Deslippe* Ruth Roby and Alfred R. Kevin Brown Laurie Landers Goldman* Andrés Pichardo-Rosenthal Shannon Orme Bass Rachel Harding Klaus* Glancy III Chair Bass Clarinet PrinCiPal a ssistant PrinCiPal Eun Park* Kevin Brown Van Dusen Family Chair Laurie Landers Goldman* Andrés Shannon Orme WilliamPichardo-Rosenthal Cody Knicely Chair Adrienne Rönmark* Bassoon PrinCiPalMolina assistant PrinCiPal Stephen Eun Park* Joshua Jones Van Dusen Family Chair Laura Soto* Robert Williams William Cody Knicely Chair a ssistant P rinCiPal Adrienne Rönmark* Bassoon African-American PrinCiPal Stephen Molina Greg Staples* Joshua Jones Linton Bodwin Orchestra Fellow Laura Soto* Robert assistant PrinCiPal VictoriaWilliams King Jiamin Wang* African-American Stephen Edwards PrinCiPal Greg Staples* Linton Bodwin Michael Ke Ma Orchestra Fellow Larry Hutchinson Victoria King Timpani Jiamin Wang* a ssistant P rinCiPal Stephen Edwards Second Violin Michael Schoon Ke Ma Jeremy Epp Marcus Larry Hutchinson Timpani Adam Stepniewski assistant PrinCiPal PrinCiPal Harp Second aCting PViolin rinCiPal Jeremy Epp Marcus Schoon Patricia Masri-Fletcher Adam Stepniewski The Devereaux Family Contrabassoon PrinCiPal Harp P rinCiPal Librarians Cting PrinCiPal a Chair Marcus Schoon Patricia Masri-Fletcher Winifred E. Polk Chair TheFischer* Devereaux Family Contrabassoon Robert Stiles Ron PrinCiPal Librarians Chair PrinCiPal Marcus Schoon Winifred E. Polk Chair Will Haapaniemi* Horn RobertAllen Stiles Flute Ron Fischer* Ethan Hae Jeong Heidi Han* rinCiPal P Karl Pituch David Buck Will Haapaniemi* Horn Flute Sheryl Hwangbo* P rinCiPal Ethan Allen PrinCiPal Hae Jeong Heidi Han* Personnel Managers Karl Pituch David BuckAssociation for Hong-Yi Mo* Bryan Kennedy Women’s Sheryl Hwangbo* PrinCiPal Stephen Molina PrinCiPal the DSO Chair Robert Murphy* Scott Strong Personnel Orchestra Managers Personnel Hong-Yi Mo* Bryan Kennedy Women’s Kang+ Association for Jung-Wan Alexandros Sakarellos* Johanna Yarbrough Stephen ManagerMolina the DSO Chair Robert Murphy* Scott Strong Orchestra Personnel Sharon Sparrow Joseph Striplin* David Everson Heather Hart Rochon Jung-Wan Kang+ Alexandros Sakarellos* Johanna Manager assistant P rinCiPal assistantYarbrough PrinCiPal Marian Tanau* Assistant Orchestra Sharon Sparrow Joseph Striplin* David Everson Heather HartManager Rochon Jeffery Zook Mark Abbott Personnel Jing Zhang* assistant PrinCiPal assistant PrinCiPal Marian Tanau* Assistant Orchestra Mingzhao Zhou* Jeffery Zook Mark Abbott Personnel Manager Jing Zhang* Piccolo Trumpet Legend Mingzhao Zhou* Jeffery Zook Hunter Eberly * These members may Viola Piccolo Trumpet Legend PrinCiPal voluntarily revolve James VanValkenburg Jeffery Zook Hunter Eberly * seating These members Viola Lee and Floy Barthel Chair within themay section aCting PrinCiPal Oboe rinCiPal P voluntarily revolve James VanValkenburg on a regular basis Kevin Good Julie and Ed Levy, Jr. Chair Open Lee and Floy Barthel Chair seating within the section Cting PrinCiPal Oboe a + substitute musician Stephen Anderson PrinCiPal Caroline Coade on a regular basis Kevin Good Julie and Ed Levy, Jr. Chair Open assistant PrinCiPal Jack A. and Aviva a Cting assistant PrinCiPal + substitute musician StephenLucas Anderson rinCiPal Chair Caroline P Robinson William Hang Su Coade assistant PrinCiPal Jack A. and Aviva aCting assistant PrinCiPal Geoffrey Johnson+ Glenn Mellow Robinson Chair William Lucas Hang Su Maggie Miller Chair Shanda Lowery-Sachs Geoffrey Johnson+ Glenn Mellow Brian Ventura Hart Hollman Maggie Miller Chair Shanda Lowery-Sachs assistant PrinCiPal Han Zheng Brian Ventura Hart Hollman Monica Fosnaugh Alexander Mishnaevski assistant PrinCiPal Han Zhengemeritus PrinCiPal Monica Fosnaugh Alexander Mishnaevski ECS T E ACH ER RES O U RCE G U I D E 5 PrinCiPal emeritus

INSTRUM ENTS OF THE ORCHESTR A S T R I N G FA M I LY

W O O D W I N D FA M I LY

The strings have made up the backbone of the western orchestra for more than three hundred years. The four major instruments in the string family, the violin, the viola, the cello and the double bass, are built the same way. The instruments are made of many pieces of wood, which are glued — never nailed — together. The bodies of the instruments are hollow, making them a resonating box for sound. Four strings made of animal gut, nylon, or steel are wrapped around pegs at one end of the instrument and attached to a tailpiece at the other. They are stretched tightly across a bridge to produce their assigned pitches. The body of the violin alone consists of over 70 parts that must be put together by a master craftsman.

