Schools to

Symphony
Curriculum Guide

Dear Educators,

Welcome to the Eureka Symphonys 2016 School to Symphony concert. We

sincerely hope that you and your students enjoy the opportunity to see and listen
to great classical music. This years concert is sponsored by the Humboldt County
Office of Education, Humboldt Sponsors, Sierra Pacific Foundation, Nilson Fund
(HAF), and Pedrazzini FamilyTrust.
The title of this years concert is Movie Greats, and will include orchestral
pieces that have been composed, scored and orchestrated for the film industry.
The guide below follows the PowerPoint presentation you have received, and we
have included supplemental activities to accompany the presentation. These
activities are cross-curricular and address many California State and Common
Core standards.
As in the past, it is imperative that we receive the Pre-Concert survey, PostConcert survey, the Evaluation form and any supplemental activities that you have
incorporated into the lessons described below.
Appreciations/Thank you letters may be mailed to HCOE.
Thank you for your participation!
The Eureka Symphony

Pre-concert survey

Pre-concert survey

Do you play an instrument?

Yes
No
If yes, which instrument(s) do you play?

Do you play an instrument?

Yes
No
If yes, which instrument(s) do you play?

If no, are you interested in playing an

instrument?

If no, are you interested in playing an

instrument?

Have you ever attended a Eureka Symphony

Orchestra concert?
Yes
No

Have you ever attended a Eureka Symphony

Orchestra concert?
Yes
No

Write one word that best describes how you

feel about Classical music:

Write one word that best describes how you

feel about Classical music:

Pre-concert survey

Pre-concert survey

Do you play an instrument?

Yes
No
If yes, which instrument(s) do you play?

Do you play an instrument?

Yes
No
If yes, which instrument(s) do you play?

If no, are you interested in playing an

instrument?

If no, are you interested in playing an

instrument?

Have you ever attended a Eureka Symphony

Orchestra concert?
Yes
No

Have you ever attended a Eureka Symphony

Orchestra concert?
Yes
No

Write one word that best describes how you

feel about Classical music:

Write one word that best describes how you

feel about Classical music:

Goals:

Familiarize students with the world of classical music

Foster interest in classical music and performance attendance

California Content Standards addressed in these lessons:

Music
1.0 Artistic Perception
Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information Through the Language
and Skills Unique to Music Students read, notate, listen to, analyze, and describe music and other aural
information, using the terminology of music.
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
Understanding the Historical Contributions and Cultural Dimensions of Music Students
analyze the role of music in past and present cultures throughout the world, noting cultural diversity as it
relates to music, musicians, and composers.
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
Responding to, Analyzing, and Making Judgments about Works of Music
Students critically assess and derive meaning from works of music and the performance of musicians
according to the elements of music, aesthetic qualities, and human responses.
National Music Standards:
Listening to, analyzing and describing music
Evaluating music and music performances
Understanding relationships between music, the other arts and disciplines outside the arts
Understanding music in relation to history and culture
Common Core State Standards (as they relate to music) :
1. Reading: Text complexity & growth of comprehension
a. Knowledge of domain-specific vocabulary
b. Analyze, evaluate, and differentiate primary & secondary sources
c. Synthesize quantitative & technical information, including facts presented in maps, timelines, or diagrams
2. Writing: Text types, responding to reading & research
a. Write arguments on content and informative/explanatory texts
b. Use data, evidence and reason to support arguments and claims
c. Use of domain-specific vocabulary
3. Speaking & Listening: flexible communication & collaboration
a. Prepare for and participate in conversations with others, building on others' ideas and
expressing one's own ideas clearly
b. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats
c. Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning and use of evidence & rhetoric
d. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence to allow listeners to follow one's
reasoning
e. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information
f. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks

Teaching Procedures:
Before beginning the lesson, please handout the Pre-Concert Survey to all of your students.
The following lessons can be presented in a number of ways. It is recommended that you break up the three
sections (What is a Symphony Orchestra, Concert Etiquette, and Reading a Program) over three days,
particularly for 4th and 5th graders. The three lessons will run about 30-45 minutes each or approximately two
hours in total. Each section follows the PowerPoint presentation.

