Christmas Tiny Tots 2019 Pre-Program Packet

CHRISTMAS 2019 TINY TOTS Pre-Program Packet

Happy Holidays! We’re thrilled to have you join us this year at our Christmas Tiny Tots performances. We love being a part of your family’s holiday traditions and helping you and your little one(s) make magical musical memories together. Our Christmas Tiny Tots programs are going to be a blast– you’ll get to sing a few holiday favorites, watch special guests perform, play jingle bells and train whistles along with the orchestra, and more!

Check out this packet for an overview of the program you’ll experience and some fun activities to do at home before or after the concert. Some helpful hints on how to get the most out of this packet: • The title of each piece links to a YouTube video. We may be performing a slightly different version of some of the pieces than you hear in the videos.

• At the Concert: This section will tell you a bit more about each piece of music. It may inspire you to dig further into its history or include facts you may want to share with your kids as you listen. It also tells you how the music will be presented at Tiny Tots and what activities or prompts children will be encouraged to do/think about to help engage them with the music.

• At Home: this section includes activities to bring the music or theme alive at home.

Listen to the music as you complete the activities to make it an immersive experience.

• Check out the added activity for Feliz Navidad. Make these Rudolph jingle bells ahead of time and bring them to play at the concert. Don’t stress if you forget them that morning – you can make them at the concert and we'll have some pre-made available as well.

We can’t wait to see you this holiday season!

Sara Hare Program Manager

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas At the Concert This song was first written and recorded in 1951. This piece will get you into the festive mood at the start of the concert and will feature our brass section.

At Home We have a perfect (and silly) way to make it look a bit more like Christmas in your house this December. Have an indoor snowball fight (or just make it snow inside) inspired by these DIY launchers. Explore STEM concepts with your little ones as you launch marshmallows or cotton balls across your family room.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer At the Concert All of Santa's reindeer, except for Rudolph, first appeared in "’Twas the Night Before Christmas," written in 1823, but Rudolph wasn’t created until 1939. Johnny Marks wrote this famous song based on the story of Rudolph 10 years later in 1949. Singalong with our orchestra during this classic Christmas tune.

At Home This adorable fingerprint reindeer and sleigh craft is not just a fun decoration, but also a great way to remember how tiny your little ones hands and fingers once were.

You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch At the Concert The lyrics for this song were composed by Dr. Suess himself for the original Grinch movie in 1966. Did you know that the original singer of this song is the same person who did the Tony the Tiger voice for the Frosted Flakes commercials? Listen as a singer from Central City Opera joins us for this piece.

At Home

The holiday season is fully of yummy treats. This list of healthy, Christmas-themed snacks will help balance out some of the sugar in between all of the season’s festivities.

Frosty the Snowman At the Concert Frosty the Snowman was written in 1950, a year after Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer premiered to great success. The songwriters were trying to create another popular Christmas hit and they definitely succeeded!

Sing along with the orchestra during this piece.

At Home This ADORABLE no-sew snowman puts to use those mismatched socks we all have laying around. It’s a great craft for kids of all ages and skill levels.

Toy Symphony At the Concert No one knows for sure who wrote this piece. Some say it was written by the accomplished composer Joseph Haydn while others think it was Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus’ less famous brother. Make your own silly musical sounds with us and then listen and look for the toys being played around the orchestra.

At Home You really don’t need instruments to make music – anything can become a music-maker with creativity. You can also use items around your house to make your own instruments. Check out our giant DIY instrument Pinterest board for hundreds of creative instrument crafts.

Polar Express At the Concert The Polar Express soundtrack, from the movie premiered in 2004, is the bestselling holiday movie soundtrack ever written. Help us get the train started by playing your train whistles (you can purchase them here) or giving us your best choo choo sound.

At Home The Polar Express is such a wonderful story for kids. Read the story (or watch the movie) with your littles ones and then try your hand at this fun STEM activity. Depending on the age of your kids, help them through the activity or take a step back and watch them work through it themselves.

Jingle Bell Rock At the Concert Jingle Bell Rock was released in 1957 and holds the record for the longest wait to get on the Hot 100 Top 10 song list – it finally made it onto the top 10 in January of 2019. It’s your turn to rock and swing like jingle bells now!

At Home At Tiny Tots, kids will get to shimmy and rock like bells along with this music. Make these simple bells at home – they’re a fun noisemaker for kids and also make cute decorations to hang from your door handles to hear a jingle as your family comes and goes.

The Reed Flutes and Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker At the Concert The Nutcracker is one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous works and is based on “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” story by E. T. A. Hoffman. Watch as dancers join us during one of these movements and then it will be your turn to dance like a ballerina during the next. On the 7th, we’ll be joined by Ballet Ariel and on the 14th and 21st we’ll welcome the Colorado Ballet Academy.

At Home The Nutcracker is a classic Christmas story and one of the best-known pieces of holiday orchestra music.

Before you come to Tiny Tots, check out each of these movements from The Nutcracker featuring different types of dancers. This version of The Sugar Plum Fairy features amazing hip-hop dancers and this version of The Reed Flutes features three very talented young ballerinas.

Jingle Bells At the Concert This piece was written by James Pierpont in the 1850s. It is said he was inspired by horse-drawn sleigh races that were a tradition in a town where he lived. Fun fact: this was the first piece performed in outer space! Have fun singing along with the orchestra.

At Home Though this is maybe a slightly messy to make art with your kiddos, it is without a doubt also really fun! Not only will your littles ones have the opportunity to be creative and artistic, you can also turn it into a fun science lesson as you talk about gravity, color mixing, and more.

The Christmas Song At the Concert This song was actually written on a blistering hot summer day. Robert Wells just started listing our wintery things to help him get into the mood to write a Christmas song and those became the opening lyrics. Our guest from Central City Opera will join us again for this piece.

At Home The Christmas Song starts with the famous opening line, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” But have you ever actually had roasted chestnuts before? If not, give them a try with this easy recipe. It’ll give the song new meaning for you!

Feliz Navidad At the Concert Feliz Navidad is 8th on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles and is one of the top 25 most played and recorded Christmas songs in the whole world according to ASCAP. Pull out your Rudolph jingle bell instruments and follow our conductor as you play along with the orchestra.

At Home Make your Rudolph jingle bell shakers at home and bring them to the concert so that you can play along with the orchestra.

Sleigh Ride At the Concert Just like The Christmas Song’s composition history, Leroy Anderson started writing this piece on a sunny, hot July day! Throughout the piece, listen to galloping horses from the percussion section and their neighing sounds from the trumpets. Welcome Santa on stage to conduct!

At Home We think that the best Christmas trees feature DIY instruments made by little hands, whether they’re ornaments we made as kids or ornaments made by the kids currently in our lives. These sleigh ornaments are festive additions to any tree and will let you take a look back each year at just how much your kids have grown.

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