The woodwind family got its name because they were originally all made of wood (the flute is now made of metal) and air, or wind, is needed to play them. Woodwind instruments make sounds in three different ways. The flute makes a sound by blowing air through an opening in the head joint. The clarinet uses a single reed, made of one piece of wood, to produce sound. When air is blown against the reed, which is attached to a mouthpiece, it vibrates to make sound. The oboe and bassoon use a double reed, or two pieces of wood vibrating against each other, to make a sound.

The violin is the smallest member of the string family and is known for its extraordinary musical versatility. Its versatility along with its four-octave range has inspired composers to write extensively for the instrument. It is played with a bow and held under the chin. It plays the highest notes and is recognized by its beautiful singing tone.

The viola is slightly bigger than the violin and is also played with a bow and held under the chin. The sound of the viola can be distinguished from that of the violin because of its darker, warmer and richer tone qualities.

The cello is also played with a bow. Unlike the violin or viola, it is too large to be placed on the shoulder, so it is played sitting down, resting on its “end pin.” Because of its size and the thickness of its strings, the cello can produce beautiful, rich deep tones.

The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument and must be played standing up. In orchestras and other musical ensembles it has a rather special role — it is often given the job of being the “foundation of the orchestra.”

The flute was originally made of wood. It has no reed and sound is produced when air is blown against a hole in the headjoint (opening).

This sends vibrations into the attached tube to produce sound. A shorter version of a flute, about half of its size, is called a piccolo. It plays the highest notes of all of the woodwinds.

The oboe is smaller than the clarinet and uses a double reed. It is made of a hard wood and has metal keys. The oboe is responsible for tuning the orchestra before each concert.

The clarinet looks much a like an oboe — made of a hard wood, with metal keys. The difference is that the clarinet uses a single reed. The clarinet comes in different sizes. The standard Bb clarinet is just over 2 feet long.

The bassoon uses a double reed and is about four times the size of an oboe. If the curved tubes in the bassoon were straightened, it would be about nine feet long! The bassoon sounds in the tenor and bass registers.

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INSTRUM ENTS OF THE ORCHESTR A (CONTINUED) B R A S S FA M I LY

P E R C U S S I O N FA M I LY

Brass Family instruments produce their sound when the player buzzes his/her lips while blowing air through a metal, cup-shaped mouthpiece.

The mouthpiece connects to a length of brass tubing that ends in a bell.

The smaller instruments have less tubing and produce a higher sound.

The bigger instruments have more tubing, which produces a lower sound.

Most of the brass instruments have valves, which open up different lengths of tubing, changing the pitch. The members of the brass family are the loudest in the orchestra and can trace their ancestry back to herald trumpets, hunting horns and military bugles.

The instruments in the percussion family are played by being struck, shaken, or scraped. There are two types of percussion instruments, tuned and untuned. The tuned notes play specific pitches, like the timpani.

The untuned produce a sound with an indefinite pitch, like the cymbals.

Percussion instruments add much color, variety and excitement to the orchestra. Drums are among the earliest instruments. Their ancestors can be found in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.

The trumpet plays the highest notes in the brass family. Some types of trumpet-like instruments were some of the earliest artifacts of man!

Trumpets come in many different sizes and keys.

The horn consists of up to 18 feet of narrow tubing wound into a circle.

It evolved from 16th century hunting horns.

The trombone is played with a mouthpiece, larger than the trumpet, and shortening or lengthening a large slide controls pitch. Its sound is lower than a trumpet but higher than a tuba. The trombone has about nine feet of tubing!

The tuba is the lowest in the brass family and can have up to 18 feet of tubing! It is played by buzzing one’s lips into a mouthpiece. Along with the string bass, it helps provide a foundation for the orchestra.

The bass drum is built like a snare drum but without the metal snares.

It is a very big instrument and produces a very low sound. The mallet is usually large and covered with a soft material, like sheep’s wool or felt.

The bass drum has been with the orchestra since 1782.

Cymbals are two large, metal discs that can be played by crashing one against the other or by hitting or scraping one or both with sticks or mallets. Cymbals come in different sizes and can produce a large variety of sound effects. Cymbals are an untuned percussion instrument.

The snare drum has two drumheads, one on the top and one on the bottom. Bands of metal wires are pulled across the bottom head to produce a buzzing or snapping sound when the drum is struck, giving it a rattling sound. The snare is an untuned instrument and is played using a variety of techniques.

The timpani, often called a kettledrum because of its looks, has a pedal mechanism which allows the musician to adjust the tension of the drumhead. This allows it to play different pitches. The timpani helps the orchestra with harmony, melody and rhythm. Most often, there are four timpani tuned to different pitches, played by one person.

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YOUR HOST

DA MON GUPTON A native of Detroit, Michigan, Damon Gupton held the post of Assistant Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony from 2006-2008.

Gupton received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Michigan. He studied conducting with David Zinman and Murry Sidlin at the Aspen Music Festival and with Leonard Slatkin at the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C. He served as American Conducting Fellow of the Houston Symphony for the 20042005 season, and has made conducting appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra (as part of a Blossom program with David Zinman), the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, The San Diego Symphony, The San Antonio Symphony, the Princeton Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, the NHK Orchestra of Tokyo, the Orquesta Filarmonica de UNAM, the New York University Orchestras, the Kinhaven Music School Orchestra, The Vermont Music Festival Orchestra, the Brass Band of Battle Creek, The Michigan Youth Arts Festival Honors Orchestra and the SPHINX Symphony as part of the 12th Annual Sphinx Competition. He led the Sphinx Chamber Orchestra on a national tour, culminating in performances at Carnegie Hall and a well-reviewed recording available at White Pine Music.

