Dear Music Teacher,

Thank you for participating in the Bay-Atlantic Symphony’s Education Concert Series!

I am extremely grateful and appreciative of the tremendous effort, skill, stamina, and artistry it takes to be a classroom teacher. I believe I have provided all materials that you would need to give students an excellent entre into the pieces we are performing. The only supplies the classroom teacher should need are a CD player, the CD mentioned under repertoire, and crayons. The pre- and post- concert activities have been kept simple in part because I understand that some “classrooms” are not all that well-equipped. That said, this simplicity also fits my educational philosophy. I believe the activities supporting these concerts should not be a distraction from the event the concert. As teachers, of course, you are in the position of developing many skills and sensitivities that go into music-making and music appreciation. The point of taking students to the concert hall is to reinforce just that non-classroom side of art—the open-ended, slow-breathing, undistracted, concentrated joy of an encounter with something sublime. Once students taste this nectar, they are more inspired to sit down in the classroom and learn about the composer, the instruments, or even math, science, and the history and culture that could lead some one to create the Eroica Symphony, Guernica, or Hamlet.

The very detailed background information on Beethoven courtesy of Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, is meant only as a resource for you, and perhaps for your most advanced, curious students. The initial paragraphs, however, are intended for all.

Please keep in mind that our orchestra, though doing well in these tough times, runs on a small budget, with a small staff. We don’t have an “education department.” I wrote and put together these materials myself, with guidance from many public school teachers.

On the basis of overwhelming positive feedback I am maintaining a feature we introduced in previous years: As discussion becomes in depth, optional discussion is set off, allowing you to quickly choose whether to press on, or elaborate.

Sincerely,

Jed Gaylin, DMA
Music Director, Bay-Atlantic Symphony

2012 Study Guide coming soon