Section 1: What is a Symphony Orchestra?

Pose the question, What is a symphony orchestra? to the class and develop a KWL chart on the
board. For references to KWL charts, follow this link:
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr2kwl.htm
Present the following definition:
symphony orchestra - a large group of musicians playing specific types of instruments and that
most often performs classical music

Instruments of the symphony orchestra:

In a symphony orchestra, there are many instruments, ranging from very small to very large.
Ask the students, Do you think a large instrument would make a high or a low sound? (Large
instruments make low sounds and small instruments make high sounds) To aid the discussion, you can
also tell the students to think about the sounds that large and small animals make; such as, a lion vs. a
kitten, or a Rottweiler vs. a Chihuahua. Sound is also different wave lengths. Have students discuss the
types of animals and the different wave lengths they may create -- Large, small, loud, soft, etc.
Instruments are divided into families. The instrumental families represented in the symphony orchestra
are strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Present the provided instrument family pages one at a
time and be sure to read the descriptions at the bottom of each page. It may be useful to create
transparencies out of these sheets or to use a digital projector; you could also make a few extra copies
and have four or five students looking at one set; it would be more beneficial if students are able to see
everything up close and clearly. Name each instrument and notice some of the distinguishing
characteristics of each family. Below are some distinguishing characteristics of each family and
questions you can ask the students.
Strings:
What do you think all of the instruments in the string family would have in common? (They all
have strings and sound is produced by vibrating the strings)
The double bass is a very large instrument; do you think it makes a high or a low sound? (Low)
The word bass means low.
Do you notice any differences between the harp and the other string instruments? (The harp has
many more strings, the other instruments are all shaped the same)
The violin, viola, cello, and double bass all have four strings and are most commonly played with
a stick called a bow. The bow is made of wood and has threads that are made from the hair on
the tail of a horse.
Can you think of any other instruments that are a part of the string family that are not a part of
the symphony and are not shown on this page? (Guitar, electric bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele,
etc.)
Woodwinds:
Why do you think the woodwind family has the word wind in its name? (Sound is produced by
blowing air through the instrument; creating wind)
The piccolo is very small; do you think it makes a high or a low sound? (High) Piccolo is an
Italian word that means 'small'
The clarinet, oboe, English horn, bass clarinet, and bassoon use a reed to produce sound. When
the musician blows air over the reed, it vibrates and makes a sound.
What are some of the characteristics of the woodwind family? (The instruments have buttons;
they are shaped like tubes, etc.)
Another popular woodwind instrument is the saxophone. It is made of metal and is not usually
used in a symphony orchestra.
The bass clarinet has the word bass in the title. What does the word bass tell us about its sound?