He is a winner of the Third International Eduardo Mata Conducting Competition, held in Mexico City. Musical collaborations include work with Marcus Miller, Kenn Hicks, Kathleen Battle, and Jamie Cullum.

An accomplished actor, Gupton graduated from The Drama Division of the Juilliard School in New York. He has had roles in television, film, and on stage, including the Broadway production of Bruce Norris’

Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning Clybourne Park, Superior Donuts (The Geffen), Christina Anderson’s Inked Baby (Playwrights Horizons), Meg’s New Friend (The Production Company), Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter (Arena Stage), True History and Real Adventures (The Vineyard Theatre), and Treason (Perry Street Theatre). He starred opposite Tony award-winner Phylicia Rashad in the world premiere of Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Story at New York’s Public Theater. He also performed the title role of Academy Award-winner Eric Simonson’s Carter’s Way at Kansas City Repertory Theater. Mr. Gupton was featured in title role in the critically acclaimed Heart of America Shakespeare Festival production of Othello. He received an AUDELCO nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Clybourne Park.

Currently, he is a lead of the new television series “The Divide” produced by AMC and premiering in July 2014. Other television credits include “Rake” with Greg Kinnear, Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, Prime Suspect on NBC, Law and Order, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Conviction, The Unusuals,Third Watch, Hack, Drift (w/Chazz Palminteri). He was a principal cast member of NBC/Dick Wolf ’s Deadline, the pilots Finkleman (w/Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report), Strange Brew from Will and Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. On film, he has appeared in the 2002 drama Unfaithfuldirected by Adrian Lyne, The Loretta Claiborne Story, Helen at Risk, Sidney Lumet’s Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, and This is Forty from Judd Apatow.

Mr.Gupton has been featured as narrator in many venues including The Cleveland Orchestra, The Grand Teton Music Festival, The Memphis Symphony, and on the The Videmus recording Fare Ye Well. He also narrated a concert version of Beethoven’s Fidelio with David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Awards include the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize and The Aspen Conducting Prize. Mr.Gupton is the inaugural recipient of the Emerging Artist Award from the University of Michigan School of Music and Alumni Society. He was named a Presidential Professor by the University of Michigan in January 2009.

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YOUR CONDUCTOR

MICHELLE MERRILL Distinguished by the Rochester City Newspaper as one of the “up and coming conductors of note,” Michelle Merrill has for three seasons guest conducted the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra on various concerts throughout the year, in addition to her role as the Assistant Conductor of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. A passionate and dynamic artist, Merrill was awarded the prestigious Ansbacher Conducting Fellowship in 2013 by members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the American Austrian Foundation, which enabled her to be in residence at the world-renowned Salzburg Festival. Merrill made her debut with the Orlando Phlharmonic Orchestra in September 2014, and this past spring stepped in on short notice with the Meadows Symphony Orchestra for their performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4, which the Dallas Morning News described as “stunning”. Previous praise came from her conducting of Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 with the Rochester Philharmonic: “with the natural grace of a prima ballerina, Merrill knows what she wants and how to achieve it. Merrill’s conducting took her full body in wide sweeps, making connections, seemingly, with each individual musician. Merrill’s phrasing of the Schubert was utterly proper in style and form.” A strong advocate of new music, Merrill has worked with Voices of Change (VOC), Dallas’s professional, modern contemporary music ensemble. Her collaboration with this group in the 2011/12 season was part of a program later named as one of Dallas Morning News critic Scott Cantrell’s top ten performances of 2011. She also traveled with VOC in the summer of 2012 to showcase classical music written by celebrated American Indian musicians at the Chickasaw Chamber Music Festival. Born in Dallas, TX, Merrill studied conducting with Dr. Paul C. Phillips at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts, where she holds a Master of Music Degree in conducting and a Bachelor of Music in performance.

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Michigan:

Mason Bates (b.1977)

“Warehouse Medicine” from ‘The B-Sides

Massachusetts:

Howard Hanson Symphony No. 2 in D-Flat major (1896-1981) Largamente

NOVEM BER 12, 2014

New York:

Leonard Bernstein Three Dance Episodes from On the Town (1918-1990) III. Times Square

AN A MERICAN ADVENTURE

Appalachian Mtns:

Aaron Copland Appalachian Spring (1900-1990)

Join the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on a musical journey through the heart of the United States. Curriculum connections include ties to history, technology and language arts. Teacher resource tools will be available in the fall. Approximately 45 minutes.

Mississippi:

William Grant Still Symphony No. 1 in A-flat, Afro-American (1895-1978) III. Humor

National Standards for Music Education 6.

Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.

7.

Evaluating music and music performances.

8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Michigan Standards for music education 3.

All students will analyze, describe and evaluate works of art.

4. All students will understand, analyze, and describe the arts in their historical, social and cultural contexts.

5. All students will recognize, analyze, and describe connections among the arts; between the arts and other disciplines; between the arts and everyday life.

Missouri:

Scott Joplin (1868-1917)

Maple Leaf Rag

Iowa:

Antonín Dvořák

Symphony No. 9, op.95, e minor (from the New World) (1841-1904) II. Largo Arizona:

Ferde Grofé Grand Canyon Suite

(1892-1972) III. On the Trail California:

John Williams (b.1932)

Olympic Spirit

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CONCERT ETIQUETTE There is a good chance many of the students have not ever attended a live orchestra performance. Attending or listening to a concert is a wonderful experience. If you are watching live at Orchestra Hall, or live via webcast, audiences act in a certain way, so the following guidelines will help make this more enjoyable for all listeners.

Here are some suggested talking points for the students: The musicians have been working hard, alone and together to present this concert for you. In order to avoid disturbing the performance, we should be sure turn off any electronic devices that might make noise. It is also a good idea to use the restroom before the performance begins so you don’t miss any of the music or disturb other listeners.

