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Helena Symphony Orchestra Wednesday, April 15, 2015 Welcome to Helena Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Concert, presented especially for YOU!!! At this concert you will hear music of America: “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Phillip Sousa “Hoe-down” by Aaron Copland “Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copland “Overture to School for Scandal” by Samuel Barber “Adagio for Strings” by Samuel Barber “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin Hosted by Uncle Sam, you will see and hear instruments of the woodwind, string, brass, and percussion families, conducted by Maestro Allan R. Scott.

Maestro Allan R. Scott

You will meet famous American composers when they were your age….never suspecting that one day they would create a uniquely American style of music. John Phillip Sousa Aaron Copland Samuel Barber Ira and George Gershwin

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!!!!!!!!!!! !!!John!Phillip!Sousa:! AMERICAN COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR, AND PATRIOT 1894-1932

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John Phillip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. He worked as a theater musician and conducted the U.S. Marine Band before starting his own civilian band in 1892. Sousa toured with his band for 40 years and was indisputably the most famous musical act in the world. He composed 136 marches, 15 operettas, 70 songs, and many other pieces.

“Stars!and!Stripes!Forever” !

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! Did!you!notice:!!Does!Sousa!use!dynamics!to!contrast!loud!and!soft!sections?!

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!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!! ! !!!!!!!Aaron!Copland:!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!“BROOKLYN!COWBOY”!

! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1900-1990 Aaron Copland is one of the most famous American composers of all time. Copland was born in Brooklyn, New York, and went to France as a teenager to study music with Nadia Boulanger, who helped Copland create his own style. Copland wrote music with a very “American" sound. Some of his most famous pieces are his ballets -- Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring. Billy the Kid and Rodeo (Hoe-down) are about the Wild West.

“HoeHdown”! !!!!!!!!!!

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“Hoe-down” rhythms to try:!!!!!!!!!!!m m m m eqqqe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!!!Which!one!is!an!example! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!of!syncopation?!

!!!!“Fanfare!for!the!Common!Man”! This fanfare was composed in 1942 as a musical tribute honoring those who fought in WWII. It is played by trumpets, French horns, trombones, tuba, timpani, tam-tam, and bass drum.

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!!!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!Samuel!Barber:!! !!!!MEANT!TO!BE!A!COMPOSER!

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! ! ! ! ! Samuel Barber was born in Pennsylvania. His family and extended family were very musical, and Barber started composing at age 7. At 14 he entered the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia to study piano, voice, and composition. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, where he was commissioned to write a Symphony Dedicated to the Air Forces in 1943. !

“Overture to School for Scandal” This was the first piece Barber composed for full orchestra. His mother tried to get him to go play football with his friends instead of spending so much time composing. He just couldn’t pull himself away from creating…. Soaring oboe’s melodies …… Rich string instrument sections…… Flute and clarinet duets….. Powerful brass sections Poqw Powerful brass sections…..

Powerful brass sections…

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“Adagio!for!Strings”! This is Samuel Barber’s most famous composition. Some people say it is the saddest music ever written. It was performed all over the world when the United States faced a terrible tragedy on September 11, 2001, when thousands Americans lost their lives.

Here is a story for you from Maestro Scott, as he remembers this heartbreaking day.

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The$power$of$music$is$still$here$today.$$On$that$terrible$day,$I$

was$at$my$home$in$Philadelphia,$which$is$only$80$miles$from$

New$York$City.$$As$I$witnessed$the$planes$crash$into$the$towers$

and$the$panic$that$followed,$I$noticed$the$phone$lines$around$the$

Philadelphia$area$went$out.$$Very$quickly$airports$closed$for$

several$days;$schools$closed;$the$stock$market$closed;$and$even$

professional$sports$games$were$canceled$for$nearly$a$week.$$$

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I$was$scheduled$to$conduct$an$orchestra$in$Colorado$that$