(It has a low sound) Do you think that the bass clarinet is bigger or smaller than a regular
clarinet? (Bigger)
Brass:
What do you think the name Brass tells you about the brass family? (They will probably say
that the instruments are made out of brass) Although most instruments in the brass family are
made of brass, many are also made from other metals, such as gold, silver, and some are even
made from plastic.
The trombone is different from the other brass instruments; one of the main differences is that the
trombone doesn't have any buttons. Instead, different notes are produced by moving the slide in
and out.
The tuba is a very large instrument; does it make a low or a high sound? (Low)
The trumpet comes in many different sizes, there is even a very small trumpet called a Pocket
Trumpet which is about half the size of a regular trumpet. Another name for the Pocket Trumpet
is a Piccolo Trumpet, what does the word piccolo tell you about its size and sound? (It is small
and therefore, has a high sound)
Percussion:
(The description on this page states that percussion instruments are played with your hands. It might be
good to clarify that many percussion instruments, including the snare drum, timpani, bass drum, and
triangle are played with sticks, mallets, or beaters.)
The bass drum has the word bass in it title, what does the word bass tell us about its sound? (It
has a low sound).
There are many other percussion instruments commonly used in the symphony orchestra that are
not shown here, can you think of any other percussion instruments? (Xylophone, glockenspiel,
drum set, castanets, maracas, washboard, congas, bongos, rhythm sticks, sandpaper blocks,
guiro, cowbell, etc.)
Percussionists often play many different instruments in the same piece; they sometimes have to
switch back and forth between instruments very quickly.
Conductor:
There is one more person on the stage with all of the musicians; does anyone know who that
person is? (The Conductor)
The conductor of the Eureka Symphony Orchestras name is Carol Jacobson.
Another word for conductor used in other countries is Maestro/Maestra.
The conductor holds a stick called a Baton, which means 'stick' in French. The conductor
moves her baton up and down and the musicians watch it to stay together.
The conductor is like the boss of the symphony and gives directions to the players about things
such as, how loud or quiet they should play or the mood they should convey, through her hand
gestures and facial expressions.
Where does the conductor stand? (In front of the symphony, with her back to the audience)
Reinforce the students ability to identify the various instrument groups visually and aurally. Play a recording
of Benjamin Brittens The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra. You may use the link provided or download
a version of your choosing. The beneficial part of the link provided is that the orchestra clearly shows each
instrumental family using lights, allowing students to make both aural and visual connections to the various
families and instruments. If your school does not allow access to YouTube, you may want to download the
video at home and save it to a flash drive for use at school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku3TRcjLpyY
While the video plays, ask students to verbally identify each highlighted instrumental family; discuss the kinds
of sounds they hear. As each individual instrument is shown close up, ask students to identify them by name as
well. Have the students close their eyes and listen to each family and discuss the various images or colors that
come to mind (brass instruments are bright yellows and oranges, very heroic; strings are pastel blues and

greens, relaxing and soft; woodwinds are deep reds and purples, muffled and intriguing, etc). Mention to the
students that although this is not exactly the set up of the Eureka Symphony Orchestra, it is very close to what
they will see at the performance.

Section 2: Concert Etiquette

Hook: By a show of hands, how many of you have ever been to a rock concert?
Ask students about their experiences; try to focus the discussion on audience behavior.
Possible questions to include:
Is it okay for people in the audience to talk, whistle, applaud, or yell during a song?
If someone needs to go to the restroom or get a drink of water, can they do it anytime or do they
need to wait until a song is over?
Is it okay for someone to wave wildly to get the attention of his/her friend on the other side of the
concert hall?
Do audience members stay sitting in the same spot for the whole performance?
How many of you have ever been to a symphony or classical music performance?
Ask students about their experiences. Ask same questions as above and discuss similarities/differences;
you may want to use a T chart or some other visual comparison on the board.
Rules of Concert Etiquette:
Present to students the Rules of Concert Etiquette for classical music performances. Tell students that
etiquette is another word for behavior. (It may be helpful to write these points on the board, create a
transparency, or distribute concert etiquette quarter-sheet handout provided.)

Do not talk, yell, whistle, or clap until the end of a piece. (Note: The conductor will signal the
end of a piece by lowering her hands to her sides and turning around to face the audience). Then
you may clap enthusiastically for the orchestra.
Remain in your seat until intermission or until the concert it over. If you need to use the
restroom and can't wait, you may leave between pieces. After using the restroom, return to your
seat between pieces. (Intermission and the end of the concert are signaled by the lights in the
concert hall turning back on.)
Keep your hands to yourself and do your best to sit still.

If time permits, have students act out the following scenarios:

1. A group of students are performers at a rock concert, the remainders are audience members.
Assign one or more student(s) as individuals who:
need to get a drink of water or use the restroom
want to say hello to a friend on the opposite side of the room
want to dance and cheer wildly at the performers
2. A group of students are performers at a symphony concert, one student will play the role of the
conductor, and the remainders are audience members. (Remind students that the conductor will
signal the end of a piece by lowering her hands to her sides and turning around to face the
audience. Also, the teacher can serve as stage manager and turn the lights on and off to signal
times when the orchestra is playing (lights off), and intermission or the end of the concert (lights
on).)
Assign one or more student(s) as individuals who:
need to get a drink of water or use the restroom
want to say hello to a friend on the opposite side of the room
want cheer wildly at the performers

Further points of concert etiquette:

