Junior/IntermediateStudy Guide

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Student Concerts are generously supported by Mrs. Gert Wharton and an anonymous donor.

Table of Contents

Concert Overview Concert Preparation Program Notes

Lesson Plans Artist Biographies Musical TermsGlossary

Instruments inthe Orchestra

Musicians of the TSO

Teacher & Student Evaluation Forms

3 4 - 6 7 - 19

20 - 28 29 - 30 31 - 32

33 - 44 45 - 48 49 - 50

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges Andy Luck for preparing the lesson plans included in this guide

Junior/Intermediate: Suitable for students in grades 4–8

Earl Lee, RBC Resident ConductorTIFF, concert partner

Lights, camera, orchestra! Join us for a fun film-themed concert as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra joins forces with the TIFF to explore the magic of movies and music, including a newly commissioned short film (Kjell Boersma) and accompanying live orchestral score (Erica Procunier) entitled DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver.

Lights, Camera...Orchestra!

Concert Overview

Program to include excerpts from*: Lalo Schifrin Theme from Mission: ImpossibleRichard Wagner "Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walküre Pyotr Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-Overture Leonard Bernstein "Mambo!" from West Side Story Ludwig van Beethoven Excerpt from Symphony No. 6, Opus. 68 John Williams, arr. Mitch Clarke Main Theme from Star Wars (RECORDER PLAY-ALONG)Hector Berlioz "Dreams of a Witches' Sabbath" from Symphonie fantastiqueJohann Strauss Jr. The Blue Danube WaltzJohn Williams Main Theme from JawsErica Procunier DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver

*Program subject to change

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

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GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY

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Concert Preparation

Before Listen and ReadListen to the pieces of music• Have you heard any of these pieces before? • Which one is your favourite and why?• Do you hear anything new or interesting? • Try out one of our listening journals and record your observations

Read the biographies and program notes • Were there any composers you had never heard of before? • Did you learn anything new or interesting about one of the pieces, composers, instruments or TSO musicians?

Look around the orchestra and the hall • Have you been to Roy Thomson Hall before? • Are there any instruments you haven’t seen before? • Do you notice anything interesting about the orchestra?

Listen to the orchestra and conductor• Is it different listening to the live orchestra versus a recording? • Think about how the different pieces make you feel. • Is there a particular instrument or part of the piece that you like listening to the best?• What instruments are used to create different sound effects?

During Look and Listen

Your class is coming to Roy Thomson Hall to see and hear the Toronto Symphony Orchestra! Here are some suggestions of what to do before, during, and after the performance. Whether it’s your first symphony concert or you’re a seasoned audience member, there’s always something new to learn and experience!

Let's Get Ready!

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Discuss and reflect with your classmates• Was there anything that surprised you during the concert? • What was your favourite/least favourite piece and why? • Was your experience different from your classmates?• Fill out our Student Feedback form and let us know what you think!

Review these rules and reminders with your classmates • No outside food or drink allowed inside Roy Thomson Hall • No flash photography or recordings • Please visit the bathroom before the concert. Audience members walking in and out during the concert can be distracting• We encourage you to applaud and show appreciation. The orchestra relies on your energy to perform • If you’re unsure when the piece of music is over, look to the conductor and performers on stage. The conductor will turn and face the audience once the piece of music is over

Have fun and enjoy your experience!

After Discuss and Reflect

Review Rules and Reminders

Concert Preparation

Concert Preparation

Listening JournalsName: ____________________________ Date: _________________________

Name of the piece ___________________________________ Composer ___________________________________

1) What kind of instruments do you hear? What type of group or ensemble is playing?

2) What different dynamics do you hear? Do the dynamics stay the same or change? (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff, crescendo, diminuendo, etc.)

3) How would you describe the mood of the piece? Why?

4) What tempo marking would you give this piece? (ex. Largo, Adagio, Andante, Allegro, Presto) 5) What type of key is this piece in? Major Minor Both Other

6) How does the music make you feel? Why do you think the composer wrote this piece?

7) What two words would you use to describe this piece of music?

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Lalo Schifrin is an extremely talented pianist, composer, and conductor. He has composed over 100 scores for both television and film such as the Theme from Mission: Impossible, Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt and Starsky and Hutch. His music is a unique blend traditional and 20th century classical techniques and jazz. During his career, Schifrin has received four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations.

Born into a musical family, Lalo Schifrin started studying piano at a very young age. His father, Luis Schifrin was the concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires. After studying sociology and law at the Buenos Aires University, he continued his musical training at the Paris Conservatory. In the mid 1950s, Schifrin returned home to Buenos Aires and formed his own 16 piece big band. During one of his performances, he was noticed by jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie who invited him to become his arranger and pianist. In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States, where his career really took off.

Lalo Schifrin Biography

Program Notes

The theme for Mission: Impossible is one of the most iconic themes in TV history. Before Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible was first a famous TV series in the 60s and 70s. The series tells the story of a group of spies and inventors who travel the world solving extremely difficult and dangerous missions. It is written in 5/4 time which helps add a level of energy and excitement. It features a repeated two bar bass riff that helps provide a solid foundation over the melody. It hits nine out of the possible twelve notes of the chromatic scale which is far more than most melodies. Almost every bar of the melody starts off with the same two short notes fol-lowed by a held note. The held melodic notes follow a pattern, falling down in semitones, making each bar a response to the previous one. Listen to the driving bass riff as the melody is traded between different sections throughout the piece.

Watch & Listen

Theme from Mission: Impossible

Did you know?

As a jazz pianist, Schifrin has performed with jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Stan

Getz, Sarah Vaughan and Count Basie.

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Program Notes

Richard Wagner Biography

"Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walküre

Richard Wagner is considered one of the world’s most influential composers and is most well known for his operas such as the 18-hour Ring Cycle. Born in Germany, Wagner was greatly inspired by composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. He developed the use of the leitmotif – a recurring melodic phrase or figure associated with a certain person, place or situation which helped provide thematic unity in his pieces. This technique is now greatly used by many modern film composers such as Bernard Herrmann, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith. Wagner was an innovator in both harmony and the structure of his works, implementing his own concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, the total work of art which synthesize all elements of music, art, drama, spectacle and dance.

The “Ride of the Valkyries” opens Act Three of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas that make up Wagner’s epic Ring cycle. It tells the story of Wotan’s warrior daughters, the Valkyries with their winged helmets and steeds, transporting fallen soldiers to Valhalla. In this piece, the brass play the main exciting theme and the woodwinds and strings play arpeggiated figures representing the flying Valkyries. This excerpt is one of the most popular excerpts from the world of opera and has been used in many films, cartoons and television series.

Did you know?The Bayreuth Festspielhaus (Festival Theatre) is a unique opera

theatre which was designed by Wagner to stage his elaborate operas. Wagner’s unique designs include: Only tiered rows - no boxes or

galleries; the orchestra hidden under the stage on a staircase; a large opening between the stage and the audience to allow the music to

travel. Video Guide Tour of the Bayreuth FestspeilhausWatch & Listen

Quick Facts

BornMay 22, 1813

Died

February 13, 1883

Nationality German

Full Name Wilhelm Richard Wagner

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky BiographyConsidered one of the most popular Russian composers, Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in a small town called Kamsko-Votkinsk in Russia’s Ural Mountains. He began taking piano lessons when he was five years old. Despite showing an early passion for music, his parents wanted him to pursue a career in civil service. Tchaikovsky attended a boys-only boarding school and went on to complete his law studies and work at the Ministry of Justice.

Finding he was unable to express himself, Tchaikovsky resigned from his post at the Ministry of Justice in 1863 to study music at the new St. Petersburg Conservatory – now named after Tchaikovsky. He studied with the director of the conservatory, Anton Rubenstein, and was later offered a position as professor of composition.

