RPO Woodwind Quintet

Primary Ensemble Preparatory Materials

World Class Music Makers

CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN, MUSIC DIRECTOR

Dear Teachers: This packet contains information and classroom activities that are designed to help you prepare your students for the RPO Woodwind Quintet that will visit your school. We hope that they will be useful to both music teachers and classroom teachers. Feel free to adapt or change the activities to suit the needs and abilities of your stu-dents. Please review the concert manners on page 10. This will help your students enjoy the ensemble perform-ance more on their special day.

Table of Contents RPO Woodwind Quintet Curriculum Focus and Repertoire List 1 Meet your Musicians! 2-3 English Language Arts: Standard 1 Listening and Reading

What is your Musical History? 2 Social Studies: Standard 2 World History

The Instruments of the Woodwind Family 4 English Language Arts: Standard 1 Listening and Reading Music in Your Community 5 English Language Arts: Standard 1 Speaking and Writing Music Around the World 5 Social Studies: Standard 3 Geography

Musical Detectives 6 Mathematics, Science, and Technology: Scientific Inquiry Standard 1

Vocabulary and Word Search 6 English Language Arts: Standard 1 Listening and Reading

Tell a Story Without Words! 7 English Language Arts: Standard 2 Listening and Reading, Speaking and Writing What would you like to know about your visiting musicians? 8 English Language Arts: Standard 4 Listening and Speaking

Write a thank you letter 9 English Language Arts: Standard 3 Reading and Writing

Concert Manners 10 English Language Arts: Standard 4 Listening and Speaking

The Primary Ensembles are funded by the City of Rochester, William A. Johnson, Jr., Mayor; CitiBank; the Glover/Crask Charitable Remainder Trust, Fred & Floy Willmott Foundation, and Ames-Amzalak Memorial Trust in memory of Henry Ames, Semon Amzalak and Dan Amzalak. The RPO’s Education and Outreach programs are made possible, in part, by NYS Senator Jim Alesi; the City of Rochester; the NYS Assembly, secured by Assembly-man Joseph D. Morelle; the NYS Council on the Arts, a State agency; NYS Senator Michael F. Nozzolio; CitiBank; the Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation; Frontier, a Citizens Communication company; Gannett Foundation/Democrat and Chronicle; Thomson West; and Xerox.

RPO Woodwind Quintet

Where in the world does music come from? Music is played all over the world! There are strong musical traditions in every culture that serve different purposes. Music can be used to celebrate happy occasions (like a wedding or birthday), sad occasions (like a funeral), patriotic occasions (like the Fourth of July) and religious occasions (like Christmas or Hanukkah). During the RPO Woodwind Quintet performance you and your students will learn what makes different kinds of music sound different, how music is used in various communities and how the musicians work together to make music.

Repertoire List “Scherzo” by Dmitri Shostakovich A peppy tune about a clumsy soccer team. “Washington Post March” by John Philip Sousa Audience will “march” with their hands in an imaginary parade. “Hungarian Dance” by Johannes Brahms Music that goes fast and slow. As you listen, count how many times the music slows down. “Morning Song” by Edvard Grieg Picture a sunrise as you listen. Which instrument does NOT play the melody? “Wedding March” by Felix Mendelssohn Music used in our everyday community. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg - You’ll hear the same rhythm over and over. It starts slow and soft, then grows fast and louder. “Troika” by Sergei Prokofiev Music depicting a Russian sleigh ride. “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson An American composer writes different music about a sleigh ride.

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Hi, my name is Rebecca Gilbert and I am the Principal Flutist in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. I am very happy to come meet you, show you my instrument, and talk to you about classical music. I was about your age when I first became involved in music by singing in my church choir, and when I was in 6th grade I began playing the flute in band. I love all kinds of music including classical, jazz, blues, and some rock too! When I am not playing with the RPO, I like to find adventures all over Rochester with my friends, like dancing and hanging out at places where there is music. My favorite color is blue and I love clothes and jewelry in almost any shade. My favorite restaurant is called the Atomic Eggplant which is cool because of the name, but also the food is healthy and yummy. I also love lots of different water sports like swim-ming, sailing, windsurfing, and scuba diving.

