Peter and the Wolf by lubbocksymphony

Listen Live Education Concert

Concert Etiquette

We are so excited to have you join us for this wonderful musical experience. The musicians you will see in the upcoming performance depend on you for their success. An audience that pays attention and doesn’t cause distractions will help their performance!

BASIC CONCERT RULES

• Use the bathroom before the concert if needed

• The concert will start when the lights dim

• Don’t make noise during the concert

• Stay in your seat until your teachers give you instructions to leave

WHEN TO CLAP

In classical music, you clap at the very beginning of the concert and at the very end when it is over. Classical songs may start and stop a lot, so you don’t need to clap every time it stops!

It’s okay to clap...

• When the concertmaster violinist comes on stage

• When the conductor walks to the podium

• When the conductor takes a bow at the end

Student Activities & Resources

This guidebook will help you prepare for the concert and learn more about the music! Read it on your own, then discuss it as a class. This book includes:

• Welcome to the Symphony (p. 1), Musical Storytelling & Meet our Narrator (p. 2)

• All About Prokofiev (p. 3) - The history of Peter and the Wolf and its composer

• Peter and the Wolf (p. 4) - The script of Peter and the Wolf and information about the different instruments of the orchestra

• Concert Voucher (p. 8) - Get 2 free tickets to the November LSO Concert!

ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES

Visit our website for audio recordings of the musical excerpts included in this book, other music recommendations, information about local arts organizations, and more!

Welcome to the symphony!

If you love music, we have just the place for you: a symphony concert! If you have never attended a symphony concert before, no worries! There is nothing quite like getting to hear live music. This will be a special experience for you and your friends and family. First, let’s learn more about the symphony.

A symphony is who we are and what we play! The term symphony is short for “symphony orchestra.” This is a talented group of musicians of all ages and backgrounds. The musicians play a variety of instruments that you will learn about in this book.

MAESTRO DAVID CHO

ABOUT LUBBOCK SYMPHONY

Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (LSO) began as a volunteer orchestra in 1946 and became a professional orchestra in 1967. It has over 100 members who perform classical masterworks, chamber music, and “pops” concerts each season. LSO also oversees educational outreach programs such as this education concert.

David In-Jae Cho is the Music Director/Conductor (also referred to as “Maestro”) of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. He is an accomplished pianist and conductor, and has been with LSO since 2012!

A symphony is also a type of music that the orchestra plays. Professional orchestras have been performing symphonies for over 200 years! Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky all wrote amazing symphonies that are still popular today. When you attend a symphony concert, you will hear a variety of music by composers from around the world.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

MUSICAL STORYTELLING

Do you have a favorite story? Maybe a favorite book that you could read over and over again? Close your eyes and think about the characters and scenery. Was this a funny or serious story? How did you feel while reading it? Can you see the characters your mind? That is the power of reading! It helps us use our imagination and makes us feel like we are in a different place.

Professional people who write books or stories are called authors. They have a special gift for storytelling. Throughout history, storytelling has been known as an art form. It is a way to share ideas, teach lessons and tell the stories of many different people. Authors are storytellers, but composers are musical storytellers! Composers are professional people that write music. Instead of words, they use music to tell amazing stories.

Today, you will learn the story of Peter and the Wolf. This is a musical work written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The story combines words with music. Prokofiev knew how to use just the right sounds to represent different characters in the story. Peter and the Wolf could be told without music, but it would not be the same. We are so excited for you to go on a musical adventure with Peter and his animal friends. You may also learn a few lessons along the way!

Meet Our narrator Curtis parrish!

Curtis Parrish’s family roots run deep in the cotton fields of West Texas. He is a fifth generation West Texan.

Judge Parrish attended Lubbock Christian University and Texas Tech University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and is a graduate of the Texas Tech School of Law. He was elected Lubbock County Judge in 2018, serving as the probate, guardianship, and mental health judge for Lubbock County, as well as administrative duties with the Commissioners Court.

Judge Parrish has always been active in the Lubbock community, having worked with and served on the boards of several organizations and had an active part in establishing the Buddy Holly Museum. He was the long time public address announcer for Red Raider Football, retiring in 2024.