Tchaikovsky composed nearly 170 pieces and some of his most well-known works include the 1812 Overture, Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Symphony No. 6. His ballets remain incredibly popular to this day. It is not unusual for The Nutcracker to be performed every December all over the world!

Romeo and Juliet Fantasy-OvertureComposer Mily Balakirev, leader of Russian Group of Five, befriended Tchaikovsky and encouraged him to compose a symphonic poem based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He suggested not only the subject matter but the possible themes and a general outline for the piece. Tchaikovsky kept some of the suggestions but otherwise followed his own instincts. He created a variety of melodies to represent different characters and moods instead of telling the story in chronological order.

The overture opens with a reflective clarinet and bassoon melody that represents Friar Lawrence. The reflective melody shifts to a hectic theme to represent the violence between the Montague and Capulet families. The famous soaring love theme soon appears to represent the star-crossed lovers. At the end of the piece, the love theme returns in a minor key that suggests the lovers have met their doomed fate. The overture’s love theme is considered an iconic melody and has been used countless times in television and film scores to represent love.

Program Notes

Watch & Listen

Tchaikovsky had a wealthy patron named Nadezhda von Meck for many

years who provided him with a monthly allowance that allowed him to compose full time. Their arrangement stipulated

that they would never meet.

Did you know?

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Leonard Bernstein BiographyCelebrated worldwide as one of the greatest musical talents to ever hit the stage, Leonard Bernstein is best known for his genuine and charismatic presence on the conductor’s podium. His longest standing post was as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 1958 - 1969.

Passionate as an educator, Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic revolutionized music education with the first ever televised Young People’s Concerts. Bernstein became widely known for this sixty-three part series which was broadcast nationwide on CBS and syndicated in over 40 countries across the globe.

He was a major advocate of American composers and would regularly conduct and record works by composers such as Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. These American composers had a profound influence on Bernstein’s composi-tions, which are imbued with classical, theatre and America jazz

elements. With such eclectic sources of inspiration, Bernstein’s voice carries strong though all mediums, including works for: orchestra, jazz ensemble, opera, musical theatre and film.

"Mambo!" from West Side StoryBernstein’s West Side Story is a modern day musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The story explores the conflict between two gangs known as the Sharks and the Jets. The plot follows the forbidden love shared between Tony, a Jet member, and Mara who is the sister of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks. Although lives are taken throughout the story, it is because of those deaths that the two gangs are able to recognize their shared humanity and compassion for one another. Symphonic Dances from West Side Story was adapted for orchestra following the successful, 1961 film version, which won ten Academy Awards including Best Picture.

The Overture to West Side Story is a short piece heard before the musical which introduced many of the melodic themes throughout the entire show. The TSO Student Concerts will feature the short “MAMBO!” section from the overture.

Program Notes

Watch & Listen

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Ludwig van Beethoven Biography

Symphony No. 6, Opus. 68

Often called “the father of Romanticism,” Beethoven’s music bridged the Classical and Romantic eras. As he abandoned the styles of the Classical era, his music became more dramatic and expressive. His symphonies came to be seen as models that all other composers would follow and many of his works are still felt to be strongly relevant to audiences today.

Born in Bonn, Germany, Beethoven was first educated in music by his father, Johannes, who was a court tenor. Through his father, he learned the piano and violin, giving his first performance at the age of seven. Seeing his son’s remarkable talent, Johannes soon sought out other teachers for his son, one of whom, Christian Gottlob Neefe, introduced Beethoven to the music of Bach, which remained a lifelong influence on his music. Beethoven first became known for his tremendous abilities as a performer on the piano. By the age of 32, Beethoven had written 32 piano sonatas, 2 symphonies, 18 string quartets, and 3 piano

concertos. The deafness that he had noticed 5-6 years previously was beginning to take its toll, and Beethoven entered a period of despair. Despite this, he continued to write music and produced symphonies 3 through 8, his violin concerto, and piano concertos 4 and 5.

In the years following 1816, he was extremely productive, producing his 9th symphony, a set of string quartets, and 7 more piano sonatas. Upon his death in Vienna in March, 1827, Beethoven was buried with honours, in a funeral that attracted over ten thousand people who adored his music.

Known as the “Pastoral Symphony,” Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major (Op. 68) was completed in the year 1808. A lover of nature, Beethoven spent much of his time going for walks in the Vienna countryside, notebook in hand, sketching ideas and pictures of things that inspired him. It was these kinds of impressions that gave shape to “The Storm”, the fourth movement from his Symphony No. 6.

The Storm movement is an excellent example of programme music. At the beginning of this movement you will hear an approaching storm in the strings - light gusts of wind and the first droplets of rain are portrayed by the first and second violins. Next you will hear thunder, high winds, and sheets of rain. In this movement, Beethoven describes not only the image of the storm itself, but also the emotions that are brought about by a fierce storm - feelings of awe and even fear. The storm slowly fades, with the occasional roll of thunder being heard in the distance.

Program Notes

Watch & Listen

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Hector Berlioz Biography

"Dream of the Witches' Sabbath" from Symphonie fantastique

Program Notes

A progressive figure in the Romantic period, Berlioz was extremely influential in the development of the symphonic form, instrumentation and program music. His well-known pieces include the Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts. The son of a medical doctor, Berlioz initially studied medicine before going on to study composition at the Paris Conservatory. In 1830, while still a student, he won the coveted Grand Prix de Rome. Extremely imaginative, Berlioz introduced new colours and sounds into his works. He often increased the size of the orchestra and introduced imported instruments that had previously been heard in opera houses and military bands. Despite being unappreciated in his native France because of his unconventional compositions, he received great acclaim in Western European countries. In addition to composing, Berlioz was also a critic, a conductor and a writer. His book “Treatise of Intrumentation and Orchestration” became an important orchestration resource well into the 20th century.

After attending a production of Hamlet, Berlioz became infatuated with the Irish actress Harriet Smithson. He wrote her several love letters which went unanswered. This new romantic obsession inspired him to compose his influential work Symphonie fantastique.

Divided into five movements rather than the traditional four, Symphonie fantastique tells the story of an artist’s self-destructive love for a beautiful woman. The beautiful woman, Smithson, is represented by the idée fixe, a recurring melody that appears every movement. Berlioz even wrote detailed program notes to accompany the symphony to help tell the artist’s story. His orchestration was extremely unique using four bassoons, four different types of clarinets, large bells and both cornets and trumpets. An extremely descriptive and passionate

piece, Symphony fantastique has been used countless times in cartoons, tv and films such as The Shining.

The fifth movement depicts the artist’s hallucination of his own ghoulish funeral. The idée fixe melody returns again but this time it’s a much scarier version. All throughout the movement, Berlioz references the Dies Irae (ancient chant for the Day of Wrath) to help establish the mood and atmosphere. See if you can hear the gathering witches, bubbling cauldrons and monsters in the music.Watch & Listen

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Johann Strauss Jr. BiographyOne of the most famous and successful composers of Viennese dance music in the 19th century, Johann Strauss Jr. was known as “The Waltz King”. The Strauss family held the musical dynasty in Vienna and while his composer father didn’t want him to go into music (he wanted him to be a banker!), Johann Jr. was determined to follow his passion. He was the big dance music star of his day (much like a pop star of today), and successfully developed popular dances like the waltz, polka, and quadrille to the point that they were just as commonly heard in the concert hall as they were on the dance floor. The Blue Danube, Tales from the Vienna Woods, Die Fledermaus and The Gypsy Baron are just a few of his more than 250 works.

The Blue Danube Waltz

Program Notes

The Blue Danube was originally written as a choral work and was commissioned by the Vienna Men’s Choral Society. Strauss soon arranged it into an orchestral version and premiered it at the 1867 Paris World’s Fair. The orchestral version became an instant sensation and was soon performed all across Europe. A tone poem in waltz form, it celebrates the Danube river that runs through Vienna. The famous opening notes are an arpeggiated D major chord. The piece consists of five different melodies followed by a coda. It has been used numerous times in cartoons, tv and films such as Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey.