What is your Musical History? After reading the biographies of the RPO Woodwind Quintet, it is easy to see that they have participated in many musical activities. Now write your own musical history! Dis-cuss any musical activities you have participated in, such as attending a concert, singing at home, with family, by yourself, or in school, or playing an instrument. • What have you found interesting about music? • What types of musical activities would you like to do in the future? • How might these activities be similar or different to the activities done by people

who lived in cultures hundreds of years ago?

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I grew up in Los Angeles, California and began to play the oboe at age 12. I was so happy to get my instrument, that I played it out an open window, and my father heard it all the way down the street! My mother attempted to teach me how to play the piano. I majored in oboe performance at the Eastman School of music right here in Rochester. My hobbies include hiking with a heavy backpack and mountain biking. I enjoy music because it is a group effort --like playing on a sport's team--that requires dedication, concentration, and training, but is ulti-mately wonderful and FUN. The oboe is an unusual instrument, and hard to tame, like a wild tiger, so I enjoy the challenge of creating beautiful sounds. My favorite food is sushi (!) and my favorite color is purple. If sushi is ever purple, though, I don't eat it.

Hi, my name is Robert DiLutis and I play the clarinet. I will be coming to your school very soon and want to tell you a little bit about myself. I play the clarinet in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and have been living in Rochester for 7 years. I was born in Baltimore, MD and began playing the clarinet when I was 10 years old. Before that, my father tried to get me to play the trumpet but I didn't like it because I could not hit the high notes. The clarinet can play really high all the time, so I wanted to play it right away. I first played the clarinet in my elemen-tary band, then middle school and finally high school band. After I graduated from high school I moved to New York City and studied at the Juilliard School of Music. After Juilliard I moved to Texas and got my first job as Assistant Principal and E-flat clarinetist with the San Antonio Symphony. In my spare time I like to invent gadgets for musical instruments and ride my motor scooter. I love to eat Italian food and my favorite color is blue.

My name is Dietrich Hemann and I play the French horn in the Rochester Phil-harmonic Orchestra. My first experience with music was in the fourth grade, when I started playing the trumpet in school. I switched to the French horn two years later. I was born and raised in Berkeley, California and went to school at the Eastman School of Music here in Rochester. For three years I played in an orchestra and lived in Barcelona, Spain. When I’m not playing with the RPO, I love to play Frisbee and golf, and attend Rochester Red Wings baseball games. I am looking forward to coming to your school and sharing with you what I think makes music exciting to play and listen to.

Hello, my name is Charlie Bailey and I play a funny looking and sound-ing instrument called the bassoon. I am originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and I've been living way up here in Rochester for a little more than 7 years. I play the bassoon and its big brother the contra-bassoon with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. I started taking piano lessons in the 2nd grade and I began playing the bassoon in the 8th grade. When I'm not playing in the orchestra you can find me rid-ing my bike or playing with my two kitties Pablo and Tater.

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The Instruments of the Woodwind Family Classification: Aerophones

An aerophone is an instrument that makes it’s sound by using air as the primary vibrating factor. Both woodwind and brass instruments are in this classification. When you whistle,

you are playing an aerophone!

The flute and piccolo are the highest sounding of all the woodwind instruments. Although it used to be made of wood, the flute now is made from precious metals (either silver, gold or even plati-num!). It is about 26 inches long and is held side-ways when played. The piccolo is half the length of the flute and has a high piercing sound. The flute has three parts: the head joint, the body and the foot.

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The bassoon is the biggest of the woodwind instruments. It is so big that bassoon players must sit on a strap to hold it in place! The bas-soon also plays in the lowest register. Bassoons can be made from different kinds of wood. The bassoon uses a double reed which is bigger than an oboe reed. Of the woodwinds, the bassoon has the most keys.

The clarinet looks a bit like the oboe, but has a much different sound. The clarinet has a single reed, which vibrates against a mouthpiece. The clarinet is also made from grenadilla wood. It has five parts: mouthpiece, barrel, top joint, bottom joint, and bell. The range is bigger than the oboe’s; the clarinet can play much lower and a bit higher.