Present to students the following information: (Again, it may be helpful to write these points on the
board and/or distribute concert etiquette handout provided.)
At the beginning of the concert the following things will happen in this order:
1. The lights will go down and you will know that the concert is about to start
2. The concertmaster will enter the stage, the audience should clap enthusiastically.
At this point, explain to students that the concertmaster is typically the most
accomplished violinist in the symphony and she has the job of tuning the ensemble.
The Concertmaster of the Eureka Symphony Orchestra is Terrie Baune.
3. The concertmaster will sit down and the conductor, Carol Jacobson, will enter the stage.
Again, clap excitedly for Maestra Jacobson and the performers! Then get ready to listen.
If time permits, have students act out the beginning of the concert:
Assign students to play the following roles:
Concertmaster (This student will mime tuning the symphony by nodding his/her head to
different sections of the ensemble.)
conductor
symphony performers
audience members

Rules of Concert Etiquette:

Do not talk, yell, whistle, or clap until
the end of a piece. (Note: The
conductor will signal the end of a
piece by lowering her hands to her
sides and turning around to face the
audience)
Remain in your seat until
intermission, or until the concert is
over. (If you need to use the
restroom and can't wait, you may
leave between pieces. After using
the restroom, return to your seat
between pieces.)
Keep your hands to yourself and do
your best to sit still.

Rules of Concert Etiquette:

Do not talk, yell, whistle, or clap until
the end of a piece. (Note: The
conductor will signal the end of a
piece by lowering her hands to her
sides and turning around to face the
audience)
Remain in your seat until
intermission, or until the concert is
over. (If you need to use the
restroom and can't wait, you may
leave between pieces. After using
the restroom, return to your seat
between pieces.)
Keep your hands to yourself and do
your best to sit still.

Rules of Concert Etiquette:

Do not talk, yell, whistle, or clap until
the end of a piece. (Note: The
conductor will signal the end of a
piece by lowering her hands to her
sides and turning around to face
the audience)
Remain in your seat until
intermission, or until the concert is
over. (If you need to use the
restroom and can't wait, you may
leave between pieces. After using
the restroom, return to your seat
between pieces.)
Keep your hands to yourself and do
your best to sit still.

Rules of Concert Etiquette:

Do not talk, yell, whistle, or clap until
the end of a piece. (Note: The
conductor will signal the end of a
piece by lowering her hands to her
sides and turning around to face
the audience)
Remain in your seat until
intermission, or until the concert is
over. (If you need to use the
restroom and can't wait, you may
leave between pieces. After using
the restroom, return to your seat
between pieces.)
Keep your hands to yourself and do
your best to sit still.

Section 3: Movie Greats!

Share the PowerPoint presentation about a very short history of film music.
Here is a recent link to the show, 60 Minutes. The show shares how music is recorded in
a studio for a movie. John Williams conducts the score he composed for Star Wars: The Force
Awakens. The students can see that there are many musicians involved in this recording.
Sometimes musicians are altogether and sometimes the brass will be in one room, strings in
another and the harp in a room all by itself!
Run the following from the beginning to about 3:04 to see musicians recording a film score:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRunE2uFno
Careers in Music
Use the following link to print out several copies of the list of Careers in Music. You could also
share the link if they have access to computers. Then have students research a career to find a
category, Job Title, Salary and any additional information they might need.
http://www.berklee.edu/pdf/pdf/studentlife/Music_Salary_Guide.pdf
Section 4: How to Read a Program

Pose the following questions to the class: Have you ever been to a concert or a play where they gave
you a program when you walked in the door? What was it? What did it tell you?
Distribute the What is a Program? sheet to class.
Divide students into pairs and ask them to take turns reading aloud to one another. Remind them to
pause between sentences or bullet points and to watch out for questions. (It may be helpful to
demonstrate reading a question with both inappropriate and appropriate intonation.) Tell students to
pause and answer questions as they come to them. Find out if students know Roman Numerals. It is
necessary that they are able to read Roman Numerals 1-5 (I, II, III, IV, V)
Call on individual students or pairs to share a piece of information they learned from the handout. Be
sure to discuss questions 2-4 and tell the students about the soloist that they will be hearing at the
performance. He is a pianist and he is 10 years old. Correct any misconceptions and ask leading
questions until all important points have been flushed out.
The following is a copy of the sheet you will provide to your students with all of the expected answers.
A formatted version for the students is also included in this packet. (See below)
What is a Program?