Did you know?The Blue Danube waltz became so popular that it is often

considered the unofficial second national anthem of Austria.

Watch & Listen

Quick Facts

BornOctober 25, 1825

Died

June 3, 1899

Nationality Austrian

NicknameThe Waltz King

The Younger Johann Strauss the Younger

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John Williams Biography

Main Theme from Jaws

Program Notes

John Williams is considered one of the most successful composers of film and orchestral music of our time. Raised in New York City, he moved with his family to Los Angeles to attend UCLA and study composition privately with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Williams later moved back to New York City to attend the Julliard School. While in New York, he worked as a jazz pianist and a studio musician before ulti-mately starting to compose for television and film. He’s cre-ated some of the most unforgettable film scores of all time including Jaws, ET, Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park, the first three Harry Potter Films, and Indiana Jones.

He has received five Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, seven BAFTAs and 21 Grammys. From 1980 to 1993, Williams served as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra and now holds the title of Laureate Conductor. In addition to film scores, Williams has composed numerous works for the concert stage, among them two symphonies, and concertos commissioned by several of the world’s leading orchestras.

Based on a novel by Peter Benchley, Jaws is a 1975 thriller directed by Steven Spielberg. The film tells the story of a giant man eating great white shark attacking beachgoers on Amity Island, a fictional New England town. The local police enlist the help of a marine biologist and professional shark hunter to hunt down the shark.

Jaws was only Stephen Spielberg’s second feature as a director and become the highest-grossing film of its time. John Williams’ Theme from Jaws is one of the most terrifying pieces of film music. In consistently ranks among the top 10 of most memorable film scores in history. The film became a global phenomenon scaring people out of the water and demonizing sharks for years to come. The main shark motif is a simple alternating patter of two notes, E & F, with the surprising introduction of a third note, D, to unsettle the listener. The shark motif is heard when-ever the shark is approaching and helps build a great deal of tension and suspense. The shark motif is the most famous part of the score and has become an easily recognizable musical motif for impending danger.

Watch & Listen

Did you know?

John Williams doesn’t own a computer. He composes

using pencil and paper!

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Program Notes

Erica Procunier Biography

Interview with Erica Procunier

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What inspired you to become a composer?In my youth I immersed myself in as much music as I possibly could. I studied piano, flute, alto sax, acoustic guitar, and got involved with school musicals. I began composing while experimenting and improvising at the piano. I started to teach myself by ear how to play music that I had heard in concert or in films, and it grew from there. It was a really natural progression into composing my own pieces. To be expressing myself through writing music is such a great creative outlet and I’m so glad I discovered it early on.

How did you get into composing for film and television?My motivation to become a film composer has existed basically since I started composing. I have always loved listening to film scores because they have this inherent power over the emotions and the music has fantastic visual stories already built into it. I was also a ballet dancer in my youth and music’s fundamental relationship to movement translates to film as well. When I decided to study composition at school, it was always with film scoring in the back of my mind. At Western University I made friends with the students studying film and that’s where I wrote my first scores.

Erica Procunier is a Canadian film composer and pianist. She has written film scores for the feature films Burns Point (2016), Cold Deck (2015), Scratch (2015), Barn Wedding (2015), and And Now A Word From Our Sponsor (2013).

Erica has written music for films, television shows, cartoons, advertise-ments, theatre, and games. Her most recent short film, Mariner, is an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016. Her short films Little Whispers: The Vow and The Golden Ticket have screened and won awards at celebrated festivals around North America. In 2014 Erica received two SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Audio/Visual composers for her work on the short films Avalanche and Fist Plus Face. Erica's music has been licensed to a variety of shows worldwide on television networks such as TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, and WE TV.

Erica was selected for the prestigious 2013-2014 Slaight Family Music Residency at Norman Jewison’s Canadian Film Centre, an institute for advanced training and production in film, television and new media. There she worked with top Canadian composers and filmmakers

honing the craft of scoring to picture. Erica holds a Masters of Music Composition from Western University. Erica is a SOCAN artist and on the board of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Program Notes

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Tell us a little about your process composing for this film? Did you watch the film first or look at storyboards? I have been reading the story of Kit the Beaver and looking at the artwork since the TSO selected the project back in April. The story and the images are all crucial for giving me inspiration to begin writing ideas for the film. It has been really great to be involved so early in the filmmaking process because sometimes I don’t work on a project until everything else is essentially finished. The first thing I do is I write a lot of possible melodic themes and harmonic textures to use as my building blocks. Then my goal is to create a blueprint for the shape of the score and decide when the important moments will be to bring back the themes. Based on the emotional content of a scene or the personality of a character, I can answer questions like “Whatinstruments should I use? ” or “How fast should the tempo be?”

DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver is an animated film, with a large creative team. Is working on an animation different than working on a live action film?

Yes! Animated films are very different simply because of the time it takes for the animation to be completed. It’s very time intensive to animate and there are a lot of artists working on each moment of the film for many many weeks. Because of this, I don’t usually get to score a completed animation. I get to look at what is called a Leica Reel or an Animatic. It’s a collection of storyboards images made into a video mock-up with the proper timing. It does it’s best to show me how the finished product will be edited and how the characters will move. Sometimes I can only take a guess at what the final animation will be like while composing to a scene (with good descriptions from the director).

How collaborative was the composition process with the filmmaker? Did you work together or by yourself?A film is all around a very collaborative process and though it starts off as the work of one writer, it grows to become a collection of contributions from many artists. A film isn’t ever just one person’s decisions or ideas for a scene. Kjell and I both come to the table with how we want approach a particular scene and then we come to a consensus. In the end, most of the writing work will be done on my own and then I will create musical mock-ups with my computer to show him. We can then discuss what is working for a scene and what isn’t.

What are some of the challenges composing for film?Scoring a film is like completing a giant puzzle – your table is made of time and the puzzle pieces are made of music. Everything I write has to match with the movie exactly. That’s the main difference between writing for screen and writing a concert piece. Sometimes that means I have to come up with interesting and original musical solutions to problems that arise. For instance, I might have to speed up the tempo to fit in my musical theme, or I might change the time signature suddenly so I can hit a beat on a particular moment in the film. The best film composers can write music that is perfectly timed but also really outstanding music on it’s own.

How do you choose the instrumentation for your compositions? Are you inspired by aspects of the film (visuals, plot, character qualities) or are there certain instruments you feel relate specific qualities better than others?

I am most definitely inspired by the characters and the visuals in regards to how to choose my instruments. Also I’m thinking about what each instrument is capable of and what conventions have been established surrounding each instrument. For example, in DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver there are going to be a number of wolf howls created by the orchestra. I am really drawn to the ability of the strings to bend their pitch by sliding their fingers along the strings because they don’t have a fret board. It’s going to make the howling very effective! Also some instruments bring more power and volume (like the brass) and some are naturally more gentle and whimsical (like the woodwinds). But in the end, the character and emotion rely on how you choose to use the instrument’s sound qualities and blend them with each other.

What is it like to hear your piece performed live by an orchestra? Does having it performed live ever change your original intent or creative concept?Hearing your work performed by an orchestra is one of the most exhilarating and special moments you can ever experience! I think orchestras in general are a spectacular feat of human intellectual and creative achievement and we are so lucky to be in the audience when they perform. This film is in quite a unique situation because it is going to premiere with a live orchestra. This hardly ever happens! I’ve spoken with Earl Lee (the conductor) and we aren’t going to approach scoring it any differently than we would a regular film score. It might mean that we could have some difficult transitions and he will probably have to listen to a click track (a metronome), but we know we are working with fabulous world-class performers and they will be able to handle anything!

