Music | High school » A Family Guide to Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant

Source: http://www.doksinet San Diego Symphony Family Festival Series Presents: A Family Guide to: How to prepare your child for the concert and extend the experience beyond the concert hall. Sunday, January 25th, 2015 at Copley Hall in the Jacobs Music Center 1 Source: http://www.doksinet Dear Parents, Families, and Symphony Patrons, Thank you for taking the time to read this guide to Behold The Bold Umbrellaphant and for attending the upcoming concert on Sunday, January 25th at 2 pm. Bringing children to the Symphony is a wonderful way to introduce them to the world of music, classical and otherwise, and to provide them an opportunity to learn to listen, focus, and appreciate in a world whose attention span is shrinking and whose focus is waning. In compiling this short guide, we aim to provide you with: A) Ideas on how to prepare your child or children for the concert going experience B) Ways to engage with the music ahead of concert time C) Things to listen for during the

concert D) Ideas for activities that will extend and enrich your connections with the music afterwards We hope that this guide is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions or comments for us. We’d love to hear from you Sincerely, A Pop Up Toadster The San Diego Symphony Education Department Adrienne Valencia Allison Morrissey Director of Education and Community Engagement avalencia@sandiegosymphony.org Education Programs Coordinator amorrissey@sandiegosymphony.org In this Guide: Get to Know the Instruments of the Orchestra .3 For Parents: Getting Children Ready For the Concert.4 Biographies of the conductor, composer, and poet6,7,8 A Listening Map for Behold The Bold Umbrellaphant9 Animal Scramble Game Activity for Kids.10 Extending the Experience: Post-Concert activities to do with your child.11 2 Source: http://www.doksinet Get to Know the Instruments of the Orchestra! The modern orchestra has around 20 main instruments that can be

broken down into 4 main groups: Strings (violin, viola, cello, bass, and harp), Woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), Brass (trumpet, horn, trombone and tuba), and Percussion (drums, triangle, timpani, and includes the piano). Can you find all of them in Symphony Hall? Each family of instruments sits together onstage, strings are usually in the front, percussion on the back left, woodwinds across the middle, and brass across the back middle and on the back right. The word “symphony” means “sounding together.” Our orchestra is called the San Diego Symphony because it is located in the city of San Diego, California and it is a group of musicians who sound good together. 3 Source: http://www.doksinet For Parents: Getting Children Ready for the Concert By Holly Mulcahy Sharing orchestral music is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give their child. In a society where attention spans are shrinking, this is a great vehicle to give a child access to a longer attention

span and a calmer thought process. Additionally, encouraging children to use their imagination is a marvelous way to encourage creativity while helping them direct their emotions. Groundwork Preparation 1. Sit with your child and listen to a three minute piece Before the piece starts, ask the child to listen for three things. Is it a happy or sad piece? Was it quiet or loud? Was it fast or slow? It is important that you convey that while listening they are not to talk but to listen fully! After you listen with them, discuss what they thought. I think it would be a nice tradition to discuss over cookies or some kind of treat. 2. A week later try a longer piece Same questions, same discussion afterwards Do not forget the cookies during the discussion! 3. After you bumped up their listening lengths, start to ask them to use their imagination more What did the piece remind them of? Did the work make them think up a story? Perhaps they could paint a picture of the images that came to mind.

Painting, discussing, and the cookies now become a thing, your bonding tradition. You are sharing a very powerful experience that is fun and meaningful 4. Bonus discussions may pop up such as what instrument is making what sounds Be prepared to Google what you don’t know and you might learn something fun, too! Pre-Concert Preparation Sit with your child and play portions of the recordings to be performed on the concert program. Ask the questions listed above and draw some pictures, tell some stories, and share some cookies. Tell them you are proud of how they can sit quietly and you’d like to reward them by taking them to see the music in person! Explain what will happen from picking the tickets up, to finding a seat and sitting quietly while a real orchestra plays the music they have come to know. Explain that there will be a time to talk during intermission and after the concert you will take them for a special treat so you can talk about the concert. 4 Source:

http://www.doksinet During the Concert Once you arrive at Symphony Hall, choose seats near an exit or in the back of the hall if you are even remotely concerned your child might not sit through the concert. Your Rules 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. You will place your hand on your child’s shoulder if they are moving too much. You will remove your child if they make a fuss. You will have your child use the restroom before the concert. Your child will tap your leg if they are done, and you will acknowledge the tap by holding their hand and you will leave at the end of a movement or at intermission if possible. Notice as many exits as possible, have a plan and several backups. Try to take your seat about 5 minutes before the concert starts. No kicking the seat in front and no talking. Only quiet flipping through the program book, and if it falls, leave it on the ground. Both you and your child will go out for a treat afterwards if the behavior was good. Post-Concert Follow-up 1.