Instructions: Copy and hand out assignment below.

Take turns reading the following paragraphs with a partner. Answer the questions together as you read.
A program is a piece of paper or a booklet which tells you information about the performers and the
performance. A program for a symphony orchestra performance usually has information about:
which pieces of music will be performed and in what order
the history of the piece and the composer who wrote it
the performers and what instrument of them plays
the conductor
the sponsors that contribute money to help fund the concert

One of the things to notice when you look over a program is title of each piece of music. Every piece has
a name and often it can tell you something about the piece and what the composer was thinking about when
he/she wrote it. For example, Clouds by the composer Claude Debussy. Often, the titles of symphonic pieces
include words in other languages. If you know what these words mean, they can also tell you a lot about the
piece. For example, one of the pieces you will hear at the Eureka Symphony concert includes the word 'Rondo
in its title. The character of the music is described as Rondo and it means lively and vivacious in Italian.
1.) Describe how you think this piece will sound. Do you think that piece will be loud and fast and bombastic?
Or, will it be quiet, flowing, and peaceful? Or will it be fast and lively?
The piece will probably be fast and lively because that is what the word Allegro means.
Another word you will see in the Eureka Symphony program is 'concerto' (con-chair-toe). A concerto is
a piece of music where one performer is featured. That person is the star of the piece and is called the soloist.
Often, the soloist stands or sits in front of the rest of the group, he/she plays different music than the rest of the
performers on stage, and sometimes plays alone.
2.) Do you think that a symphony would choose its most experienced musician to play a concerto?
Yes.
3.) How long do you think that someone who is chosen to be a soloist has been playing their instrument?
Longer than the rest of the players in the symphony?
A really long time, probably longer than the rest of the players.
4.) Do you think that the soloist would be an older or a younger person?
The soloist would probably be an older person. In the case of this concert, the soloist is the most experienced
student winner of the concerto competition.
When first reading through a program, its good to notice if there are any pieces that have more than one
movement. Some pieces in classical music are divided into large sections, also called movements. Historically,
pieces played by symphony orchestras had a set number of movements of varying speeds. Over time, the rules
of writing music no longer controlled how many movements a piece should have and now it is typical to see a
symphony performance that includes pieces with any number of movements. There are even some pieces with
as many as twenty-five movements!
Movements can often sound like different pieces and there is usually a moment of silence between them,
but they are intended to be heard as one complete piece. Sometimes the different movements help the composer
tell a story, and sometimes they have a common theme, a lot like a chapter in a book. In modern times, it is
traditional to wait to applaud until the entire piece is finished. This means that you may hear three or four
movements before you clap for the players. As an audience member it is important to notice when a piece has
multiple movements because the end of a movement often sounds like the end of a piece and you might be
tempted to applaud (which can be a little embarrassing if youre the only one!).
Below is an example of what a piece might look like in a program.

Use the example above to answer the following questions.

How many years did Ludwig van Beethoven live?

How many movements are in Symphony No. 5 in C minor?

What is the name of the third movement?

Follow-up Homework Assignment:
Send students home with the Homework Sheet provided to you to do individually.

What is a Program?
Instructions:
Take turns reading the following paragraphs with a partner. Answer the questions together as you read.
A program is a piece of paper or a booklet which tells you information about the performers and the
performance. A program for a symphony orchestra performance usually has information about:

which pieces of music will be performed and in what order

the history of the piece and the composer who wrote it
the performers and what instrument each of them plays
the conductor
the sponsors that contribute money to help fund the concert

Schools to Symphony
Presented by the Eureka Symphony Orchestra
Movie Greats!
Welcome to the Schools to Symphony Concert! Once again, we are so excited by
the overwhelming response we have received from all of the schools, and we are
thrilled to have you here with us today. We hope you enjoy the performance!