What is your favourite film score and why?One of my absolute favourite scores is the Jurassic Park film score by John Williams. He does such an amazing job at creating a thrilling score, but the best moments are the ones expressing the absolute majesty of the island and reflecting on the awesome power of nature.

Who is your favourite composer and why?This one is such a hard question to answer. How can I pick just one! I have a really soft spot for Tchaikovsky, most likely because of my background in ballet. His memorable melodies have always captured my heart and I think it’s because the drama and the passion just poured out of him into his music. I know he was really focused on the emotional catharsis of his audiences. I love so many late-romantic era pieces, and Tchaikovsky’s works definitely stand out for me. musical solutions to problems that arise. For instance, I might have to speed up the tempo to fit in my musical theme, or I might change the time signature suddenly so I can hit a beat on a particular moment in the film. The best film composers can write music that is perfectly timed but also really outstanding music on it’s own.

Program Notes

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Program Notes

Kjell Boersma BiographyKjell Boersma originally hails from deep in the woodlands of South River, ON, where, as a child, he could often be found cavorting in streams and ponds with wild animals. As a graduate of Ryerson University's Film Studies program, Kjell has since worked on broadcast animation and feature documentaries, as well as a plethora of music videos, experimental modern dance films, and more commercial endeavours. In 2010 he abandoned Toronto for the desolate wastes of New Mexico, settling in Gallup: a small but bustling frontier town on the border of the Navajo Nation. While in Gallup, Kjell collaborated with National Geographic Photographer Adriel Heisey, shooting aerial video for the United States National Park Service, as well as a variety of archaeologists, environmentalists, and documentary filmmak-ers. Over the next four years, Kjell worked with local artists

and cultural organizations to co-found the arts council gallupARTS, and direct his most recent film, Monster Slayer, a contemporary retelling of the Navajo story of the Hero Twins. Kjell is now a filmmaker and animator residing in the concrete forest of Toronto, ON, where he lives with two cats and one human.

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DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver for Film and OrchestraDAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver is an animated film that’s not about your average beaver. It’s the tale of Kit, a very independent (and easily distracted) young beaver who loves to explore the sounds of the forest she lives in.

While Kit is busy discovering the world, her clan is busy building a dam. According to Papa Beaver, working on a dam is the most important thing a beaver can do, because...well...just because!

Kit tries hard to fit in and to help with the dam’s construction by gathering wood from the forest, but each time she starts off on a new task something goes wrong!

During her adventures, Kit teaches her clan about the value of working with others and learns that progress can come in many forms. Through generosity and empathy, we can build relationships that strengthen and grow in ways that we could never imagine.

The creative process of this film is truly collaborative. Writer and Director Kjell Boersma and Producer Josh Clavir joined forces with Seneca College, working directly with select students from their Summer Animation Institute to develop and animate this project with Artistic Direction from acclaimed children's illustrator Julie Flett. Toronto-based composer, Erica Procunier worked directly with the creative team to create all the music and sounds effects that we will hear in the film. DAM! The Story of Kit the Beaver is a TSO commission, in partnership with TIFF, and is generously funded by the Government of Canada.

Program Notes

Sneak Peek!

Waterfalls by Lucy Ray

Papa & Kit by Rachel Joseph

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Lesson Plans

Lights, Camera… Orchestra!The following mini-unit has been developed for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Lights, Camera… Orchestra concert series for students grades 4 – 8. This mini-unit includes two lessons and summative assignment that can easily align with specific music expectations in the Ontario Arts Curriculum, Grades 4 – 8.

Unit Overview

Lesson OneExploring the Relationship Between The Elements of Music and Music in Film

In this lesson, students will use the Critical Analysis Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 23 – 28) and the Creative Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 19 – 22) to develop their understanding of the Elements of Music as they explore the relationship between the Elements of Music and composing music for film.

This lesson is split into three main parts that can be spread over a number of classes.

• In Part One (Minds On / Activating Prior Knowledge), students will review the Elements of Music and describe how they can connect to the visual imagery in film.

• In Part Two (Action / Activity), students will explore how a composer might apply his or her knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music when composing music for a film.

• In Part Three (Consolidation / Creation), students will apply their own knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music as they work in groups to compose their own short pieces of music.

Lesson TwoExploring the influence of Western Classical Music in Film

This lesson is shorter and less complex compared to the first lesson. However, it can vary depending on the age/grade level of the students to which it is being delivered.

In this lesson, students will listen to a number of well-known Western symphonic works that have been featured in modern films, as well as some well known movie musical themes. Students will apply their knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music to discuss why these pieces of music might work well in film.

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Lesson Plans

Summative AssignmentIn this activity students use The Creative Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 19 – 22) and the Critical Analysis Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 23 – 28) to apply their own knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music as they work in groups to compose new music to accompany a short (3 – 5 minutes) clip from a movie of their choosing.

Assessment and EvaluationWhile the range of musical understanding and ability between students in grades 4 – 8 may be significant, the following lesson plans and activities can be adapted for any grade level as they rely more broadly on The Creative Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 19 – 22), The Critical Analysis Process (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 23 – 28) and on student knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music (see Ontario Arts Curriculum pg. 106, 116, 128, 138, and 154) – areas of the curriculum that remain consistent throughout each grade level but vary in depth and complexity depending on the grade level.

For example, the specific expectations for Grades 4 and 8 outlined below can be assessed through these lessons and activities are nearly identical in that they both rely on the student application of their knowledge and understanding of the Elements of Music when using The Creative Process and Critical Analysis Process. Aside from differing complexities relating to musical terms, symbols and notation, the main variance between grade levels is the depth and complexity of the Elements of Music – outlined at the start of each grade level.

Curriculum ExpectationsGrade 4C1.2 apply the elements of music when singing and/or playing, composing, and arranging music to create a specific effect C1.3 create music compositions for specific purposes and audiencesC2.2identify the elements used in the music they perform, listen to, and create, and describe how they are usedGrades 8C1.2 apply the elements of music through performing, composing, and arranging music for a specific effect or clear purposeC1.3 create musical compositions in a variety of forms for specific purposes and audiencesC2.2 analyse, using musical terminology, ways in which the elements of music are used in various styles and genres they perform, listen to, and create

Other curricular expectations that can be assessed through the Action/Activity and Summative Assignment in all grades 4 through 8 are: C1.1, C1.4, C1.5, C2.1, and C2.3. Teachers are encouraged to vary the depth and complexity of the following lessons to suit the level/needs of the students to which these lessons are being delivered. Please enjoy.

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Lesson Plans

Minds On...

Activating Prior Knowledge:

Reviewing the Elements of

Music

Materials • Music Player / Video Player (YouTube)• Music Recording: Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky arr. Rimsky-Korsakov• Post-It Notes• Chart Paper • Pencils• Coloured markers

Lesson Progression• As a class, listen to the recording of Night on Bald Mountain.• After listening to the piece of music partner students into groups of 2 – 3, distributing the Post-It notes to each group (2 – 4 Post-It notes per group). Encourage students to discuss with their group members their reactions to this piece of music and to record these reactions onto the Post-It notes. • Use questions like these to guide student thinking: o What did you notice about instruments being used? o What type of mood or feeling would best describe this music? o What did you notice about the dynamics?• Bring the class back together and have students share their group or their own personal reactions with the class.• After half of the groups have shared their reactions, review the Elements of Music and then look back at the reactions that have already been shared. As a class, try to determine which Elements of Music connect best with the reactions that have already been expressed. • Use the coloured markers to indicate which Elements of Music each Post-It note refers to by putting a coloured dot in the upper corner of each Post-It note – use a different coloured dot for each separate Element of Music.• Now that students are thinking of the Elements of Music , have the remaining groups share their responses and also determine which Elements of Music their responses are connected to.• Remind students to include their names on their Post-It notes, as these can be used for your assessments.• Now, listen to the same piece of music again, only this time, pair it with the video. • Facilitate a class discussion about how the music connects with the visuals in the film. Encourage students to connect their ideas to the Elements of Music .

