Lindsey Sander

12/13/18
MUS 333
Dr. Steve Fairbanks

School Orchestra Literature Project

Program

Surrounding Community
 The program is comprised of students at the elementary, middle, and high school level.
The community is located in the North Chicago area, and nearly half the student
demographic is of Hispanic or Latino population. The overall population of the town is
80,000+. A majority of households qualify for the state's free or reduced breakfast/lunch
program. More than half the graduating seniors enroll in college. The majority age of
the population is over the age of 21 and under 65.
 The community enjoys music making and seeing their students succeed. Even if funds
are low, attention is given to student needs. A clear goal across the district is that the
student comes first.
 Music is part of the community's life. The community sits between two wealthier
suburbs, all with rich musical lives. Donors and arts camps from other communities
often work with this community to provide musical programming opportunities
throughout the year. Students enrolled in music are often invited to workshops in
surrounding community colleges or the downtown area. Programs from the city visit the
schools during the summer and work with students. Mariachi bands are popular within
the community, but there has not yet been a successful collaboration of school music
and the Mariachi community (some string students participate in both Mariachi and
school music).

String Program
 String instruments are provided to the school through a combination of donors, parent
boards, administration, and local renters. A majority of students borrow instruments for
the academic year and return the instrument in the summer. Renting is the next most
popular option. The community has a large band program with steady enrollment. The
string orchestra program is fairly new, as it was introduced six years ago, and it is just
now gaining momentum. The program is small but mighty (>150).
 Students who participate in string orchestra come from households that can afford to
rent instruments. Student families who participate in string orchestra are involved in
their child's musical lives. Most families who are involved in string orchestra are also
enrolled in more than one extracurricular, including dance, sports, or private tutoring. A
small handful of students take private lessons. For a majority of families, string
 orchestra is the one extracurricular they participate in. It is normal for many generations
of siblings to be in the program.

Fictional Teaching Situation

 I work closely with the elementary and middle school general music teachers.
Collaboration across disciplines is encouraged. Solfege is taught from elementary school
onwards. I incorporate as much general music pedagogy into the strings classrooms as
possible, mostly in elementary and middle school age. Singing is standard across my
elementary, middle, and high school levels. The mission for the music program (strings
and band) is student empowerment through music.

**For the following sections: 1 year of concert programing; grades 4/5, 6/7, 8, and 9-12

Calendar

Fall - Beginning of the Year Celebration

 Elementary/middle
o Elementary students perform in a "Look, Ma, I Did It!" performance, performing
pieces by rote or simple notation. Concert purpose is for students to
demonstrate proper instrument hold and beginner's competence. Concert ends
in a collaborative piece with middle school students.
 Middle
o Fall concert in conjunction w/elementary
 High school
o Fall concert w/2 full orchestra selections.

Winter - Winter Concert

 Elementary
o Students perform repertoire out of String Explorer. Middle and high school
students volunteer to accompany on piano, guitar, strings, etc.
 Middle
o Students perform standard repertoire w/ 1 student choice selection.
 High
o Students perform standard repertoire w/ 1 full orchestra selection.

Midwinter - Concerts & Chamber Festival

Chamber music is an intimate form of music making that may challenge and inspire students on
their music journey. Students are able to work in small groups and get more one-on-one help
with the teacher and from each other. Guest artists are brought in to work with groups in
masterclass-type situations. Students who may be struggling are able to get more help and
participate on a part that best suits their level. Students who are excelling may assume
leadership roles or find that they thrive in smaller ensemble settings.
 Elementary
o Student groups are paired with a high school buddy who play with them. Pieces
are student-composed. Duets are provided as a second option.
o Informal concert, venue TBD
 Middle
o Solo/Ensemble Competition & Winter Concert
 High
o Solo/Ensemble Competition and Chamber Festival. Students choose repertoire
from teacher's selection or personal findings via internet, etc.