Judge Parrish and his wife, Brenda, have four children and two grandboys. They attend Broadway Church of Christ where Curtis sings with the Praise and Worship team. He and his wife are long time supporters of the Lubbock Symphony, where Brenda serves on the Board of Directors.

Judge Parrish as the announcer for Texas Texas Tech Football. Photo by: ©Annie Rice/ Avalanche-Journal

All About Prokofiev

Peter and the Wolf was written by a Russian composer named Sergei Prokofiev, who was born in 1891. His mother noticed that young Sergei had a talent for music and taught him to play the piano. When Sergei was five years-old, he wrote his very first composition, or work of music, for piano. When he was nine yearsold, he wrote an entire opera!

When Sergei was a teenager, he and his mother moved to a city called St. Petersburg so that he could go to a special music school called the Russian Music Conservatory. Sergei studied there for ten years, learning all about music and even creating his own special style of music! After graduation, Sergei traveled all over the European continent studying, performing, and writing music.

The Russian Revolutionary War in 1918 led Prokofiev to leave Russia. He continued to work as a music composer in Western Europe and the United States, but he hoped to someday return to his home country. He was finally able to move back to Russia in 1936, which was then known as the Soviet Union.

One of the first pieces of music that Prokofiev composed when he moved back to Russia was Peter and the Wolf, a musical fairy tale for children. Prokofiev liked to take his two sons to the Central Children’s Theatre in the city of Moscow, so when the director of the theatre asked him to write a symphony for children, he happily agreed! Prokofiev believed that music education for children was important and was excited to write a piece of music that would introduce children to all the different instruments of the orchestra. The story of Peter and the Wolf, which is spoken by a narrator as the orchestra plays along, was written by Prokofiev himself. Each character in the story represents a different instrument or group of instruments in the orchestra.

Prokofiev is considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. He wrote a lot of music, including symphonies, operas, ballets, concertos, and even music for movies! Still, Peter and the Wolf is one of his most-played compositions. It is one of the most popular pieces of music for children ever written. It has been recorded over 400 times and in 12 different languages!

Young Sergei Prokofiev with his opera score, c. 1900.

Sergei Prokofiev with his sons.

Central Children's Theatre, Moscow, Russia, c. 1930s.

Source: Branson DeCou Archive

Peter and the wolf

Early one morning, Peter opened the gate and went out into the big green meadow next to his house.

PETER’S THEME - STRINGS

THE STRING FAMILY (VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO, & BASS)

These instruments have strings stretched across them. String musicians drag a bow over the strings or pluck them to make noise. They change the pitch by pressing their fingers on the strings.

On a branch of a big tree sat a little bird, Peter’s friend. “All is quiet. All is quiet!” chirped the bird gaily. Yes all is quiet.

Just then a duck came waddling round. She was glad that Peter hadn’t closed the gate and decided to take a nice swim in the deep pond in the meadow.

Seeing the duck, the little bird flew down upon on the grass, settled next to her and shrugged his shoulders.

“What kind of bird are you if you can’t fly?” said he. To this the duck replied “What kind of bird are you if you can’t swim?” and dived into the pond.

BIRD’S THEME - FLUTE

DUCK’S THEME - OBOE

They argued and argued, the duck swimming in the pond and the little bird hopping along the shore.

Suddenly, something caught Peter’s attention. It was a cat crawling through the grass.

The cat thought; “The bird Is busy arguing, I’ll just grab him”. Stealthily the cat crept towards him on her velvet paws.

“Look out! Shouted Peter to the bird who immediately flew up into the tree.

While the duck swam as fast as she could to the middle of the pond where the cat couldn’t touch her. And quacked at the cat with all her might.

But the cat was more interested in the bird. The cat crawled round the tree and thought, “ls it worth climbing up so high? By the time I get there the bird will have flown away.

CAT’S THEME - CLARINET

Just then grandfather came out. He was angry because Peter had gone into the meadow.

“This is a dangerous place. If a wolf should come out of the forest, then what would you do?”

But Peter paid no attention to his grandfather’s words. Boys like Peter aren’t afraid of wolves. But grandfather took Peter by the hand, locked the gate and led him home.