Remember that the most important part of the event is that you listen carefully to the performance. Talking – even quietly – can distract others from the concert.

Musicians love applause. Here are some times when it is appropriate to clap:

When the concertmaster (violin) walks onto the stage

When the conductor walks onto the stage

After the completion of each piece and at the end of the performance

CURRICULUM ENRICHMENT M AT E R I A L S

Even though you are going to hear lots of things, there are also lots of things to see. Here are some interesting things to keep your eyes on: Watch the conductor carefully and see how he lets the orchestra know how fast/slow, loud/soft to play.

Keep an eye on the “moving” parts of the orchestra. Notice how all of the string bows move at exactly the same time.

Notice how the percussion players move around at the back of the orchestra getting to play lots of different instruments.

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C ROSS CU R R I CU L A R R E L ATI O NSH I PS For this portion of the activity packet, three cross- curricular areas will be explored: history, technology and language arts. Music offers many opportunities to explore other curricular areas. Perhaps the inspiration for a piece of music is from a poem or painting, or inspired by a person, place or historical events. Music can serve as social, political or cultural commentary, or it can actively embrace emotions or ideals.

The science of sound also links music to other curricular areas, either in the actual creation of sound or the explanation of the physical nature of combinations of sounds.

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HISTORY The work that is best used to consider historical connections beyond music is the second movement of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9. The following will provide an historical synopsis along with recommended activities and writing prompts. Depending on the level of your students, some or all of this information might be useful as you discuss how history can have in influence on a piece of music.

said that it was “made to fit the impressive quiet of night on the prairie.

When the star of the empire took its way over those mighty Western plains, blood and sweat and agony and bleaching human bones marked its course.” Perhaps something of this sadness was with Dvorak, but the melody appearing in the English Horn is quite thoughtful, and probably inspired by a melody from a spiritual.

Antonin Dvorak Symphony No. 9, second movement

The melody from the second movement is also well known as “Goin Home.” It was actually one of Dvorak’s own American students, William Arms Fisher, who would later add words to the melody to create this lasting example folk music. A copy of the song “Goin Home” is included for your use.

Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 was subtitled “From the New World,” because this music was inspired by Dvorak’s experiences traveling in America.

He was most influenced by Native American songs and African American spirituals, and as he was charged with helping create a new American nationalistic style of music, he thought original music in America would need to come from these sources. He could never have known how true this would be, especially considering how important African-American music would be in the 20th century – influencing jazz, blues, R&B, rock, hip hop, and rap.

Writing to friends in Prague from his new home in New York, Dvorak wrote, “the Americans expect great things of me and the main thing is, so they say, to show them to the promised land and kingdom of a new and independent art. In short, to create a national music. If the small Czech nation can have such musicians, they say, why could not they, too, when their country and people are so immense.”

Immediately encouraging his American students to use folksong, his own appreciation of the melodies and sounds impacted his own music.

In 1893 he began work on a new symphony filled with the sights and sounds of America yet still composed in the traditional European style.

The Symphony No. 9 in E minor would hence bear the subtitle: “From the New World.”

The second movement starts with haunting chords in the brass, above which Dvorak wrote “The beginning of a legend.” One critic reviewer

As previously mentioned, Dvorak was also interested in Native American music, and even in Europe, as a young man, he had read Longfellow’s famous poem about an Iroquois hero, The Song of Hiawatha. Although historically inaccurate, Hiawatha would have a tremendous influence on the New World Symphony. He intended to write an opera about this subject, but it never materialized. He did, however, later in life tell others that the second movement of the symphony was to have been a sketch for Hiawatha. He did not borrow the Native American music, but he did write music he felt captured the spirit of their music. After the opening, which is thoughtful and touched with sadness, birdsongs emerge, and the happiness of spring is clearly heard before the movement finally ends with the same music from the opening.

In addition to the historical information above, here are some suggested talking points and activities for the students if they would be applicable: Is the music happy or sad? Read the words and listen to the music for “Goin Home.” Does the music sound like the meaning of the words?

Have the students list pieces of music they know that are happy or sad.

What words would you write to go with the tune “Goin Home” that would fit with the music?

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TECHNOLOGY Technology has had a profound impact on our lives, and music is no exception. From technological advances in musical instrument making to the actual use of computers to generate sounds, we are discovering the seemingly endless potential of bring technology into the concert hall.

Mason Bates not only writes music mixing traditional classical music with synthesized sounds, he is also a popular DJ, spinning tunes into the small hours of the morning.

Not only is his use of electronica unique, he makes it quite simple. Most orchestra conductors don’t have a DJ job on the side, so the requirements to combine synthesized sounds with live sounds was made easy for everyone. Bates writes the following instructions for B-Sides, from which we extract the final movement Warehouse Medicine, All that is needed is a laptop, two speakers, placed on the left and right sides of the stage, and a few onstage monitors. Included with the rental of the materials is a download link for a simple software sampler that triggers the sounds from the laptop (an additional percussionist or an assistant conductor simply hits laptop keys at rehearsal numbers). The electronic component is simple, inexpensive, and designed to work within a compressed orchestral rehearsal period, and a ‘ live’ version of the electronic part can be realized when the composer is present.

In addition to the information above, here are some suggested talking points and activities for the students if they would be applicable: Would we expect to hear techno music at an orchestra concert?

Some responses from students or points you might share could be:

it’s being performed, just by a slightly different set of instruments

it is still music just maybe not exactly like classical music we always hear

the process to create the music is very similar for techno and classical

Is techno music being created by an “ instrument” just like sounds are created on the violin, making it just another instrument?

When a DJ mixes tunes, is the DJ actually composing and creating a new piece of music with the technology, or is it simply just adding a variation?