Action

Activity: Connecting the

Elements of Music to Film

Materials • Pencils• Coloured Post-It notes (one for each Elements of Music )• Action! Cards (see Appendix A)

Lesson One Exploring the Relationship Between The Elements of Music and Music in Film

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Lesson Plans

Action (cont.) Lesson Progression• Based on the discussion in the Minds On/Activating Prior Knowledge activity, briefly discuss how music might be chosen or composed for movies? Encourage students to share examples from movies and/or music that they already know. Use this guiding question: o How do you think a composer might use his/her understanding and mastery of the Elements of Music to compose music for a film? Again, encourage students to connect their responses to the Elements of Music.• Using one of the Action! Cards, read the description and ask for student responses as to how a composer might use the Elements of Music when composing music for the description on the Action! Card.• Spread out the remaining Action! Cards throughout the teaching space. With each Action! Card, include a number coloured Post It notes.• In groups of 3 – 4 students, groups will ‘carousel’ through each Action! Card. At each station, students will read the description on the Action! Card and then, choosing one Elements of Music describe with examples how a composer might connect that Elements of Music to the description on the Action! Card. Remember that each Element of Music should have its own coloured Post-It note. • As the groups of students circulate through the Action! Cards, encourage them to choose Elements of Music that have not yet been used for that particular Action! Card.• Remind students to include their names on their Post-It notes, as these can be used for your assessments.• Collect the Action! Cards and discuss some of the examples• As an extension for older grades, encourage students to include musical terms and symbols in their responses.

Consolidation

Creation:Applying the Elements of

Music

Materials• Musical Instruments• Action! Cards (see Appendix A)

Lesson Progression• Review all of the descriptions on the Action! Cards. Knowing each description is essential for the ending of this activity.• Partner the students into groups of 3 – 4. Provide each group with an Action! Card, and the connected Post-It notes from the previous activity. Make sure that separate groups do not share their Action! Cards with each other. They will need to remain secret for the ending of this activity. • Using the ideas provided by their peers as a guide, groups will take time to compose their own short pieces of music to accompany the descriptions on the Action! Cards. • Provide students with access to level appropriate instruments and sufficient time to create their compositions. • Bring the groups back together and have students share their compositions. After each performance, see if other students can guess which Action! Card inspired the composition.

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Lesson Plans

Lesson TwoExploring the Influence of Western Classical music in Film

Minds On...

Activating Prior Knowledge:

Have you heard it before?

Materials• Music Players• Musical Recordings o Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner o The Planets: Mars, The Bringer of War by Gustav Holst o Star Wars: The Imperial March by John Williams

Lesson Progression• As a class, listen to two selections of music: o Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner o The Planets: Mars, The Bringer of War by Gustav Holst

• Afterwards, discuss how the Elements of Music are used in these pieces highlighting the similarities and differences. As well, discuss the types of images that these pieces of music put into our imaginations. • Try to guide the students towards ideas surrounding power, the army, and military strength. • Now listen to The Imperial March by John Williams from Star Wars. • Afterwards, discuss with students the similarities between the music in Star Wars compared to Ride of the Valkyries and Mars, The Bringer of War and why these pieces of music are so good for representing military power?

Action

Activity: Connecting the

Elements of Music to Film

Materials• Music Players and Headphones (5 – 8)• Musical Recordings (examples) o Carmina Burana: O Fortuna by Carl Orff o Tacotta and Fugue in D Minor by J.S. Bach o Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss o Flight of the Bumble Bee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov o Theme for Jaws by John Williams o Symphony No. 5 in C Minor by Ludwig von Beethoven o Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy o Theme from Harry Potter by John Williams• Student Worksheets (see Appendix B)

Lesson Progression• Set up a variety of listening stations (5 – 8). At each listening station leave a different piece of music.

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Lesson Plans

Action (cont.)

• Partner students into groups of 3 or 4. Give each group a worksheet. As each group moves through the Symphonic Carousel, listening to each example, have them record their reactions to each piece describing what type of imagery or feeling the composer is trying to describe using the Elements of Music (see appendix B for more detail).• Bring the students back together to share and discuss their responses.• As an extension for students in Grade 8, compare the music made by Beethoven, Orff and Debussy to modern music that is composed for movies today. A good example of modern film music might be from the movie Tron: Legacy by Daft Punk

Consolidation

Reflection: Me! The Motion

Picture

Materials• Student Worksheet

Lesson Progression• Students can complete a written response to the following question:• If your life were made into a movie, what would the music for that movie sound like? Be sure to include connections to the Elements of Music in your response.

Summative Assignment

Materials• Video Player• Grade/Level appropriate instruments

Assignment Instructions• Partner students into groups of 3 – 4. Have students compose their own music for a short (3 – 5 minute) clip from a movie of their choosing. o In groups of 3 or 4, compose your own music for a short (3 - 5 minute) clip from any movie that you like. Make sure you choose a section of the movie that you believe can accurately be described using only the Elements of Music. o Prepare your composition for performance for your peers with the video clip playing in the background.

• Have each group present their pieces to the class accompanying the video clip. After the performance is complete, the students can explain their musical choices.• Use a written reflection for additional assessment information

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Appendix A: Action! CardsThe following Action! Cards are intended to serve as inspiration for quick pieces of music.

Lesson Plans

3, 2, 1, Action!

“10, 9, 8, 7…”

“Which wire should I cut?!?! The red or the blue?!?!?”

“6, 5, 4…”

“Oh my gosh!”

“3, 2…”

(snip)

3, 2, 1, Action!

The sun rises over a calm sea. Not a cloud in sight. The wind, slowly begins to wisp up and over the

deck, gradually filling the cloth sails. About twelve more days. Only twelve more days and I will

be home again!

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Lesson Plans

3, 2, 1, Action!

“Shhh!!! They’ll hear us! We need to stay hidden! There is no telling what they will do to us if they find

us.”

(foot steps are heard dragging further down the hall)

“They’re coming! “

(dead voices groaning and coming closer)

“I’m scared!”

3, 2, 1, Action!

Crack! The ball rockets off the bat high into the night sky. Up, up, above the lights, and higher still…

The crowd begins to roar loudly. This is it. Cubs win! Cubs win!

3, 2, 1, Action!

Water trickles slowly down the gentle stream and past my toes. If only summer could last forever.

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Lesson Plans

3, 2, 1, Action!

(honking cars, people yelling, sounds of construction)

The stinkin’ city! Another day, another dollar! Just once, I’d like to be up high in those towers. A big

shot! Just once, I’d like to be the one lookin’ down instead-a up.

3, 2, 1, Action!

In groups of 12 they shot across the sky. Never breaking formation. I could hear the explosions in the distance. Booming like an ominous thunder in

the distance. A warning. A storm was coming. A big one.

3, 2, 1, Action!

Just like that, she was gone. I’ll never see those droopy ears again. Or feel her wet nose would nuzzle into my hand in the morning when I would wake up

late for school. I’ve never felt so sad…

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Artist Biographies

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Every year, over 33,000 young students experience the TSO in performance. In consultation with Music Coordinators from the Boards of Education, TSO staff design School Concerts to help teachers deliver the Ontario Music Curriculum at each level. The concerts are entertaining yet firmly based on educational concepts. Four different programs address the learning needs of Primary (Kindergarten to Grade 4), Junior/Intermediate (Grades 4 to 8), Intermediate/Senior (Grades 7 to

12), and French-language students (Kindergarten to Grade 5). We’ve created free Study Guides and podcasts, available on our website, to help students prepare for the concert. Download these free resources here.

Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s most important cultural institutions, recognized internationally. Peter Oundjian, now in his 12th season as the TSO’s Music Director, leads the Orchestra with a commitment to innovative programming and audience engagement through a broad range of performances that showcase the exceptional talents of the Orchestra along witha roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. The TSO also serves the larger community with TSOUNDCHECK, the original under-35 ticket program; the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra; and music education programs that reach tens of thousands of students each year.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Peter Oundjian conducting Debussy's La Mer

Earl Lee, RBC Resident ConductorKorean-born Canadian musician Earl Lee is the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s RBC Resident Conductor since January 2015 and Con-ductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra beginning Sep-tember 2016. He was the recipient of the 2013 Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Scholarship to study with Kurt Masur in Leipzig, and was also awarded a 2013 Ansbacher Fellowship for Young Conductors by the American Austrian Foundation. In February 2014, he participated in the 5th International Conducting Masterclass with David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. Recent conducting appearances include leading the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Chamber Sinfonia at The Kennedy Center as a part of the Millennium Stage series, as well as with the Leipziger Symphonieorchester, and the Riverside Orchestra at New York’s Trinity School. He also conducted the MSM Symphony Orchestra at the Manhattan School of Music, sharing his podium time with Kurt Masur as a participant of the Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar. Mr. Lee is a passionate promoter of new music and has led premières of numerous works by contemporary composers.

An accomplished cellist, Mr. Lee was a former member of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. He has since performed at many prestigious festivals including Marlboro, Ravinia’s Steans Insti-

tute, Music from Angel Fire, and Caramoor. He has also appeared with the Sejong Soloists and is currently an active member of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO). In 2012, Mr. Lee completed a North American tour with legendary pianist Chick Corea and vibraphone player Gary Burton, as a guest cellist of the acclaimed Harlem String Quartet. Previously, he toured throughout the United States as a member of the Koryo Quar-tet, as well as with Musicians from Marlboro. Mr. Lee has appeared frequently on radio programs such as Saint Paul Sunday, and as a former musician on the Astral Artists’ roster, he is passionate about community outreach through music.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School with degrees in cello performance, Earl began his conducting studies in 2010 with Ignat Solzhenitsyn. He went on to study with George Manahan at the Manhattan School of Music, from where he recently graduated, as well as with Hugh Wolff at the New England Conservatory of Music.

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Artist Biographies

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A cappella: music sung without instrumental accompaniment. In Italian, a cappella means “in the style of the chapel.”

Accented Beats: these are the beats in a rhythm pattern that are stronger because they are emphasized or stressed. Accented notes are indicated using a “>” symbol which goes above or below the note to indicate that that note should be stressed or accented.

Amplify: to make a sound stronger or louder. The hollow body of an instrument amplifies its sound.

Arco: to play a stringed instrument using a bow.

Bar: another name for a measure

Bar line: a vertical line on a musical staff that divides the beats into small groups or bars.

Baton: a small stick used by the conductor to beat time. A stick helps to make the motion more easily visible to the members of the orchestra.

Beat: a beat is a regular pulsation. It is a basic unit of length in musical time.

Clef: a sign at the beginning of the staff to fix the position of one note. The most common are the treble and bass clefs.

Chord: a series of notes, usually three or more, that are sung or played together to create harmony.

Col legno: Italian for “hit with the wood”, this is a bowing technique where players strike the string with the stick of the bow, rather than by drawing the hair of the bow across the strings.

Concertmaster: the leader of the first violin section who tunes the orchestra and works closely with the conductor.

Conductor: leader of the orchestra who makes decisions about how the music will be played with respect to tempo and dynamics, and keeps the musicians together during a performance.

Crescendo: gradually increasing in loudness.

Decrescendo: gradually decreasing in loudness

Double-stop: a technique on string instruments in which two notes are played simulaneously. Triple stops and quadruple stops can also be played, in which three and four (respectively) notes are played simultaneously.

Dynamics: the intensity, or loudness and softness, of music.

Embouchure: the way the mouth is held to play a woodwind or brass instrument.

Fingerboard: the strips of wood on a stringed instrument’s neck over which the strings are stretched and fingered to change the pitch.

Harmony: the sound created when two or more notes are played at the same time.

Improvise: to make up music as you go, without using scores or musical notation that is written down. Many jazz musicians incorporate improvisation into their performance.

Legato: notes played smoothly and in a connected manner, without any noticeable break or articulation between them.

Lietmotif: a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot element, mood, idea, relationship or other specific part of an opera of symphonic work.

Measure: the notes and rests between two bar lines.

Metre: a regular pulse made up of strong and weak beats.

Musical Term Glossary

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Melody: a sequence of musical notes that make up a tune.

Movement: a section of music which contains certain musical ideas, much like a chapter in a book.

Notes: representation of musical tones using written symbols.

Octave: the distance between one tone of a scale and the next higher or lower tone of the same pitch; for example, middle C and C above middle C are an octave apart.

Pitch: the highness or lowness of a sound.

Pizzicato: to play a stringed instrument by plucking the strings with the fingers.

Pluck: to pull up or down on a string with your finger, thumb or a pick.

Podium: the raised platform in front of the orchestra on which the conductor stands.

Reed: a thin piece of cane or other material, attached to an instrument at one end and free to vibrate at the other. Found on oboes, clarinets, saxophones and bassoons.

Resonator: the part of an instrument, usually the body, that amplifies the sound caused by vibrating strings or air column.

Rests: a pause or interval of silence between two tones.

Rhythm: patterns of sound and silence in a piece of music.

Scale: music arranged in ascending or descending pitches. The C major scale consists of the notes c,d,e,f,g,a,b,c.

Score: music in written form with all the parts set down in relation to each other.

Sound Wave: when something vibrates, or moves quickly back and forth, it causes molecules in the air to move, creating sounds that move in waves in your ear.

Spiccato: a bowing technique that uses a semi-off-the-string style to produce a light “bouncing” sound. Watching the musicians it looks like the bow is bouncing up off the string the second it makes contact. Spiccato is usually performed at the balance portion of the bow. The balance portion of the bow refers to the area of the bow where weight is distributed evenly on both sides, allowing for maximum control.

Staff: five parallel horizontal lines, on which notes are written in the spaces, on the lines, or above and below the staff using ledger lines.

Strum: to play long strokes across all the strings of a string instrument, one after another very quickly using your thumb, fingers or a pick.

Symphony Orchestra: a large group of musicians, led by a conductor, who perform together on string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.

Tempo: the speed at which a piece of music is played.

Time Signature: appears at the beginning of the staff. The lower figure shows the kind of notes taken as the unit of measure, while the upper figure shows the number of these notes that can fit in a measure.

Tone: the tone is the quality of musical sound, such as rich, mellow, harsh, brilliant, etc.

Tremolo: a rapidly repeated note.

Unison: two or more instruments sounding the same note.

Valves: the mechanisms on some brass instruments that make it possible for the musician to change pitches and play all the notes of the scale.

Musical Term Glossary

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The string family is the largest family of instruments in the orchestra. The violin, viola, cello, and bass are made of carefully carved wood and have a set of four strings stretched across them. The strings themselves are made of nylon, steel and sometimes gut. The bow is made of wood and the strings of the bow are either synthetic or horsehair from actual horse tails! The harp is very different from the other string instruments and has a set of 47 strings. It is one of the oldest string instruments and is often considered part of the string family.

Sound is produced by plucking the strings or drawing the bow across them causing them to vibrate. The bodies of string instruments are hollow inside to allow sound to vibrate within them. Players apply a substance called rosin to their bows to help the strings vibrate. Rosin is primarily made up of pine sap and helps the hairs on the bow grip the strings. The harp doesn't use a bow but sound is also produced by plucking or strumming the strings.

Players can tune the violin, viola, cello and bass strings using either tuning pegs or fine tuners. To change pitch, players use their left hand to press down their fingers on the fingerboard while their right hand moves the bow or plucks the strings. Players tune the harp using a tuning key to adjust the tuning pegs. The harp is played with both hands and feet! There are seven foot pedals that are used to add accidentals or sharps. The violin, viola, cello, double bass and the harp make up the large string family.