GRANDFATHER’S THEME - BASSOON

THE WOODWIND FAMILY (FLUTE, OBOE, CLARINET, & BASSOON)

These instruments make noise when you blow air into them. To change the pitch, musicians use their fingers or special button keys to cover holes on the instrument. Most woodwinds have a mouthpiece made of a thin piece of wood, called a reed.

No sooner had Peter gone, than a big grey wolf came out of the forest. In a twinkling the cat climbed up the tree. The duck quacked, and in her excitement jumped out of the pond.

But no matter how hard the duck tried to run, she couldn’t escape the wolf. He was getting nearer... nearer.... catching up with her. Then he got her and with one gulp swallowed her.

And now, this is how things stood: the cat was sitting on one branch, the bird on another branch, not too close to the cat. And the wolf walked round and round the tree, looking at them with hungry eyes.

WOLF’S THEME - FRENCH HORN

In the meantime, Peter, without the slightest fear, stood behind the gate watching all that was going on. He ran home, got a strong rope and climbed up the high stone wall. One of the branches of the tree around which the wolf was walking stretched out over the wall. Grabbing hoId of the branch, Peter lightly climbed over on to the tree.

Peter said to the bird: “Fly down and circle over the wolf’s head. Only take care so that he doesn’t catch you.”

The bird almost touched the wolf’s head with his wings while the wolf snapped angrily at him from every direction. How that bird teased the wolf! And how the wolf wanted to catch him! But the bird was clever, and the wolf simply couldn’t do anything about it.

THE BRASS FAMILY (FRENCH HORN, TRUMPET, TROMBONE, & TUBA)

These instruments are made of metal and have a large round opening at the end. To make sound, musicians buzz their lips against the mouthpiece. Most brass instruments have valves that look like buttons attached to their long pipes. When pressed, the valves open and close different parts of the pipe, changing the pitch.

Meanwhile, Peter made a lasso and carefully letting it down… caught the wolf by the tail and pulled with all his might.

Feeling himself caught, the wolf began to jump wildly trying to get loose. But Peter tied the other end of rope to the branch. And the wolf’s jumping only made the rope round his tail tighter.

The hunters came out of the woods. They had been following the wolf’s trail and shooting as they went.

But Peter, sitting in the tree, said: “Don’t shoot! Birdie and I have already caught the wolf. Now help us take him to the zoo.”

THE HUNTERS’ THEME - WOODWINDS, TRUMPET, TIMPANI, & BASS DRUM

THE PERCUSSION FAMILY (TIMPANI, BASS DRUM, CYMBALS, TRIANGLE, XYLOPHONE, TAMBOURINE & MORE...)

The percussion family includes any instruments that make sound when hit, shaken, or scraped. Some percussion instruments can make tuned pitches, like the xylophone or timpani. Others have no definite pitch, like the bass drum, cymbals, or castanets. Percussion instruments help keep the rhythm and can make special sounds.

And now... just imagine the triumphant procession. Peter at the head; After him the hunters leading the wolf. And winding up the whole procession grandfather and the cat.

Grandfather shook his head discontentedly. “Well, if Peter hadn’t caught the wolf? What’s then?”

Above them flew Birdie chirping merrily. “My what brave fellows we are, Peter and I! Look what we have caught!”

And if one would listen very carefully, he would hear the duck quacking inside the wolf, because the wolf, in his hurry, had swallowed her alive.

LUBBOCK SYMPHONY A NIGHT OF BRAHMS CONCERT VOUCHER

Get up to two free tickets to the full LSO performance of A Night of Brahms on November 16, 2024 at 7:30 PM in The Buddy Holly Hall.

• Visit bit.ly/lsobrahms and select your seats on eTix

• Select “Guidebook” in the dropdown menu next to each ticket in the price column.

• After you add your tickets, you will be asked to enter a password. The password is BRAHMSED24 .

• If you have any questions, please call the LSO Box office at (806) 762-1688.

DO YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?

We are looking for young musicians to play in Lubbock Youth Orchestras! LYO provides a fun and challenging musical education experience for students of various ages. We have 3 ensembles: Prelude, Philharmonic, and Symphony. From beginning to advanced players, all levels are welcome!

For more information, please contact: Kea Beasley, LSO Education Director education@lubbocksymphony.org lubbockyouthorchestras.org