Basically, Bates has designed a user-friendly piece of music that is possible as long as you can read music and hit the space bar! Exploring Mason Bates’s music will be a fun project for students, as it will have many elements with which they are familiar within a popular context.

You can find all of his information about his works through his website: www.masonbates.com

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L ANGUAGE ARTS Often, poetry or stories are of direct influence on the creation of music.

In many cases the two are linked in the form of folk songs, opera arias, ballads, or even freestyle rap.

All de vials of my powah.”

Yes, he did—-an’ Pher’oh’s ahmy Wasn’t wurth a ha’f a dime; Fu’ de Lawd will he’p his chillum, You kin trust him evah time.

The inspiration for the third movement of William Grant Still’s African American Symphony is indebted to a poetic recreation by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 –1906), an African American poet, novelist, and playwright. The sermon is written after the Civil War, but is an artistic means to describe how a pre-Civil War African American sermon might have been delivered to a slave congregation by a slave minister, prior to the end of slavery in the United States.

An’ you’ enemies may ‘sail you In de back an’ in de front; But de Lawd is all aroun’ you, Fu’ to ba’ de battle’s brunt.

Dey kin fo’ge yo’chains an’ shackles F’om de mountains to de sea; But de Lawd will sen’ some Moses Fu’ to set his chilun free.

We is gathahed hyeah, my brothahs, In di howlin’ wildaness, Fu’ to speak some words o comfo’t to each othah in distress.

An’ we choose fu’ ouah subjic’ Dis—-we’ll ‘splain it by an’ by; “An’ de Lawd said, “Moses, Moses,” An’ de man said, Hyeah am I.’”

An’ de lan’ shall hyeah his thundah, Lak a blas’ f ’om Gab’el’s ho’n, Fu’ de Lawd of hosts is mighty When he girds his ahmor on.

But fu’ feah some one mistakes me, I will pause right hyeah to say, Dat I’m still a-preachin’ ancient, I ain’t talkin’ bout to-day.

But I tell you, fellah christuns, Things’ll happen mighty strange; Now, de Lawd done dis fu’ Isrul, An’ his ways don’t nevah change, An’ de love he showed to Isrul Wasn’t all on Isrul spent; Now don’t run an’ tell yo’ mastahs Dat I’s preachin’ discontent.

Now ole Pher’oh, down in Egypt Was de wuss man evah bo’n, An’ he had de Hebrew chillun Down dah wukin’ in his co’n; ‘Twell de Lawd got tiahed o’ his foolin’, an’ sez he: “I’ll let him know’ Look hyeah, Moses, go tell Pher’oh Fu’ to let dem chillun go.”

“An’ ef he refuse do it, I will make him rue de houah, fu’ I’ll empty down on Egypt

‘Cause I isn’t; I’se a-judgin’ Bible people by dier ac’s; I’se a-givin’ you de Scriptuah, I’se a-handin’ you de fac’s.

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Cose ole Pher’or b’lieved in slav’ry, But de Lawd he let him see, Dat de people he put bref in, Evah mothah’s son was free.

An’ dah’s othahs thinks lak Pher’or, But dey calls de Scriptuah liar, Fu’ de Bible says “a servant Is worthy of his hire,” An’ you cain’t git roun’ nor thoo dat, An’ you cain’t git ovah it, Fu’ whatevah place you git in, Dis hyeah Bible too’ll fit.

So you see de Lawd’s intention, Evah sence de worl’ began, Was dat His almight freedom Should belong to evah man, But I think it would be bettah, Ef I’d pause agin to say, Dat I’m talkin’ ‘bout ouah freedom In a Bibleistic way.

But de Moses is a-comin’, An’ he’s comin’, suah and fas’ We kin hyeah his feet a-trompin’, We kin hyeah his trumpit blas’.

But I want to wa’n you people, Don’t you git too brigity; An’ don’t you git to braggin’” Bout dese things, you wait an’ see.

But when Moses wif his powah Comes an’ sets us chillun free, We will praise de gracious Mastah Dat has gin us liberty;

An’ we’ll shout ouah halleluyahs, On dat mighty reck’nin’ day, When we’se reco’nised ez citiz’ Huh uh! Chillun, let us pray!

The final portion, in bold, is the specific inspiration for the music written

by William Grant Still. As previously discussed in the composer packet, the use of syncopation is readily evident in the music, but it is also evident in the irregular rhythm of the poetry.

Go to the historical website for Paul Dunbar and listen to both versions of the sermon. The “standard” reading and the “ dialect” reading are quite different.

In what ways do the rhythms of speech change in the two versions? Is one better than the other? http://www.paullaurencedunbar.net/antebellumsermon.html Be sure to point out to the students how much more rhythm is in the dialect reading, and how the rhythm does not usually keep a steady pulse.

Does Grant Still’s use of syncopation in music fit the dialect or the standard version best, and how?

How might the music be different if were written to accompany the standard reading?

See the information provided on syncopation later in this packet for more information about this topic.

Descriptions of this might include steady beat, or regular pulse of music.

Is the emotion of the bold text represented in the music? How?

The exclamation point in the text, and the hallelujah is portrayed in the music by using lots of instruments and having the music become louder, and the use of syncopation to make the rhythm unexpected.

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FU N DA M E NTA L E L EM E NTS O F MUS I C There are seven fundamental elements of music: melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, timbre, dynamics and form. For this category, material will focus on three elements: melody, rhythm and timbre.

Depending on the age of the students, or their current work in the curriculum, you can use any or all of the examples as a starting point to describe the specific musical elements. The examples are included separately in a resource index if you wish to copy for use in the classroom.

M E LO DY

Melody is a collective group of satisfying pitches. It is easier understood as the “tune” or perhaps what you recognize when you hear familiar music. It is a complete thought that has a beginning, middle and ending.