coming$weekend.$$I,$of$course,$thought$that$like$everything$else,$

the$concert$would$be$postponed;$however,$audiences$insisted$

that$the$concert$go$on.$$In$fact,$within$a$day,$musicians$were$

arriving$in$New$York$City$where$they$played$music$for$the$

rescue$workers$and$grieving$families.$$$

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So$even$when$everything$else$in$our$dayHtoHday$life$$

is$paralyzed$by$emotional$trauma$and$loss,$I$learned$that$music$

remained….$maybe$the$only$thing$that$we$all$could$lean$on.$$$

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I$changed$the$program$that$weekend$in$Colorado$to$include$

Samuel$Barber's$Adagio$for$Strings.$$This$piece$captures$a$quiet$

sadness,$but$not$a$sadness$that$we$go$through$alone.$$

It$is$reflective….$allowing$us$to$feel$together$and$ponder$our$

lives$and$the$challenges$we$face$as$a$nation.$$So$often$in$our$lives$

we$discover$that$music$speaks$when$words$cannot.$

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Ira!Gershwin!!!!!!!!!!George!Gershwin:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1896B1983!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!1898!B!1937!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TWO!BROTHERS!MAKE!HISTORY!

George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He taught himself to play the piano at a friend's house by following how the keys moved on a player piano. George liked to compose both classical and popular music,

and found a unique way to combine the two. He composed his most famous work, Rhapsody in Blue, in 1924, and his brother Ira gave it its name. He is considered one of the greatest American composers.

Here’s the story of the first performance of “Rhapsody in Blue,” as reported by Anna Celenza in her book, Rhapsody in Blue. !!!!!!!!!“George!dashed!out!on!stage!and!took!his!seat!at!the!piano.!!!!!!!!!!All!at!once!the!clarinet!let!out!a!wail!that!made!the!listeners!stop!dead!in!their!tracks.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Within!seconds!the!howl!was!transformed!into!a!sultry!blues!tune.!!!!!!!!!!The!trombones!joined!in,!followed!by!the!sassy!trumpets!and!smooth!violins.!!!!!!!!!!!Jazz!mingled!with!classical!virtuosity!as!George’s!fingers!rushed!up!and!down!the!keyboard.!!!!!!!!!!Blues,!ragtime,!and!foxtrot!rose!from!the!orchestra!one!after!the!other,!blending!with!the!piano!!!!!!!!into!a!musical(melting(pot.!!There!was!even!a!banjo!thrown!into!the!mix.!!!!!!!!!!!!Who!knew!a!concerto!could!sound!like!this?”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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But!how!would!Disney’s!Fantasia!use!this!concerto?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

! At!the!concert!you!will!see!how!Disney!used!this!music!to!!!! accompany!a!story!about!New York City in the 1930’s.

Through George Gershwin's famous!tune, "Rhapsody in Blue," a story is told about a day in the life of four random people who are longing for something more:

- a construction worker, who would rather play drums at a jazz club,

- an unemployed man looking for a job, - a girl who wants to spend more time with her parents but must instead be dragged around the city by her governess, - and a rich man with a bossy wife who would just like to have some fun. !!!!! So….our!concert!ends.!! Remember…..you!are!all!a!part!of!America’s!story.!!!!! “American!music!is!much!like!it’s!people….a!great!melting!!! pot!of!sounds,!rhythms,!and!harmonies.!!It!is!rooted!in!!! great!adventures!and!developed!in!fascinating!life!stories.”!!!!!!!!!!!!!Who!knows!what!songs!YOU!may!write!or!styles!YOU!may!develop!to!keep!our!musical!melting!pot!growing.!!! ! Here’s!to!your!future.!!We!salute!you.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!We!hope!you!enjoy!the!concert.!!If!you!have!comments!or!suggestions,!feel!free!to!write!to!Maestro!Scott!and!the!Helena!Symphony!staff!at!P.O.!Box!1073,!Helena,!MT!59624.!