The String Family

Jonathan CrowConcertmaster

Teng LiPrincipal Viola

Joseph Johnson Principal Cello

Jeffrey BeecherPrincipal

Double Bass

Instruments of the Orchestra

Heidi Van Hoesen GortonPrincipal Harp

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ViolaThe viola looks like a slightly bigger violin. It has thicker strings and produces a lower and warmer sound. The four strings of the viola from the lowest to the highest are C, G, D, and A. The viola is a perfect fifth lower than the violin. Although the violin and viola share three strings (G, D, A), the tone and sound are very different. Music for viola is usually written in the alto clef (also known as the viola clef or C clef). In the alto clef, Middle C is on the third line of the staff. In an orchestra there are usually between ten and fourteen violas.

ViolinThe violin is the smallest member of the string family and has the highest voice. There are more violins in the orchestra than any other instrument (up to 30!). The four strings of the violin from the lowest to highest are G, D, A, and E. In an orchestra, the violins are divided into two groups: first violin and second violin. The first violins usually play the melody and the second violins support them by playing intricate harmonies and rhythms. They work together as a team to create complex inner voices and harmonies. The concertmaster is the leader of the first violins.

CelloThe cello looks like a very large violin or viola. It is around 4 feet long and has thicker strings than either the violin or viola. The four strings of the cello from the lowest to the highest are C, D, G and A—same as the viola! However the cello is tuned an octave below the viola. The cello is held between the knees instead of being held under the chin like the violin and viola. The cello rests on the ground and is supported by a metal peg called the end pin. The cello has the closest range to the human voice—which is why people find it so calming to listen to. In an orchestra, there are usually between eight and twelve cellos.

The String Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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Double BassThe double bass is the largest and lowest voice of the string family. It is over 6 feet long and has the longest strings. The four strings of the double bass from lowest to the highest are E, A, D and G. To increase their range, bassists will occassionally add a fifth string or install a mechanical extension to help lower their bottom string to C. The double bass is the only string instrument tuned in fourths (though some players will tuned in fifths). The double bass is so big that a player must stand or sit on a high stool in order to play it. Like the cello, the double bass also has a metal spike (or end pin) at the bottom, which allows it to rest on the floor. In an orchestra, there are usually between six and eight double basses.

HarpThe harp is one of the oldest instruments. The concert harp stands about two metres tall and covers a range of over 6 ½ octaves. It has 47 strings and seven foot pedals, and is played by strumming or plucking the strings with both hands, and by pressing the pedals with your feet. The pedals are used to add accidentals (sharps and flats) so that the harp can play in different keys. The harp is usually considered part of the String Family because the strings create the sound. However, it is very different from all other stringed instruments and isn’t played with a bow, so it can sometimes be classified in a separate category all on its own.

The String Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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The Woodwind Family

Many of the earliest woodwind instruments were originally made of wood. Today’s modern woodwind instruments are made of variety of different materials such as wood, metal, and plastic. All woodwinds are played with mouthpieces and share a similar shape (a narrow cylinder or tube with holes). Sound is produced by blowing air through the instrument. The mouthpieces for some woodwinds, including the clarinet, oboe and bassoon, use a thin piece of wood called a reed, which vibrates when you blow across it. The clarinet uses a single reed made of one piece of wood, while the oboe and bassoon use a double reed made of two pieces of wood joined together.

The pitch is changed by opening or closing the holes with your fingers. Metal caps called keys cover the holes of most woodwind instruments. Similarly to string instruments, the smaller sized woodwinds play higher pitches and the longer and larger instruments play lower pitches. The flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon make up the woodwind family.

Julie RantiAssociate

Principal Flute

Sarah LewisOboe

Joaquin ValdepeñasPrincipal Clarinet

Catherine ChenAssociate

Principal Bassoon

Instruments of the Orchestra

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FluteThe flute was originally made from wood, stone, clay or bam-boo. Today’s modern flutes are made of silver, gold or platinum. The flute is held sideways and to the right of the musician’s mouth. Sound is produced by blowing across a hole in the mouthpiece of the flute which causes the air inside to vibrate. The smaller version of the flute, called the piccolo, is half the size of the flute and is one of the highest sounding instruments in the orchestra. In an orchestra, there are usually between two and four flutes.

OboeThe oboe is the first instrument you hear at an orchestra con-cert. It plays a single note (an “A”), and all other instruments tune their instruments to the oboe’s pitch. Sound is produced by blowing air throw a double reed at the top of the instrument. This double reed is made up of two very thin pieces of wood that are tied together and vibrate when air passes through them. In an orchestra, there are usually two to four oboes. It often plays important melodies because of its distinctive sound.

The Woodwind Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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ClarinetThe clarinet is very similar to the oboe in shape and size. Its mouthpiece however, uses a single reed instead of a double reed. The clarinet is made of wood or molded plastic and has a smooth, mellow tone. They can come in a variety of sizes from the small, e-flat clarinet to the large, bass clarinet. In an orchestra, there are usually between two and four clarinets.

Instruments of the Orchestra

The Woodwind Family

BassoonLike the oboe, the bassoon is another woodwind instrument that uses a double reed. The modern bassoon can be made from wood or plastic. The bassoon is second the largest woodwind instrument followed by the contrabassoon, which has the lowest voice in the orchestra. If you took apart the bassoon and laid the different pieces from end to end, it would measure 2 ½ metres long and the contrabassoon would be 5 metres long! In an orchestra, there are usually between two and four bassoons and they have a similar range to the cello. Most woodwind instruments don’t require much use of the thumb; however, the bassoon is unique in that it has 13 keys which are only played by the thumb.

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The Brass Family

Early ancestors of the brass family were made of materials such as animal horns, tusks, wood or even shells. Today’s modern brass instruments are made of brass, gold and silver. Brass instruments are made up of a very long pipe which has been curved and coiled into different shapes. This makes them easier to hold and play. Did you know that if you stretched out a French Horn is would measure more than 6 metres in length?

To make a sound, players buzz their lips together into the mouthpiece. The trumpet, french horn, and tuba have valves attached to their long pipes. To change the pitch, players can press down different combinations of valves, or change the pressure and shape of their lips. Brass players sometimes use a combination of these techniques to change the pitch. Instead of valves, the trombone uses a slide to change pitch by pushing the slide in or out. The trumpet, french horn, trombone, and tuba are most commonly used in an orchestra.

Audrey GoodFrench Horn

Steven WoomertAssociate

Principal Trumpet

Gordon Wolfe Principal Trombone

Mark TetreaultPrincipal Tuba

Instruments of the Orchestra

40

Trumpet Famous for sounding alarms, calls to war, or hunting, the trumpet as a musical instrument has had a long and rich history. Its ancestors were made of conch-shell, animal horn, wood or metal. The trum-pet is the smallest and highest pitched member of the brass family. Today’s modern trumpet has three attached valves which creates a wider range of notes than its ancestors. There are typically between two and to four trumpets in an orchestra.

French Horn The very first horns were made from the horns of animals and were used to send signals to people beyond calling distance. The hunting horn is the French Horn’s ancestor and was designed so that the tubing wrapped around in a circle, making it easier to carry over the hunter’s shoulder. Valves were added to the instrument in the 1800s, increasing the range of the instruments. In an orchestra, there can be anywhere between two and eight French Horns at a time. The player uses their left hand to press the valves, and inserts their right hand into the bell of the instrument to change the quality of the sound.