Terms Associated with Melody: Melody: a musical idea that is satisfying and complete Theme: music material, usually a melody, that an entire piece of music is based Antecedent: the first half of a melody that ends incomplete Consequent: the second half of a melody that completes a musical idea Scale degree: the number (1-8) that coincides with notes in a scale

One way to organize and understand melodies is through the specific parts of the phrases that melodies combine to create a complete idea.

For example, in the simple tune Row, Row, Row Your Boat, the first part of the melody ends on scale degree five, while the second part of the melody ends on the first scale degree. Have the students sing the melody, but stop when they get to “stream.” Ask students if it sounds complete, or if it sounds like it needs to have something else? Go back and sing the entire tune, and point out how the second part of the melody completes the musical idea. The music sounds complete because the notes end right back where they started.

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This is a basic example of what we call antecedent (what comes before) and consequent (what comes after) phrases.

Next, you could have students sing a melody, or you could listen to a melody from any piece of popular music with which the students may be familiar. Point out and discuss that even though the music is not a simple as Row, Row, Row Your Boat, it likely has exactly the same type of melody.

A great example to use would be the recent hit by Meghan Trainor, All About That Bass. In this song, the melodies that are always incomplete, but every time the melody gets back to the chorus, it returns to the notes where it started. The lyrics usually end on different notes, but each time they get back to “all about that bass” the melody is completed on the starting notes.

Now to explore the same type of melody in classical music, we will consider two pieces you will hear during the concert. Using the first theme from the second movement of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 and Simple Gifts from Appalachian Spring it is easy to hear two separate parts of the melody.

The melody in the Dvorak Symphony No. 9, Mvt. II is in A-flat major, so the first part of the melody ends on the second note of the scale in measure 2. This is a weaker ending to the phrase than the last measure of the example, which ends on scale degree 1. You could have students sing the first part of the melody and stop just like in the example of Row, Row. The melody won’t sound finished because it does not end on the home note of A-flat. If you then finish the entire melody it will sound complete because it ends on the home note.

Just like in Row, Row, Row Your Boat when two phrase segments are combined and related to one another they often have this type of organization, referred to as antecedent and consequent. The antecedent segment ends on a weaker point harmonically, or a less stable melodic pitch. This provides less stability, and the phrases sounds like it needs to continue in order to be complete. The second segment will often then end on the first scale degree, providing a stable sense of completion.

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Now, notice how the melody in Simple Gifts, which is in the key of C major, ends on the fifth scale degree in measure 4. This is a weaker ending to the phrase than the last measure of the example, which ends on scale degree 1. Students should notice the same type of incomplete/ complete relationship between the end of line one and the end of line two.

RHYTHM

Rhythm is understood as an organization of strong and weak beats in a recognized pattern in music. Rhythm is the pulse of the music that you “ feel� and tap your foot to when you listen.

Terms Associated with Rhythm: Rhythm: movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or more simply, how the pulses in music are organized Syncopation: when strong pulses in music are not located on strong beats

Depending on the age of the students, or their current work in the curriculum, you can use any or all of these three examples as a starting point to describe antecedent and consequent phrase segments. It could be as complex as using these technical terms or you could simply ask leading questions like: Does this melody sound complete?

How many parts does the melody contain?

Ragtime: a style of music popular from 1890-1920 that gets its name from having a ragged beat, or lots of syncopation Beat: The steady pulse of music A common type of rhythm used by many composers, especially in jazz influenced music is syncopation. Syncopation is when a note is played with an emphasis on a weak beat. The second note in this example is sustained where we would expect a strong beat, and the actual notes occur on the weak beats in the measure.

Can you think of other songs that have a melody with two parts?

How important is melody in a piece of music?

If you tap your foot to Twinkle, Twinkle notice that every note is on the steady beat.

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When music has regular beats and you tap your foot, syncopation is where some of the important notes might be where your foot is not tapping!

Look at the traditional tune, Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me. If you tap your foot, notice that the word “fly” is an important note, but it is not on the steady beat…this is syncopation.

Students should notice that if they tap their foot, or clap their hands to a steady beat while listening to the Maple Leaf Rag that lots of notes that are louder or accented happen in a different place than the steady beat.

The following two examples from William Grant Still’s Afro-American Symphony, mvt. 3 are also examples of syncopation. In the first example, the syncopation occurs as individual rhythms, but in the second example, there is a series of syncopated notes. These two examples allow for excellent opportunities for students to mark which rhythms are syncopated. In the first excerpt, only the rhythms on the first beat of the measure are syncopated, but in the second excerpt, almost all of the rhythms are syncopated.

Example 1:

Scott Joplin’s popular Maple Leaf Rag, like all ragtime music, has lots of syncopation. In fact, the term ragtime stems from the rhythm of the music being ragged, or irregular. In the first measure, the syncopation exists because the actual notes during beat two fall on unaccented beats. This is the most common form of syncopation, and is just like the rhythm in Shoo Fly.

Example 2:

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TIMBRE

Timbre, or tone color, refers to the characteristic sound produced by an instrument or voice, or any combination of instruments or voices. It is this characteristic that allows us to hear a difference between a trumpet and a violin, or a jazz band and a string orchestra. Composers have utilized timbre to make their music interesting by providing contrast that is sometimes very subtle, or sometimes very drastic It might seem like timbre is complicated, but it’s really not! It is simply a term used to describe how sounds are different. Think of the difference between a male and female voice – or the voice of an older person and a child.

Timbre is also what makes sounds unique. This is how you can identify the voice of people you know when you hear it, or you can tell the difference between a trumpet and a violin.

Have students change their voice to imitate an old person and a very young person. Have girls change their voice to sound like an old man, and have boys change their voice to sound like an old lady…that’s timbre!

Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, a ballet with music written for 13 instruments in 1944 received the Pulitzer Prize in Music in 1945. He also orchestrated much of the original ballet music as suite for orchestra in 1945, and it is still one of his most performed works.

How much more “powerful” does the music sound when played by the full orchestra?

Do the softer, peaceful moments in the music sound more appropriate with the large orchestra or the chamber orchestra?

In addition to acoustic instruments, many contemporary composers are enhancing acoustic instruments with electronic sounds, or recorded sounds reproduced electronically. These composers use everything from recorded whale song to techno or hip-hop influenced synthesized sounds.

Mason Bates tips his hat to the city of Detroit with Warehouse Medicine the final movement of his major work for orchestra and electronics, The B Sides. The electronic sounds are immediately noticeable, and they add a great deal of color and energy to the traditional sounds of the orchestra.

There are also several recording available for free online (YouTube and masonbates.com).

Is it easy to determine which sounds are electronic and which are acoustic?

Do the electronics sound more or less important than the orchestra?

Compare composers using acoustic instruments to recreate sounds in nature to composers utilizing technology to sample nature sounds and set alongside acoustic instruments. A good example of this would be Olivier Messiaen’s Oiseaux exotiques (Exotic Birds), which uses traditional instruments to recreate and imitate bird song. This work could be compared to contemporary composer Alex Shapiro’s Immersion, a threemovement work for wind band and pre-recorded audio track of ocean sounds.

Given the popularity of this music, and the familiarity many students will have with the some of the melodies, this presents a wonderful opportunity to discuss timbre. Locate a recording of the 13-player chamber orchestra and a recording of the full orchestra suite. If students listen to both, they will be able to immediately hear differences in the depth of the sound produced by the orchestra, but will also notice the transparency of sound produced by the chamber orchestra.

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M ASO N BATES (1977-) Not every composer can be a critically acclaimed composer in addition to being a renowned DJ, but Mason Bates is just that – composing art-music by day and spinning club techno at night under his other working name, Masonic. Fascinated by sounds of all types, Bates has often called the orchestra the world’s greatest synthesizer. Whether it is acoustic sounds merge with digital, or simply operate independently of one another, the rich palate he creates is as immediately accessible to audiences as it is cutting edge contemporary.

Juilliard trained, his teachers read like a “who’s who” of 20th century composers, including John Corigliano, Samuel Adler and David Del Tredici. Bates then attended the University of California-Berkley, working with Edmund Campion at the Center for New Music and Audio Technology.

COMPOSER A N D WO R K S P RO F I L E S

Detroit, and specifically the warehouses that represent the birthplace of techno, served as inspiration for Warehouse Medicine, the fourth movement from a larger work, The B-Sides. A tipping of the hat to his DJ persona, this music represents his blend of electronica and acoustical sounds that have helped him craft a unique identity. Bates comments that, “Music, whether it be in a grand auditorium or an underground techno club, is one enterprise. I think to stay fresh as an artist, it’s good to change up your output.” The combination of these two seemingly disconnected styles of music help to keep him motivated as a composer.

LEO NARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) One of the 20th century’s most versatile figures, Bernstein was active as a conductor, composer of musical theater and concert works, and musical educator. Perhaps best known for his Broadway musical West Side Story, his compositions are still performed around the world. His influence as ECS T E ACH ER RES O U RCE G U I D E

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an educator stems mainly from his involvement in numerous television broadcasts, especially the Young People’s Concerts which were broadcast from 1958 -1972. These programs had a profound influence on an entire generation of American children, especially future musicians.

Bernstein did not grow up in a musical family, but when he displayed talent for music his parents did take pride in his accomplishments and supported his efforts, even having young Leonard play piano in a radio commercial for his father’s business. His career as a composer did not really become established until 1944 with the recognition of his Jeremiah Symphony, and his score for the ballet Fancy Free. This ballet was eventually transformed into the Broadway Musical On the Town.

Fancy Free and On the Town, Bernstein’s first two dramatic works, both from 1944, were collaborations with choreographer Jerome Robbins, with whom he would eventually complete several other projects including West Side Story. The story of On the Town involves three sailors on shore leave in New York, and the music includes dances, big band jazz, boogie-woogie, blues, and features the use dissonance to portray the urban environment of New York.

A ARO N CO PL AN D (190 0 -1990) Copland is regarded as one of the best-loved and most enduring American composers, having written music for ballet, opera and film along with many instrumental, choral and vocal works. He established a distinctive American style based on simple harmonies and colorful orchestrations.

Studying composition in Paris from 1921-1924, his teacher Nadia Boulanger helped to secure performances of his music in New York and Boston. It was through this connection that he became friends with Sergey Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, who would be a collaborator with and champion of Copland’s music.

Copland’s earliest works upon his return to America were described as “strident” and “nervous” and were not well received. In fact, because of this lack of success, part-time teaching and grants were his only source of income and Copland was not well off financially during this period. Several factors over the next few decades would change to propel Copland to the fore of American classical music. Appalachian Spring won the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Music Critics’ Circle Award and he developed a wonderful relationship with the publisher, Boosey & Hawkes. His music was also being championed during this time by another rising star in American music – Leonard Bernstein.

Appalachian Spring, a ballet in one act was arranged into a concert suite for 13 instruments and later for full orchestra. The music has truly become timeless, and is heard more frequently in the concert hall than as a ballet. The music represents Copland’s ideas that American classical music should be meaningful and accessible to large audiences, a goal that is achieved through colorful orchestrations, tuneful melodies and sparse harmonies.