PROGRAM
Michael Kibbe, Master of Ceremonies

The Barber of Seville Gioachino Rossini(1792-1868)

The Blue Danube..Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)

The Lion King..Hans Zimmer (1957- )

Homework Sheet
Answer the questions for each example in the Program:

Overture to the Barber of Seville......Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)

1. At the age of 24, Rossini was already being hailed as a budding musical genius when he began
work on Il barbiere. The source material for the text (by Cesare Sterbini) was Le Barbier de
Sville, by the French playwright Beaumarchais, whose work had already provided the basis for
W.A. Mozart's opera Le nozze de Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). The same Figaro in the
Mozart work is the title character in Il barbiere. The story concerns Count Almaviva, who
arrives in Seville disguised as a poor student with the aim of wooing and wedding the beautiful
Rosina. Rosina, unfortunately, is the ward of the unscrupulous Dr. Bartolo, who has plans of his
own to marry her. Almaviva runs into the barber Figaro, his former attendant, and the two
hatch a plot to win Rosina away from Bartolo's clutches. Despite Bartolo's scheming, Almaviva is
able to win Rosina and, after revealing his identity at the last moment, the two are wed with
much gratitude for the help of Figaro..
2. After reading the story of the Barber of Seville above, can you think of a reason that the
setting of the Barber of Seville is in Spain but the lyrics are in French?
The Blue Danube....................Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)
3. was an Austrian composer, conductor and violinist. His father, also called Johann, was also a
very famous composer, and is now known as Johann Strauss I while his eldest son is called
Johann Strauss. Strauss became very famous for his waltzes. Waltzes are dances with three
beats in a measure. He was known as the King of the Waltz. His most famous one was called
The Blue Danube.
His father wanted him to go in for banking, but the young Johann took violin lessons in secret
from a man called Franz Amon who was the leader of his fathers orchestra. He continued his
violin studies with Anton Kohlmann, a violinist who helped ballet dancers to learn the music they
had to dance to. He was still only 18 when he got his own orchestra together and gave his own
concert which included six of his own waltzes and some of his fathers. He was soon becoming
more famous than his father. After his father died in 1849 the two orchestras joined into one
and the young Johann was their conductor. He was given the title k.k.Hofballmusikdirektor
(meaning; Musical Director of the Court Ball). He was always especially busy during Carnival time
when there were lots of balls in Vienna. He toured most of Europe with his orchestra, even
going to Russia where he conducted some music by Tchaikovsky. Johann Strauss II was
becoming the king of the waltz, the most famous musician in Austria.
4. What does Waltz mean?

The Lion King..........Hans Zimmer (1957-)

Hans Florian Zimmer (born 12 September 1957) is a German movie score composer and music
producer. He has written music for over 100 movies. These movies include The Lion King (1994),
Crimson Tide (1995), Gladiator (2000), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008),
Inception (2010), Rango (2011), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Man of Steel (2013), The
Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and will compose Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
He has a son, Jake Zimmer.
Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United
States. He is in charge of the movie music division at DreamWorks studios. He also works with
other composers through the company he founded, Remote Control Productions.
Zimmer's works are notable for combining electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral
arrangements. He has been given four Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Classical
BRIT Award, and an Academy Award. He was also named on the list of Top 100 Living Geniuses,
published by The Daily Telegraph.
In 2000, Zimmer's score for Gladiator became one of the best-selling movie score albums of all
time.
5. Hans Zimmer has written some of the most popular movie music of our time. In order to
write music that makes sense for a movie, Hans Zimmer has to watch the film and do a lot of
research. Imagine that someone asked you to write the music for a movie of your favorite
book. Describe the plot of the movie. How you would prepare to write the music? (Would you
reference other movies of the same genre? Would you experiment with all of the instruments
to find out what kind of sound you are looking for?)

