Category — education

Last night we played our big evening concert for the communities of La Grande and Cove, Oregon as the finale for our CMP residency in those communities.  While there were some moments in one piece that made for a more-exciting-than-necessary performance, the majority of the concert was a gratifying experience for those of us in the orchestra, and it all was enthusiastically received by the capacity audience at the La Grande High School gymnasium.  While these trips are tiring, they are also very rewarding for those of us in the orchestra, and this was no exception.

Click the thumbnail below to view the program for last night’s concert.

As part of our partnership with different communities each year, our education department includes what is called the instrument petting zoo.  No, it’s not a bunch of instruments in a fenced in area, with children walking around them petting them with timid hands.  

What it is in actuality is a chance for kids to get their hands on an instrument and be taught or guided in how to make some sort of elementary sound on it.  The theory is, if they get a small taste of creating new sounds on an instrument they’ve never seen or heard, they’ll want more, and might even want to take up an instrument in school or at home.

Here’s a YouTube movie I found of a youngster named Soren getting his first taste of the violin, with OSO violist Stephen Price giving him a hand with fingering the notes:

Here’s another video of OSO music director Carlos Kalmar giving the Portland Metropolitan Youth Symphony a workout in Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

I was taking part in a meeting this past Wednesday of a task force of players, board members, and management personnel which has met off and on for the last 7 months to discuss the future of the Oregon Symphony. It’s been a pleasure to serve on this committee, and there have been no shortages of good ideas, lively exchanges, and eye-opening revelations from all comers.

While I can’t go into any specifics about what we’ve talked about, our last meeting concerned the future of the Oregon Symphony’s education initiatives. Many of you probably aren’t directly affected by the education arm of the Oregon Symphony’s mission - so I’ll give you a quick rundown on what this vital arm of the organization presents to students both in Portland and around the state during the 2007-2008 season. [Read more →]

Violist (aren’t we an enterprising bunch?!) Sam Bergman of the Minnesota Orchestra has been writing and hosting the educational series called Inside the Classics. [Read more →]

Allan Kozinn of the New York Times offers his solutions to the lack of music curriculum in schools. His main one: go back 40 years and do it as they did - as an integral part of the complete curriculum, from K to 12. [Read more →]