WILLIA M GR ANT STILL (1895-1978) An American born composer, Grant Still was known as both a composer and an arranger. Educated in Ohio at Wilberforce University and the Oberlin Conservatory, he gained fame working as an arranger for theatre orchestras and radio shows while collaborating with musical greats such as WC Handy, Paul Whiteman and Artie Shaw. A prolific musician, he maintained a career of firsts, including the first black American to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra, to conduct a radio orchestra of white musicians, to conduct a major symphony orchestra – the Los Angeles Philharmonic, or to have an opera produced by a major company.

Edgard Varèse who encouraged Grant Still to compose with freedom and flexibility, and to embrace simple lyricism. His music is simple and ECS T E ACH ER RES O U RCE G U I D E

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tuneful during a time when many composers were writing experimental works with nontraditional melodies and harmonies. His new style resulted in performances and commissions by the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, New York Philharmonic, and Cincinnati Symphony.

Perhaps his most notable work, the Afro-American Symphony, premiered in Rochester, NY in 1931and was the first symphony by an African American to be performed by a major US orchestra. He often rejected spirituals as inspiration for his works and instead turned his attention toward another indigenous music – the blues – as he felt the blues were not influenced by Caucasian culture as were the traditional spirituals.

SCOT T J O PLIN (1867-1917) The child of a former slave and a free-born black woman, Scott Joplin grew up in Texarkana on the Texas–Arkansas border and was heavily influenced by music at an early age. Most members of his family played musical instruments and he also received instruction from a German immigrant.

Joplin would move to Missouri in the 1880s living in Sedalia and St. Louis, but by 1891, he was back in Texarkana yet he traveled extensively for four years with a vocal group, The Texas Medley Quartette, between the Midwest and Boston.

Then, in 1894 Joplin would form his own dance band, in which he played lead cornet (trumpet). It was not until 1898 that Joplin began to actively compose in great volume, and to perform his piano ragtimes. Despite a desire to write opera, and work in other genres, Joplin was never really able to break away from his reputation as a composer of these seemingly trite works during his life, but after a posthumous revival of his more serious works, his opera Tremonsiha was produced and orchestrated several times, most notably by contemporary composers Guenther Schuller and William Bolcolm.

ANTO N IN DVO R AK (1841-1904) Dvořák was born into a traditional Czech family typified by a simple folk and community culture. From an early age, his musical talent was recognized and supported by his family and his formal study at the Prague Organ School began in July 1859 and he graduated as one the best musicians of his class.

However, after failing to find work as an organist, Dvorak pursued a career as a violist, playing in dance bands and orchestras, and teaching piano lessons. During this time, he was actively composing music, including symphonies, string quartets and song cycles. After meeting Johannes Brahms and becoming friends, Brahms was able to help get performances of Dvorak’s music – and his Slavonic Dances made him an overnight success. He then began receiving requests to have his music performed internationally, in cities such as New York, London, Vienna, Berlin and Dresden.

A major turning point in his career happened in 1891 when he accepted an invitation to serve as artistic director and professor of composition at the National Conservatory of Music in New York. Jeannette Thurber, president of the conservatory wanted to establish a nationalistic American style of art music and thought Dvorak, with his own compositional views on folk music and nationalism was well suited for this task.

Despite being based in New York, Dvorak traveled all over American, especially in the Midwest, and he cited a heavy influence of American folk music on several of his important works, notably the Ninth Symphony “From the New World” which had been completed in New York in 1893. This major work was the first by Dvorak to take indigenous American folk-inspired themes and transform them expertly within traditional European formal design and compositional techniques. It still remains one of his most popular works.

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FERDE GRO FÉ (1892-1972)

JO H N WILLIA MS (1932-)

An American composer, arranger, conductor and pianist, Grofé enjoyed a diverse career, even at an early age. As a seven-year-old, he was already performing professionally as a pianist and violinist at dances, and he eventually joined the Los Angeles and San Francisco Symphonies, in addition to performing on film sets, in cabarets, vaudeville houses and theatres in the American West and Southwest.

John Williams’s early music instruction was similar to that of many traditional composers of art music, when at the age of 8, he began to study piano. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1948, allowing him to work with the pianist and arranger Bobby Van Eps. Later Williams would serve as an orchestrator/arranger and conductor in the US Air Force bands, and in 1954, he moved to New York, to continue study at the Juilliard School and earned money playing in jazz clubs and recording studios. Two years later, he would return to Hollywood as a studio pianist and he began a career composing and arranging.

Grofé was perhaps best known for his commercial endeavors working with jazz greats Art Guerin and Paul Whiteman, and his eventual work as the chief arranger and composer at Radio City Music Hall in New York. He brought traditional European arranging techniques to music specifically American, including jazz and dance music, and gained much popularity for an arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. This helped create a truly light-fare symphonic music imbued with American inspired themes. Some of these works were Mississippi and Metropolis but the most important work is by far the Grand Canyon Suite.

The happy-go-lucky and often geographically inspired themes from the Grand Canyon Suite paint vivid pictures in the minds of listeners.

This is not surprising considering the popularity of radio broadcasts and programs prior to the widespread availability of the television. Music from his Grand Canyon Suite has appeared in numerous modern media, most notably in the popular 1983 movie A Christmas Story, in which the music accompanies the scenes describing the old west as imagined by the main character, Ralphie, in an effort to secure a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas.

History will most likely look back on the partnerships of John Williams and film producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas as two of the most important artistic relationships of the 20th century. These producers realized works that served as inspiration for some of the greatest film scores ever composed, including early works such as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars, Superman, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T.: the Extra Terrestrial and Schindler’s List. Later works better known to a younger audience include Jurassic Park, the Star Wars prequels, the Harry Potter series, and the newest Star Wars film to be released in 2015. Additionally, Williams has composed signature tunes for NBC and several official Olympic fanfares.

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