The Brass Family

Instruments of the Orchestra

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Instruments of the Orchestra

Trombone Invented in the 15th century, the trombone was first called a sackbut. It is the only instrument in the brass family to use a slide instead of valves to change pitch. Two U-shaped pipes are linked at opposite ends to form an “S”. One pipe slides into the other so you can extend or shorten the total length of the pipe. Players use their right hand to change pitch by pushing the slide in or out. In 1808, Beethoven helped popularize the trombone in orchestral music after writing a trombone part in the finale of his Fifth Symphony. The trombone family is made up of three trombones: alto, tenor and bass. In an orchestra, there are typically two tenor trombones and one bass trombone.

Tuba The tuba is the biggest and lowest pitched instrument of the brass family. Invented in 1835, the tuba is the youngest member of the brass family! It has a very rich, deep sound and if you stretched the tuba out into one long piece, it would measure about 5 ½ metres. Typically, there is only one tuba in an orchestra and it usually plays harmony rarely the melody. The tuba is related to the euphonium (a smaller, high-pitched tuba) and the sousaphone (an instrument invented by John Philip Sousa, and used a lot in marching bands).

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The Percussion Family

The percussion family traditionally includes any instrument that produces sound when struck, shaken or scraped. Percussion instruments can be classified into different categories: pitched or unpitched. Pitched instruments, such as the xylophone, timpani, or piano, play specific pitches just like the other instrument families. Unpitched instruments, such as the bass drum, tambourine, or cymbals, produce no definite pitch. Percussionists will often play many different instruments in one piece of music. In the orchestra, the percussion section is one of the most versatile sections and provides a huge range of timbres, rhythms, unique sound effects and textures. The snare drum, bass drum, glockenspiel, xylophone, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, timpani, and piano are the most commonly used percussion instruments in an orchestra.

John RudolphPrincipal Percussion

Patricia KruegerPrincipal Keyboard

David Kent Principal Timpani

Instruments of the Orchestra

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The Percussion Family

TimpaniThe timpani, sometimes called kettledrums, are made of a large copper bowl with a drumhead stretched across the top. These large, pitched drums are used frequently in orchestral music. The pitch of each timpani depends on the size of the bowl, as well as the tension of the drum head; the tighter the skin, the higher the note. The range of timpani is approximately two octaves. To change notes, players use a foot pedal located at the base of the timpani. Timpani were the first drums to be used in the orchestra, with most orchestras using three or four in their setup.

Snare DrumThe snare drum has a crisp, and bright sound. It has two heads stretched over a hollow metal or wood frame. The top head is struck with two wooden drum sticks. The bottom head has strings of wire or gut stretched across it called snares. The snare produces a rattling sound as it vibrates across the head. The snares are loosened for softer notes and tightened for a crisper or sharper tone.

Bass DrumThe bass drum is the largest drum in the orchestra and has a low, deep sound. It is constructed like the snare drum but without snares. The bass drum is played on its side so that both sides can be played. The bass drum is played with a bass drum beater which is a large wooden stick with sheep’s wool or felt covering one end. Both the snare and bass drums were originally used in the military before they became members of the orchestra’s percussion section.

Tambourine A tambourine is a small frame drum with a calfskin or plastic head stretched across one side. Inside the frame, there are several small metal discs attached that jingle when moved. Sound is produced by shaking, rubbing, or striking the head.

Instruments of the Orchestra

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The Percussion Family

Piano The piano is a pitched keyboard instrument with 88 black and white keys. It has the largest range of any instrument in the orchestra. When a player presses the keys it causes a small hammer to strike the corresponding strings inside the instrument. The piano is often classified as a percussion instrument because sound is produced by hammers striking the strings.

XylophoneThe xylophone is a pitched mallet instrument consisting of tuned wooden bars mounted on a metal frame. The wooden bars are usually made of rosewood but can also be made of synthetic materials. The bars are arranged in two rows similar to the keys of a piano. The xylophone produces a bright, sharp, short tone. Sound is produced by striking the bars with hard mallets. The xylophone sounds one octave higher than written. The origin of the xylophone is unclear, but similar instruments were known in Africa and Asia, dating back to the 14th century.

Glockenspiel The glockenspiel is a pitched mallet instrument and is often called "bells". It is made of tuned steel bars that are arranged in two rows like the keys on a piano. The glockenspiel has a very bright and piercing tone. The range is generally two and half octaves and it sounds two octaves higher than written. Sound is produced by striking the steel plates with hard mallets.

Triangle A triangle is a piece of metal bent into a triangle shape. It is commonly made out of steel and is suspended on a nylon loop. It is played by striking it with a metal beater. The triangle produces a shimmering, tinkling sound similar to a bell.

CymbalsCymbals are two slightly curved brass plates, which are held with leather straps. When hit together they produce a resounding ring. Cymbals come in a variety of sizes and can produce a wide range of sound effects. A single cymbal can also be suspended from a stand and struck with drumstick or padded mallet.

Instruments of the Orchestra

STRINGS

VIOLINSJonathan Crow, CONCERTMASTERMark Skazinetsky, ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTERMarc-André Savoie, ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTEREtsuko Kimura, ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTERPaul Meyer, PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLINSWendy Rose, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLINSEri Kosaka ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLINSAtis BankasSydney ChunCarol Lynn FujinoAmanda GoodburnTerry HolowachBridget HuntAmalia Joanou-CanzoneriMi Hyon KimShane KimLeslie Dawn KnowlesSergei NikonovHyung-Sun PaikYoung-Dae ParkSemyon PertsovskyPeter SeminovsJennifer ThompsonAngelique ToewsJames WallenbergVirginia Chen WellsArkady Yanivker

VIOLASTeng Li, PRINCIPALEric Nowlin, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Theresa Rudolph ASSISTANT PRINCIPALDaniel BlackmanGary LabovitzDiane LeungCharmain LouisMary Carol NugentChristopher RedfieldKent Teeple

CELLOSJoseph Johnson, PRINCIPALEmmanuelle Beaulieu Bergeron ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALWinona Zelenka, ASSISTANT PRINCIPALIgor GefterMarie GélinasRoberta JanzenBritton RileyKirk Worthington

DOUBLE BASSESJeffrey Beecher, PRINCIPALTheodore ChanTimothy DawsonCharles ElliottDavid LongeneckerPaul Rogers

WOODWINDS

FLUTESNora Shulman, PRINCIPALJulie Ranti, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALLeonie WallCamille Watts

PICCOLOCamille Watts

OBOESSarah Jeffrey, PRINCIPAL

Keith Atkinson, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALCary EbliSarah Lewis

ENGLISH HORNCary Ebli

CLARINETSJoaquin Valdepeñas, PRINCIPALYaoGuang Zhai, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALJoseph Orlowski

E FLAT CLARINETYaoGuang Zhai

BASS CLARINETAmy Zoloto

BASSOONSMichael Sweeney, PRINCIPALCatherine Chen, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALSamuel BanksFraser Jackson

CONTRABASSOONFraser Jackson

BRASS

HORNSNeil Deland, PRINCIPALChristopher Gongos, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALAudrey GoodGabriel Radford

TRUMPETSAndrew McCandless, PRINCIPALSteven Woomert, ASSOCIATE PRINCIPALJames GardinerJames Spragg

TROMBONESGordon Wolfe, PRINCIPALVanessa Fralick ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

BASS TROMBONEJeffrey Hall

TUBAMark Tetreault, PRINCIPAL

PERCUSSION

TIMPANIDavid Kent, PRINCIPAL

PERCUSSIONJohn Rudolph, PRINCIPALPatricia Krueger

KEYBOARDPatricia Krueger, PRINCIPAL

HARPHeidi Van Hoesen Gorton, PRINCIPAL

LIBRARIANSGary Corrin, PRINCIPALKim Gilmore

PERSONNELDavid Kent, PERSONNELMANAGER

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Members of the Orchestra

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Members of the Orchestra

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Members of the Orchestra

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Members of the Orchestra

Date you attended: __________________________________________

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5. If you were given the task of putting together a concert for the TSO, what two pieces would you recommend and why?

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