Supplemental Activities
The following activities come from the San Francisco Symphonys Concerts for Kids Study Guide booklet.
The SF Symphony gave the Eureka Symphony Orchestra (ESO) permission to use any/all of the resources they
so kindly provided to us. We hope that you are able to tie in some of these additional activities to further
enhance your students learning experiences. The activities are divided into the subjects they are meant to
address.
Music:
1. Have the class discuss why careful listening is so important. Then have the class remain silent for 60 seconds
while listening to the sounds in the classroom environment. Encourage students to discuss what they heard.
Examples may include the low hum of the ventilation system, the buzz of electric lighting, footsteps in the
hallway, motor traffic outside, the sound of the wind, or the high pitch of a suppressed giggle. Did the sound of
the care increase in volume as it approached the building and decrease after it passed? Did the footsteps
produce a regular or irregular sound pattern?

Social Science:
1. Have students create a chronological chart of the composers on the program. Add other important dates in
history, science, and the arts.
2. Have students discuss sounds heard in their everyday environments, emphasizing what the sounds signify
and what cultural associations they carry. (For example, when we hear a siren, what does that sound tell us?
What cultural connotations does the sound of fireworks evoke?)
Language Arts:
1. Have students act as newspaper reporters whose assignment is to write an article about a newly discovered
instrument. The article should include a description of the instrument, the sound it produces, and how it
produces sound. An account of where it might have originated (teleported from a distant planet, from prehistoric time, etc.) should also be included. Encourage students to be as creative and far-fetched as possible.
2. Have students write letters to the conductor and musicians telling them what they thought of the concert.
They may be sent to the Humboldt County Office of Education.
Fine Arts:
1. Have students draw pictures to illustrate different pieces of music from the program.
Multicultural Studies:
1. Tell students that Popcorn and corn on the cob are gifts to the world from Native Americans; grapes came
from Italy; hot dogs from Germany; spaghetti came from China; and cocoa from Latin America. (In fact, the
word chocolate is a Nahuatl word-the language of the ancient Aztecs of Mexico.) Read the above list to the
students. Have students imagine the following: What is these cultures had not shared their food with the rest of
the world? And what would it be like is the foods were no longer available? Students are to create a play about
the day the food went away, using the items above. Students can add other delicacies if they like, i.e., pizza,
tacos, fried chicken, pineapples, French fries, etc. Students should also be encouraged to draw a picture
depicting lunch minus the missing goodies. Explain to students that musiclike foodcomes from all over the
world, and we are lucky enough to be able to enjoy all of it. Thats one of the reasons why hearing the music of
the Eureka Symphony Orchestra is so special!
Other Lesson Plan Resources:
The following link will bring you to a list of hundreds of music lesson plans for classroom teachers; its a great
resource.
http://www.keepingscore.org/education/lesson-plans/all
The following lessons are a few specific recommendations from the link provided above.

Beethoven's Thoughts: this lesson can be tied to Language Arts, Music, and Fine Arts content

standards and CCSS.

Students write a descriptive essay explaining their thoughts and feelings while listening to Beethovens 5th
Symphony, learning how to describe the musical elements that cause them to feel this way, and transpose these
feelings into a watercolor art piece. The students will present their essay and art work orally, and act out their
responses during a physical education exercise.

http://www.keepingscore.org/sites/default/files/lessonplans/KSEd_Beethoven_s_Thoughts_Matic.pdf

Musical Instruments and the Science of Sound: this lesson can tie in with Science

content standards.
Students are able to demonstrate the difference in pitch and dynamics that can be produced on various
instruments through vibrations.
http://www.keepingscore.org/sites/default/files/lessonplans/KSEd_Musical_Instruments_and_the_Science_of_S
ound.pdf
The following is a list of composers and the pieces you will be listening to at the Eureka Symphony concert:

Composers Biographies

Gioachino Rossini

Overture to the Barber of Seville

http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/gioachinoJohann Strauss II

The Blue Danube

http://kidzsearch.com/wiki/Johann_Strauss_II
Hans Zimmer

The Lion King

http://kidzsearch.com/wiki/Hans_Zimmer

From Where in the World Do Our Composers Come?

The composers featured in our Schools to Symphony concert were born

in Europe. Draw a line from the composers name below to the country in
which he was born.

Gioachino Rossini
1792-1868
Italy
Johann Strauss II
1825-1899
Austria
Hans Zimmer
1957Frankfurt, Germany

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