The oboe is a woodwind instrument that uses a double reed. The reed has two pieces of very thin cane tied tightly together onto a tube of metal and cork. The oboe is usually made from grena-dilla, an endangered tree in Africa. It can also be made from plastic, rosewood, boxwood, or co-cabola. Altogether, there are 4 parts of the oboe: reed, top joint, bottom joint, and bell. The oboe is high in pitch, but not as high as the flute.

Music Around the World: The composers of the music you’ll hear come from all around the world. You will hear music from Russia, Germany, Norway, and America when the RPO Woodwind Quintet performs for you. Here is the list of composers and the counties that they are from.

Dmitri Shostakovich Russia Leroy Anderson America John Philip Sousa America Edvard Grieg Norway Sergei Prokofiev Russia Felix Mendelssohn Germany Johannes Brahms Germany

Pinpoint the Country! Take a map and see if you can find the following countries on it: Russia, Germany, Norway and the United States of America. Locate their capitals and name the continent where they can be found.

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Music in Your Community: Activities for thinking and writing about music in our lives.

1. Brainstorming: • Make a list of all the places you might hear music (shopping mall, in a car, on televi-

sion, concerts, etc.) • Do you hear the same music at all of these places? Discuss the different types of

music you might hear at each location.

2. Critical Listening: • Play excerpts of a wide range of musical styles • Where could you hear this music in your life? • What could it be used for? (for dancing, relaxing, singing along, etc.)

3. Creative Writing: Using the previous exercises as a class warm-up, have students write a few paragraphs on their own. • Describe a place or an event where you don’t usually hear music: • Have students write a few paragraphs of their own that explain why they think it would be a good idea to have

music played there, and what type of music they would like to hear. 4. Follow-up: • Students may read papers to the rest of the class • Students may write a story that includes the ideas from their papers

Vocabulary Melody: A series of notes that form an important musical idea. The melody is the part of the song that you can sing or hum. Rhythm: The alternation between short and long notes. Tempo: How fast or slow a piece is played. The speed of the music. Quintet: A musical ensemble of five musicians playing together. Dance: Music written to which people can dance. Dance music usually has three beats in a measure. March: Music that is written to promote the orderly marching of a large groups of people. Marches usually have two beats in each measure.

Woodwind Word Search

L C N M R H Y Q K T I Z Y U Q T S M R K C O P T E J J E C D S J Y M K R E Q P N T H D X R O P M E T A J C N I S A B C T I E B M P M V R N R O P P I A M O B O E U O O C A H B Z I Z E D N K R H M S P L D Y D A M L P T U M V I M L C X L T J N O X E Q U I N T E T F C C H F D Z S X Z O W B E H Q U G L M Y S R T O F L V P B C M U E X Z Y P S K O F B Q D R T I E V J I S B Q K V T D O E T M A B E A N A X H J F F X H M S S C B W O U U U B T W V I H U A D

Musical Detectives Objective: • To develop a greater understanding concerning the relationship between length of an instrument and the

pitch produced. Materials Needed: • Glass bottles, water Prior Knowledge: • Students are familiar with concept that different sized instruments produce different pitches • Students understand the purpose of an experiment is to find an answer to a “why” question. (Why do certain instruments

produce mostly high notes, and others mostly low notes?) Procedures: • Fill several bottles with different amounts of water. • Blow across the tops of the bottles to produce different notes. • Do the bottles with more water make higher or lower sounds than those with less water? Ask students to guess why this is.

(Answer: shorter instruments make higher pitches. By adding more water to the bottle, it is essentially becoming “shorter” with less air space.)

Follow-up: • See if the class (or small groups) can develop a musical composition using the bottles.

Find the words listed below in this puzzle. Words can be found horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, both forward and backward. BASSOON MELODY CLARINET OBOE DANCE QUINTET FLUTE RHYTHM HORN TEMPO MARCH

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Tell a Story without Words! When musicians play their instruments, they communicate many thoughts and emotions to each other and the audience without using words! When a small ensemble of musicians plays together, it is just like a normal conversation between two people.