Spring - Concert
 Elementary
o Full concert of grade 1 pieces
 Middle
o Full concert
 High
o Full concert w/optional student compositions/student led works/etc.
o Senior recognition/graduation celebration! (no piece chosen for this)

Repertoire

Fall - Beginner's Celebration Concert

 Elementary
o Students will be primarily learning out of String Explorer (Andrew H. Dabczynski,
Richard Meyer, Bob Phillips). Students will not be introduced to notation until
late fall. The first concert will consist of songs learned by rote. Examples:
 Mary Had a Little Lamb
 Row, Row, Row Your Boat
 Hot Cross Buns
 Twinkle Twinkle
 Middle
o 6th/7th/8th
 Ukrainian Folk Songs - arr. Sandra Dackow
 Aeolian Rock - Jeffrey Frizzi
 Ash Grove - Michael Hopkins
 Dragon Hunter - Richard Meyer
 Frog in a Tree - Ed Siennicki (with elementary students)
 High
o Lyric Metal - Brian Balmages
o Coco (Music from) - Michael Giacchino/arr. Larry Moore
  FULL ORCHESTRA
 Sleeper's Wake - J.S. Bach/arr. Jerry Brubaker
 An American in Paris - George Gershwin/arr. John Whitney

Winter - Winter Concert

 Elementary
o Selections from String Explorer (w/guest buddies from middle/high school)
 Middle
o 6th/7th
 Botany Bay - Traditional/arr. Sandra Dackow
 Velocity - Brian Balmages
 Appalachian Hymn - Soon Hee Newbold
 Student choice piece
o 8th
 Auld Lang Syne - Traditional/arr. Sandra Dackow
 Cello Rondo - M.L. Daniels
 Contredanse - Larry Clark
 Aurora Borealis - Michael Hopkins
 High
o Amazing Grace - Traditional/arr. Sean O'Loughlin
o Passacaglia - G.F. Handel/arr. Robert Frost
o Scherzo - Roger Zare
 FULL ORCHESTRA
 Bacchanale (from "Samson and Delilah") - Camille Saint-Saens/arr.
Merle Isaac

Midwinter - Concerts & Chamber Festival

 Elementary
o Duets (in class, in groups, with guest buddies from middle/high school, teacher)
o Selections from String Explorer
o Informal concert, venue TBD
 Middle
o Solo/ensemble repertoire (student choice)
o Winter Concert:
 Accents - Robert Frost
 Bluebell - Yukiko Nishimra
 Sagebrush - James Curnow
 High
o Solo/ensemble repertoire (student choice)
o Quartets for Chamber Festival (not an exhaustive list):
 Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral - Richard Wagner/arr. Matthew
Moreno
  Kingdom Dance (from Disney's Tangled) - Alan Menken/arr. Robert
Longfield
 Beethoven
 Opus 18, no. 4, Scherzo
 (Advanced) Opus 18, no. 2 Allegro molto quasi presto
 Borodin
 String Quartet no. 2 in D major, mvt. 1 Allegro moderato
 Dvorak
 Quintet in G major, op. 77 Scherzo
 Haydn
 String Quartet no. 2, op. 3 in C major (vol. IV, #65)
 Quartet Opus 74, no. 2; I Allegro spirituoso & IV Finale, presto
 Opus 76, no. 3, Poco adagio cantabile (the "Emperor" variations)
 Mozart
 Divertimento no. 1 Allegro, andante, presto
 Divertimento no. 3 presto
 Quartet in C major, K. 157 Allegro moderato, andante, presto
 Quartet in F major, K. 168 I Allegro, IV allegro
 Quartet in Eb major, K. 160 mvt. 3, Presto
 Quartet in G major, K. 387, Minuetto
 Schubert
 Quartet in D major, no. 7, Menuetto
 Quartet in Eb, Opus 125, no. 1 Allegro moderato, adagio
 Tchaikovsky
 String Quartet op. 11, Andante Cantabile

