Concerts! Part II
Ah concerts….sometimes a double-edged sword. Process over product or product over process, getting a framework in place is a good starting point.
I am committed to having our concerts reflect much of what we do in the classroom. I will cherry-pick certain pieces of music we have played with throughout the year, then try to mold them to fit a part in my concert’s theme. For example, beginning recorder players enjoy the sophistication of, “All Through the Night” a simple B-A-G piece and it later became a part of summer in our “Song of Seasons” program. We added crickets (castanets), croaking frogs, and of course, wind chimes that represented stars. Voila!
Here are a few concerts I’ve developed with kids over the years with a taste of how we put it together:
Song of Seasons: A Celebration of the Four Seasons:
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. (A celebration of the seasons as a concert theme during the month of December offers opportunities to consider your whole community!)
- Autumn: Leaf Dance: Music for Children, Vol. IV, p. 46 instrument/dance piece in which the “rakes” chased the “leaves.”
- Winter: Snowflake Dance: Spielbuch I, #17 instrument/dance piece played on metal barred instruments with a dance imitating the nature of snowflakes. We did the Troika folk dance using Shirley McRae’s “Sleigh Ride,” arrangement for Orff instruments in Sing ‘Round the World.
- Summer: Music for Children, Vol. I, p. 91, No. 1: Classic, right?! Students composed lyrics for this melody and barred instruments accompanied. “All Through the Night,” from Carol King’s Recorder Routes 1
- Spring: Waiting for Wings, by Louis Elhert. K-2 portion of the program in which we composed sol-mi-la songs about butterflies’ life cycle. We also added some other classic early-year songs.
Alice in Wonderland
- Tea Party Scene, “Bubble, Bubble, Bubble,” from Purposeful Pathways, Book 1, and “If”: from Tyme for a Rhyme, Jeff Kriske and Randy DeLelles
- Chess Game, Music for Children, Vol. I, p. 67, #1
- “Alice Dancing with Shadow,” Music for Children, Vol. IV, p. 124
- Lots of student compositions either modeled after other songs they learned and then we created new lyrics to fit that part of the story; “Dream Music,” improvisation activities corralled from the year, etc.
- Finale: “This Little Light of Mine,” Purposeful Pathways, Book 4
In A Cleveland Minute
We identified places, monuments, and landmarks specific to Cleveland, Ohio (the city our school was closest to) and crafted music that we felt accompanied such places, noting the weather, Lake Erie, ethnic sections of town like Little Italy and Chinatown, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Lake View Cemetery, where President Garfield and Superman creator Havey Pekar are buried.
- “The Dance of Winter,” Spielbuch II #19
- “Art in Transformation,” (the Cleveland Museum of Art was under a transformative construction, and the unveiling was highly anticipated) percussion composition by 5th gr. Students used objects found in the junkyard with xylophone music adapted from a workshop presented by JoElla Hug called “Music by Number.”
- “Where Go the Boats,” by Crooked River Choral Project and Roger Sams
- “Lake Erie Storm Hag,” Music for Children, Vol. I p. 123
- “Festivals,” Folk Dances from Shenanigans Dance Music for Children, Level 1
The Firebird
Our musical adaptation of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet.
- “Star,” by Crooked River Choral Project and James Carr
- “Kolachai Theme,” “Magic Forest Music,” and “Forest Creatures” were student compositions
- “Princesses Dance:” Lydian Dance Music for Children, Ed. Vol. 3 for Upper Elementary
- “Casting of the Spell:” Ghost of John melody with lyrics about the Firebird
- “The Firebird’s Theme,” Parlipomena, p. 7
Landscapes
- Rainforests: Coffee Canon
- Volcanos: Music For Children, Vol. IV, p. 68
- Jungle: “Tatenda”, Walt Hampton, Marimba Mojo
- Waterfalls at Midnight: “Silver Moon Boat,” Sing ‘Round The World
Pictures at an Exhibition
Ssimilar to Modest Moussorgy’s piece for piano, we chose specific pieces of art and created music that we thought captured the image’s characteristics and details. I collaborated with our art teacher. She had students create their version of some of the following paintings and we projected them on stage during the performance, behind the students.
- The Scream, by Edvard Munch, Rhythmische Ubung, No. 16
- Blue Dog, by George Rodrigue, “Old Blue,” Music for Children, Ed. Vol. 3 for Upper Elementary (with some of our own lyrics)
- “Concentric Circles, by Wassily Kandinsky, “Simon,” Marimba Mojo
- Fireflies on the Water, by Yayoi Kusama, “Deta,” Purposeful Pathways, Book 2
Whipped Cream
Our musical adaptation of Richard Strauss’s only ballet. Never heard of it? Imagine the Nutcracker storyline, only this time it’s a boy who has over eaten sugar at his birthday party and he falls into a delirium and dreams he is rescued by Princess Praline who carries him off to the “Land of Sweets,” where he can eat all the chocolate, cookies, cupcakes he wants, as he finishes his birthday party with friends.
- “Whipped Cream Dream,” Music for Children, Vol. I, “Boomfalara” p. 44 with student-created lyrics
- “Don’t Eat Too Much, sung to the melody,” “Rocky Mountain” with our own lyrics suited for the storyline
- “Rush Him To The Doctor!” Spielbuch II No. 17
- “I Want Candy,” by The Strangeloves
Plus, there are many, many books that can be brought to life with music! Books offer a built-in framework for how to pace the music yet weaves a storyline in between pieces. I’ve done a few, like Musicians of the Sun, Where the Wild Things Are, and Family of Friends.
I hope this helps pique your curiosity and tweaks your imagination! But, as the phrase goes, “The devil is in the details,” concert creation and preparation have a lot more to be discussed. More soon!