Activity 1: Silent Communication Preparatory Question: What are other communication devices which don’t involve spoken words? (answer: facial expres-sions, hand gestures, body language, etc.) Procedure: 1. Divide class into groups of three or four students each. 2. Give each group an emotion (possibilities include: happy, sad, angry, tired, excited, scared, victorious, in love)

and have them decide how to silently express it with facial expressions, etc. 3. Have groups present their emotion to the rest of the class. Ask the class to guess their emotion based on the

nonverbal communication.

Activity 2: Communication through Sound When musicians perform, they communicate by using both their bodies and their instruments. They can use facial expressions or hand gestures to communicate with one another while performing a piece of music. They also use different sounds on their instruments to communicate the musical emotions and ideas with the audience. Preparatory Questions: • Name three ways you can make sound with your voices, bodies, or other materials in the classroom (possible

answers: humming, clapping, stomping, snapping fingers, tapping pencils, rustling papers, etc.) • What ways could you use these sounds to communicate a thought or emotion more effectively? (refer to

Activity 1) Procedures:

1. In the same groups from Activity 1, pass out a photograph or magazine picture that displays strong emotions.

2. Have each group determine the emotions that are expressed in their picture. 3. Decide how those emotions can be expressed using appropriate sounds. 4. Organize these sounds into a musical piece to perform for the rest of the class. 5. Lead class in a discussion of each group’s presentation.

• What was this group was trying to communicate? (then show picture) • What different sounds did they use, and how were they successful in communicating their picture? • What was your favorite part of their musical piece?

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What would you like to know about your visiting musicians?

When the RPO musicians come to your school you will have a chance to ask them questions about what they do and why they became musicians. Remember that a question begins with one of the following words:

WHO WHAT WHY WHEN WHERE HOW Here are some sample questions to get you thinking about what to ask the musicians. Who was your first music teacher? Who encouraged you to keep playing? What did you first like about your instrument? What was difficult about learning your instrument? Why do you enjoy playing in an orchestra? Why did you choose to become a professional musician? When did you start music lessons? When did you know that you would make music your career? Where were you born? Where did you go to college? How long did it take for you to become a good musician? How much do you practice each week?

Some questions also begin with the words “Do” and “Have.” You may want to ask one of these question pairs.

Do you ever get nervous before you perform? How do you handle it? Have you ever made a mistake during a performance? What happened?

Ask one of these questions, or think of a different question on your own.

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Write a letter to thank our sponsors!

There are a number of people who make these ensemble performances possible to the students in the Rochester City School District. We ask that your students take a little time to express their gratitude to one of them in a letter. They can follow this format or come up with some-thing on their own.

The letters can be addressed to one of the following: 1. City of Rochester, The Honorable William A. Johnson, Jr. 30 Church Street

Rochester, NY 14614

2. CitiBank John H. Dansler, Jr. 99 Garnsey Road Pittsford, NY 14534

3. Glover/Crask Charitable Trust The Harris Law Firm George F. Harris John T. Harris 13 N. Main Street Honeoye Falls, NY 14472

Dear (insert sponsor’s name here),

On (date) I saw the RPO (name of ensemble) perform at my school. They were (insert adjective). I learned . My favorite part was when the musicians .

Thank you very much for making these visits possible.

Sincerely,

(name)

Please send all letters through RCSD interoffice mail to:

Paulette Davis Artist-in-Residence Program

CO3

Ms. Davis will give them to RPO staff who will then make sure that the proper recipients get them. Thank you!

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Concert Manners When the RPO musicians come to your school this is a special opportunity to learn about the instruments and musicians of the orchestra. We hope you will enjoy meeting the musicians and listening to their music. The following concert manners will help everyone listen to and enjoy the performance more. • Concert manners begin the moment you walk into the performance room.

Take your seats quietly and keep your hands to yourself. • At this time, the musicians may be warming up their instruments. Watch and

listen carefully to see if they do something you don’t expect. • Talk only when you are asked to respond to a question. If someone is talking

and distracting your class, try to ignore them or quietly get the attention of your teacher.

• Clap enthusiastically after each piece. This shows the musicians that you

enjoyed their music. • Save questions and comments for when the musicians visit your classrooms

individually.

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What did you learn? Have a class discussion about what your students learned in the ensemble performance. What did you like about the performance and workshop? Was there anything that you didn’t like? Was there anything that surprised you about the instruments or music that you heard?