Spring - Concert
 Elementary
o Cabbage Countdown (Variations on Boil Them Cabbage Down) - Bob Phillips
o Boat Ride - Eugenia Goldman
o Into the Sky! - Brian Balmages
 Middle
o 6th/7th
 Canyon Sunset - John Caponegro
 Terra Nova - Richard Meyer
 Haunted Carousel - Soon Hee Newbold
 Student choice piece
o 8th
 The Campbells Are Coming - Traditional/arr. Sandra Dackow
 Blue Fire Fiddler - Soon Hee Newbold
 One Bow Concerto - Richard Meyer
 Student choice piece
 High
 o Pride and Prejudice (Main Theme) - John Moss
o Nursey Suite - Jack Jarnett
o Themes from "St. Paul's Suite" - Gustav Holst/arr. Christina Hans
o Symphony no. 8 in G major - Antonin Dvorak/arr. Todd Parish
o Student choice piece/student showcase
 FULL ORCHESTRA
 Overture to die Fledermaus - Johann Strauss/arr. Richard Meyer

Rationale

Elementary:
For this group, I made room for flexible plans. There is not a lot of repertoire for this group. This
is purposeful because I would be working closely with beginning students and my priority would
be building a strong foundation on their instruments. The year would end with only 3 pieces
the elementary group would have to learn, but this is taking into consideration the fact that I
would not teach notation until the end of the fall semester, right before the winter concert.
This is so I have enough time to work with my students in developing good playing habits. Also,
it gives us time to figure out what this specific group of students may need. There is room to
add more repertoire and skill building if the group happens to be advanced. There is room to
take away repertoire and go at a slower pace if the group would benefit from that. I am more
interested in starting my beginning students in non-traditional ways, such as singing before
playing.

For the midwinter concert, the concert for the elementary students would be informal. I am
thinking it could happen anywhere; a mall, an administration building, in the school's front
foyer, etc. I would encourage my middle and high school students to come and help out with
the elementary kids. I would ideally like to create a buddy system where older students pair
with younger ones and give them lessons (ideally for free). There would be time for students to
work with their buddies during the midwinter concert cycle.

Middle:
In this school setting, 6th and 7th grade orchestra is combined and 8th is separate. This is so I
can work thoroughly with a smaller group of students before they leave for high school. I am
able to hone in on techniques and skills they will need in the high school setting.

The reason for the combined 6th/7th/8th concert is to build community amongst the members.
I also want the beginning elementary students to have good role models to look up to, both
musically and socially. The first fall concert is ideal to make this collaboration happen because
my beginning students can see where their musical path could end up, and my older students
are able to reflect on how far they have come.

 6th/7th:
 o The first concert cycle pieces are easy so as to be playable across 3 grade levels.
This can be a refreshing reminder of notes/rhythms/finger positions because a
majority of students will be out of an instrument an entire summer. They need a
reconvening period to reacquaint themselves with their instruments. Students
who are more advanced may benefit from leadership positions or giving lessons
to other students for the first month of school.
o The focus on these pieces is community building with other students, as the
notes and rhythms are fairly easy and mostly exist in the key of D major. There
are many open strings. Difficulties may include switching from low 2 to high 2,
and being aware of bow distribution.
o As the year progresses, the pieces naturally become more challenging. In Botany,
I chose this one particularly because of its choral element. Students may enjoy a
different change of pace in playing if they have to sing. Also, there is a key
change from D major to C major. There are also more pieces with low 2's, such as
Velocity. Elements such as pizzicato appear.
o The midwinter concert will be much shorter to allow students who do choose to
participate in Solo/ensemble the chance to focus their energy on their
preparation. The pieces for this concert stay in major keys of D and G. They are
lyrical and fun to play. The easiness of this concert is to encourage students to
participate in Solo/ensemble and work on a piece on their own.
o The last concert will consist of the most challenging music for this group.
Changing meters and Eb's are introduced in Mantras. Syncopated rhythms and
constant switching from low 2's to high 2's are found in Canyon Sunset. Terra
Nova also includes switching meters. There would be enough time to thoroughly
go over these pieces inbetween the midwinter concert and the spring concert.