Hopefully you and your child had a great time Good preparation usually allows for that! 2. Ask your child what was the best part of the concert and what wasn’t Make notes for future concerts you might consider. 3. Start introducing some other music, keeping your tradition and special time going strong *These tips were excerpted with permission from the author from the article “Kids at the Symphony: A How To Guide” written by Holly Mulcahy for the website Neo Classical: Holly Mulcahy on the future of Classical Music * The Bizarre Alarmadillo 5 Source: http://www.doksinet Sameer Patel will be our guest conductor for these concerts. He is currently the Assistant Conductor of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You can get to know a little about him here! Where did you grow up? I grew up in a town called Port Huron in the state of Michigan. It gets really cold there in winter! What were some of your early experiences with music? I started playing piano at the age

of nine. Two years later, I began playing the saxophone Even though at first I didnt care for practicing, I became very interested in music in high school because I had really great teachers. I was lucky enough to have my first experiences conducting while in high school and have been doing it ever since! Did you study music in college? Yes, I went to the University of Michigan. What do you like about conducting? I like the creativity and teamwork involved in making music. I also like that it has taken me all over the world to meet other people who love music the way I do. Finally, through my work with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, I have seen how music can help young people and benefit their lives. What do you like to do when you’re not making music? I am a very curious person and enjoy learning about all sorts of things, from airplanes to countries around the world, to animals and people. In my spare time I like to travel, read, follow University of Michigan

football (go Blue!), and watch tennis. Do you like animals? I love animals! At one point I even thought about becoming a veterinarian. But while I dont have an absolute favorite, it is probably a three-way tie between elephants, cats, and dogs. 6 Source: http://www.doksinet Lucas Richman is both a composer and conductor. He has appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Canadas National Arts Centre Orchestra, the SWR Radio Orchestra of Kaiserslautern (Germany), the Tiroler Kammerorchester InnStrumenti (Austria) and the Zagreb Philharmonic (Croatia). M° Richman served as Assistant and Resident Conductor for Mariss Jansons and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra between 19982004 and, from 1988 to 1991, he was the Assistant Conductor for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Richman received a Master of Music in orchestral conducting from the University

of Southern California, where he was a student of Daniel Lewis. Earlier in his musical journey, he toured with West Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, for which he was one of four conductors from around the world selected by Leonard Bernstein to share the maestro’s podium for concerts presented in London and Moscow. Over the past decade, Mr Richman collaborated with numerous film composers as their conductor, recording scores for such films as the Academy Award-nominated The Village (with violinist, Hilary Hahn), As Good As It Gets, Face/Off, Se7en, Breakdown, The Manchurian Candidate and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. Mr. Richman is a respected leader in the field of planning and conducting concerts for young people, having done so for nearly twenty years with various orchestras across the United States. An accomplished composer, Mr Richman has had his music performed by over two hundred orchestras in the last ten years and his works written specifically for

children have been featured in young people’s concerts presented by orchestras such as the Atlanta Symphony, the San Diego Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony. A hit with new families, his compact disc, DAY IS DONE, features original and traditional lullabies composed and arranged by Mr. Richman as an aid for parents wishing to introduce their children to the joys of music. Mr. Richman and the Knoxville Symphony, were the recipients of the 2006 Bank of America Award for Excellence in Orchestra Education. The KSO “Music and Wellness Program” was recognized for its partnership with community organizations to extend the healing power of music. In addition, Broadcast Music Inc, in recognition of the workshop he has run for ten years on conducting for film, presented him with their Classic Contribution Award at the annual BMI Film and Television Awards Gala in 2007. Mr. Richman resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife and son 7 Source: http://www.doksinet Jack Prelutsky has

been making words rhyme for over forty years. His life as a poet came as a complete surprise to him, his family, friends, and teachers. He showed no early talent as a writer, and can recall only one occasion when he composed a poem during his school days. After the poem appeared in his junior high school yearbook, several boys ambushed him after school so Jack came to the conclusion that writing poetry was hazardous to his health. That all changed in 1967 when Jack wrote his first book of humorous verse, A Gopher in the Garden. Since then, he has published over seventy books of poetry, including The New Kid on the Block, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!, Scranimals, The Frogs Wore Red Suspenders, If Not For The Cat, What a Day It Was At School, and Behold The Bold Umbrellaphant. He served as the Poetry Foundation’s Children’s Poet Laureate from 2006 to 2008. Prelutsky grew up in the Bronx, and when he was young he studied classical music; though he gave up pursuing a career as an opera

singer to concentrate on writing, he continues to sing. In a Scholastic.com interview, when asked where his ideas come from, Prelutsky said, “Everywhere! Everything I see or hear can become a poem. Several toys in my studio have turned into poems. I remember things that happened when I was a kid [ ] Or I write about things I like or don’t like. I love spaghetti and wrote a poem about it” Fabulous creatures and people inhabit his poems: the Umbrellaphant, and in Scranimals (2002), banacondas, broccolions, and “the detested radishark.” He has written more than 40 children’s books, often working with well-known illustrators such as Garth Williams, Arnold Lobel, and Marilyn Hafner. Prelutsky has also edited collections of poetry for children, including The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury (1999). Jack Prelutsky lives in Washington state with his wife, Carolyn; they have no children, but they do have pets. 8 Source: http://www.doksinet Listening Map Follow along

during the concert to discover which instruments are playing and what to listen for. Timing is based upon the CD recording of this piece and is therefore approximate for live performance. Timing Poem/Theme Listen for. Instrumentation Beginning00:16 Fanfare “Prelutsky” theme Winds and Brass 00:171:14 Bold Umbrellaphant Elephant Trumpeting French Horns 1:151:37 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Winds and Brass 1:382:44 Alarmadillos Alarm Percussion 2:454:06 Ball Point Penquins Scratching (writing) Percussion (comb on sandpaper) 4:075:14 Lynx of Chain Running Sound Strings 5:156:39 Pop Up Toadsters Hopping sound Clarinets & Winds 6:40 – 6:50 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Oboe/English Horn 6:517:48 Shoehornets Stinger Trumpet (w/mute) 7:49 – 7:54 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme French Horn 7:559:32 Panthermometer Swing/Jazz Feel Bass, Piano, Clarinet 9:3311:36 Circular Sawtoise Change in tempo to

depict the saw. Narration and strings 11:3713:32 Limber Bulboa “Snake Charmer” theme Oboe 13:3513:50 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Clarinet & Bassoon 13:5115:05 Clocktopus Ticking Clock Xylophone & Timpani 15:0615:13 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Winds & Brass 15:1416:29 Eggbeaturkey Turkey “gobble” Bassoon 16:3017:47 Hatchickens Chicken scratching Oboe 17:4818:04 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Horns 18:0520:03 Trumpetoons & Dissonant March Trumpets, Trombones & Tuba Tubaboons 20:0420:10 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Full orchestra 20:1121:41 Tweasles Walking tweasles Piano 21:4223:43 Zipperpotamus “Zipper” sound Violins & Oboe 23:4423:50 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Flute 23:5125:27 Ocelock Monkey swinging from tree Percussion & Harp 25:2825:37 Fanfare/Transition “Prelutsky” theme Clarinets 25:3827:41 Solitary Spatuloon Gliding

Spatuloon Winds & Strings 27:41end Farewell Umbrellaphant Elephant Trumpeting French Horns 9 Source: http://www.doksinet Combine the two words on the left together to find the names of the pretend creatures that Jack Prelutsky created for his book Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant. Then draw a line to each name The first one is done for you. Umbrella + Elephant The Lynx of Chain Alarm Clock + Armadillo The Ballpoint Penguins Ballpoint Pen + Penguin The Ocelock Chain + Lynx The Umbrellaphant Pop-up Toaster + Toad The Clocktopus Shoehorn + Hornets The Panthermometer Thermometer + Panther The Spatuloon Circular Saw + tortoise The Tubaboons Clock + Octopus The Trumpetoos Egg Beater + Turkey The Shoehornets Tuba + Baboons The Tweasels Trumpet + Cockatoos The Eggbeaturkey Tweezers + Weasels The Alarmadillos Lock + Ocelot The Pop-Up Toadsters Spatula + Loon The Circular Sawtoise 10 Source: http://www.doksinet Extend Your Experience! Keep the

excitement going after you leave the concert with these fun activities you can do at home! Create your own creatures: For Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant, Jack Prelutsky created creatures by combining animals with gadgets and instruments. 1. Have your children pick out objects that they see around the house or things they use at school and combine them with a favorite animal to create an original creature all their own. For example, what about a Chimpanzee + a timpani? It becomes a Chimpani an ape with a timpani (drum) for a tummy that the animal plays on all day long. 2. Ask them what characteristics does this creature have? What can it do? 3. Write a poem about it together and draw a picture Check out other poetry books for children at your local library! Here are some classics: A Chimpani A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein Poems to Learn by Heart Compiled by Caroline Kennedy and Jon J. Muth The New Kid on the Block by

Jack Prelutsky Out and About: A First Book of Poems by Shirley Hughes Listen to how other composers have depicted animals in music. You can find recordings of these pieces at your local library or even on YouTube: Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint Saens Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev “The Waltzing Cat” by Leroy Anderson “Baby Elephant Walk” by Henry Mancini The Butterfly Etude Op. 25, No 9 by Frederic Chopin 11 Source: http://www.doksinet Adopt An Umbrellaphant .and you don’t even have to pick up after it! Bring home the sound of the Symphony when you purchase a CD recording of Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Carnival of the Animals! $15 CDs of the San Diego Symphony performing these pieces will be sold in our lobby gift shop before and after the concert for $15 each. Please see an usher for further details. 12