 8th:
o Building upon previous skills, this group can handle key changes, pizzicato, and
syncopated rhythms. I am introducing the concept of independence as much as I
can with this group, first with a cello solo in Cello Rondo. Aurora Borealis
introduces 3rd position.
o The spring cycle includes Campbells, a 6/8 piece with percussion. The rhythms in
Blue Fire Fiddler look scary but are actually beneficial in the long run as they will
appear multiple times in different music. This piece is also faster and will help
students with dexterity in both left and right hands. My favorite piece in this
cycle is One Bow Concerto because it is genius. It isn't technically challenging and
it also isn't in a hard key. The hard part is that the soloists all share one bow that
they pass back and forth to each other. I think this is genius because it teaches
patience, listening, and collaboration within a larger ensemble. Students have to
really well to pass off their bow during a rest. Also, I am thinking that this could
be adapted for a larger setting. The orchestra would only play the melody part,
and instead of soloists, each section would have to pass their bows to another
section. This would only work with an even number of students in a class,
however.
High:
Lyric Metal is very challenging. A possibility to solve this is that this would be a piece just for the
seniors (or senior/juniors, or if the school had an audition-only chamber orchestra). Also,
students could vote this piece out if they feel it is too challenging, and we could focus on the
other pieces instead. I chose Coco because of its simple arrangement and because it is from a
popular movie. However, if a student feels uncomfortable performing this or if a student feels
this arrangement to be culturally insensitive, we will not play it. There are options with these
two pieces.

Full orchestra includes Sleeper's Wake and An American in Paris. Both experiment with
different keys, accidental fingerings, and styles. Full orchestra pieces are chosen because of
their "iconicness" in the Western Classical literature, but also because they were favorites of
mine in high school.

In the winter cycle, Amazing Grace is a middle school piece. However, I thought the score
demanded for a mature ensemble, so that is why it is under the high school program. The notes
and rhythms aren't hard, but the artistic style requires an older group.

My most favorite pieces are in the spring cycle for the high schoolers. They are fun,
harmonically pleasing string ensemble pieces that provide room for students to shine in solos
or during the technical parts. I think the hardest would be the theme from Pride and Prejudice,
because there are meter changes of 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4, and also it's a crazy first violin part. I
chose this because it provides an opportunity to collaborate with a pianist or guitarist. Also, I
chose it for its crazy first violin part, because there's probably going to be a student who would
want to take this piece on as a challenge. The Nursey Suite is the ultimate challenge, though,
with its constant key changes, accidentals, and increasingly intensifying rhythms. However, I
think the first movement is doable. Themes from St. Paul's Suite was a personal love of mine in
high school. It's not too challenging, but the first violin part goes high up the staff. This is a good
piece for an ensemble with a strong violin player. Also, this piece can be played without the
conductor. Symphony no. 8 was chosen for the artistic and stylistic opportunities. There is still
plenty of room to grow, with accidentals, high positions in the cello and violin parts, and there
are a few key changes.

Chamber Festival:
I envision this working as self-directed time for the students. Students would be put into
quartets that I would choose based on player strengths and weaknesses. I would pair up a
student who may be excelling with a student who needs help. These quartets would be
balanced so as to provide the most maximum growth opportunity as possible for all players.
Quartets (or trios or quintets, etc.) would choose their repertoire on their own. I would provide
a list and students would be allowed 3 days to research pieces with the group. This would
culminate in a Chamber Festival, where instead of a concert, the students would perform in
Solo/ensemble and perform in their quartets for a guest judge. Quartet performances would be
scheduled and happen in multiple rooms at the same time over the course of the night so when
they are not performing they can go and watch other quartets perform.

Chamber music is a solid middle ground for students of various playing proficiencies. In quartet,
the players do not need to be on the same technical level. The different parts in a string quartet
are an opportunity for students to take leadership roles (such as a tricky 1st violin or cello part)
or just hone in on their skills (for example, the 2nd violin part in the Borodin is very
undemanding). Student growth has the possibility to blossom in smaller, more intimate settings
like quartet. They can get one-on-one help with not only the teacher and guest artists, but also
their peers, which can be the most valuable feedback of all. Also, chamber music teaches the
fundamental concept of music making: communication.